Our last crowdfunding roundup had health-tracking body suits, bed covers and glow-in-the-dark headphones, as well as some more standard health monitoring devices. The last few weeks have been a little thinner on health projects, but there's still plenty of hopefuls launching on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Read on for a round up that includes smart jump ropes, smart canes, two wearable thermometers, and an app-connected home blood test kit.
German company Kenkodo is developing a platform consisting of a weekly blood test and a mobile app that will analyze the test and return insights and information about the user's metabolism. The app will allow users to match up biofeedback from the blood tests with logged recordings of lifestyle habits like sleep, mood, diet, and energy level. Over time, users can use the data from Kenkodo to adjust their lifestyle.
As of now, the home test kit isn't actually connected to the smartphone. Instead, users take the blood test it, mail it to the lab, and the lab uploads the results to the cloud, so users can view them on their app. The project is just shy of it's goal of $53,700 (50,000 euro).
Smart Rope is an interesting new take on the fitness tracking device: an LED-laden, Bluetooth-connected jump rope that tracks jumps, calories burned, and interval training. It can display these stats in a connected mobile app, but it can also use the LED lights in the rope itself to make the numbers appear to float in the air in front of the user.
The company, Tangram, is also working on Apple HealthKit and Google Fit integration, to combine the rope with other ways of tracking exercise. So far, Tangram has raised $150,000 out of an original $60,000 goal.
Baby Check is a wearable device for babies that helps parents keep track of their child's temperature, location, and wellbeing. The soft fabric strap wraps around a baby's arm and sends a Bluetooth signal to a parent's smartphone. The Apple or Android app measures the baby's temperature and motion and stores a record of all the readings.
Baby Check is the first health device from technology firm DKTek Innovations. The device has raised $11,000 on Kickstarter out of a $35,000 goal.
The STEMP Smart Temperature Patch is similar to Baby Check, but it provides a peel-and-stick mobile connected thermometer for measuring adults' temperatures as well as babies. While the patches are disposable, the actual sensor is a reusable device with a rechargeable battery. The device makes a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone, which can be used for continuous monitoring, or to set an alarm that will go off at a certain temperature. The project has raised $14,000 out of a $25,000 goal.
This small Florida-based project is a smart cane that connects to an app via Bluetooth. The cane includes a temperature sensor, a heart rate sensor, and a panic button that will emit a high pitched sound as well as sending a message to a doctor or caretaker. The smart cane will send a message when the user hits a button or when the cane falls down and is left lying horizontal for five minutes with no input. The cane also has a flashlight built in. This one's only managed to raise $165 out of a $100,000 goal.
