Andre Persidsky thinks that activity trackers are missing a big chunk of our day - the time we spend sitting. Breathing and posture are two important keys to good health. Breathing can affect our blood pressure, concentration, mood, stress levels and immune functions. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the US, and many COPD patients have lessened diaphragm function.
Peridsky teamed with Dr. Paul Abramson and Alex Ahlund to create Prana, a stress relief wearable that tracks your breathing and posture. The device is 1.25 inches in diameter by 0.25 inch thick, and is worn in the user's waistband. Using a system of accelerometers and control algorithms Prana tracks you during the day and sends a text if your posture is poor or if your breathing shows stressors. The notification tells you to sit up straight and take a deep breath. Prana is currently in the middle of an indiegogo campaign to fund a production run of devices.
Long term Prana also helps to develop good habits in posture and breathing. The app has breathing gamification built in to allow the user to spend a few minutes a day training their breath to minimize stress and maximize health benefits. The tracker also recognizes when the user is standing and acts as a step counter during the day. The app also has a Clinical Mode that tracks respiration rate, inhalation time, exhalation time, breath retention, time between breaths, breath smoothness, diaphragm excursion, posture, inhalation depth relative to posture, frequency of full breaths, and tidal volume.
Prana is an interesting project that functions both as a long term fitness tracker and a health aid. The indiegogo page has a great photo journey through several iterations of prototype, as well as a short discussion of design changes made around the battery and charging. The patent for Prana was published in December and is available online . Delivery of units is expected to be June 2016.