Nayyar Hussain and his team at Medic8 Health PL want to give people the tools to easily track and monitor heart and body sounds at home. Their product Stethee is currently running a Kickstarter campaign that will end January 28, 2015.
Stethee is designed to be paired with a smartphone app and store data that can be used by anyone. Heart and lung sounds are taken at almost every checkup because the information is vital, but the information is not tracked and monitored for changes over time.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834955165/stethee-listen-see-and-feel-a-heartbeat-in-your-ha
The device is built to be simple – Hussain says that all the technology is hidden away to create a more streamlined experience. The internal gyroscope and accelerometer don’t have to be understood or interacted with if the user desires only data. Advanced users and programmers can use the currently existing REST API or create their own app that connects to Stethee.
Stethee weighs 110 grams and is 38 millimeters tall with a 55 millimeter diameter. The lithium ion battery has a four day battery life and charges through a micro USB connection. Data is sent anonymously to the company’s servers and meets HIPAA and NEHTA standards.
Hussain and his team are hitting a great intersection between the ever present fitness devices and actual medical tools. He says that current heart rate trackers only take the pulse through your wrist and that can be an inaccurate accounting of your true heart metrics. Stethee isn’t practical to wear during a two hour workout but taking data before and after activity could yield important data points.
Funding is being sought for production tooling and ramping up manufacturing. This project was envisioned in early 2013 and a great deal of work has already happened to get to functional proof of concept models. The Kickstarter page shows a great prototype evolution from sketches to 3d printed housings to the shiny metallic casing desired for production.
There’s definitely money and infrastructure present in this project. The Kickstarter campaign video is incredibly well done and polished. The product’s website has a press release section for media to find images and information. Stethee appears ready to meet its funding goals and then bring the product to its backers in September 2015.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834955165/stethee-listen-see-and-feel-a-heartbeat-in-your-ha