While I was down seeing the shiny shiny tech at Lenovo yesterday I encountered something that looked like it had been made with me in mind. I will need to give you a bit of a story to explain this so here goes.
Back when I was still at school many moons ago I was in the Army cadets. During a weeks training camp I was taking part in an assault course. During one of the more tricky obstacle crossing’s I fell from a height of 12ft and landed on my shoulder and neck. This has caused me to have continuing problems with my back to the point where I have been hospitalized twice.
So with that background in place I now want to introduce Valedo.
It is a medical certified wearable that is designed through the use of companion apps to help you strengthen your muscles within your back. It consists of two motion detecting wearable senors that are attached via double sided medical tape to your chest and lower back. Once they are in place you then use the companion apps to steer your game character thought the virtual world. Have a look at the video below for a better idea of what I am talking about.
http://youtu.be/hEztotzKaWw
Looks pretty neat doesn’t it.
I was chatting to the chap who helped create the product and it is being used in the US already as a viable alternative to Physiotherapy as it is something that is fun to do and can be done easily and quickly when it is most convenient for you.
Most people (myself included) will go and see a physio for back pain and maybe do the suggested exercises for a few days after the consultation but then life gets in the way and it is forgotten about. By using technology Valedo makes the same exercises more engaging for the user therefore they will want to continue to use it.
The games and exercises have been created in consultation with physiotherapists and doctors and you are able to view how you have been performing whilst doing the exercise.
Here are some more pictures of the sensors and the game interface.
It is currently available on iOS and it was announced this week that it will be coming soon to Android as well which is one of the reasons it was being showcased by Lenovo.
It is currently only available in a few countries but it is going to be coming to the UK very soon.
I have asked for a review unit so hopefully we will be able to see if it can help fix me!