This week’s Smart Health roundup features a wireless temperature tracker, an app that keeps your skin in check, and a smart necklace that won’t leave you with a hunched back.

 .

Fineck

Text neck is a condition suffered by many who are constantly on their mobile devices. It is the result of bad posture which causes neck pain, stooped posture and could lead to severe neck problems that would eventually need surgical correction.

If you think you are at risk of text neck and want to correct it, you might be interested in funding a new project on Kickstarter, Inc. called Fineck.

Fineck is a smart necklace that not only tracks your movement and activities but also tracks your posture. It alerts you if you have a bad posture, and the metal parts of the necklace is made of titanium, a lightweight material that not only looks good but is also suitable for those with sensitive skin. Fineck also offers interactive games to help users maintain good posture.

As a bonus, Fineck has a simple but elegant design that goes well with casual, corporate or even formal attire.

Fever Smart

A fever is a symptom, not a disease in itself, so monitoring a fever is pertinent in understanding the disease process. The problem with using traditional thermometers is they only give one-time readings, limiting the ability to monitor temperature changes accurately over time.

Fever Smart aims to change how temperature is taken and monitored with its wireless, patch thermometer. The system is composed of a Brain Unit attached to the patient using a disposable patch, a Relay Unit which can be an iPhone, iPad or iPod that sits in the room with the person being monitored to receive and transmit data, and the Fever Smart app which allows parents, guardians, and even health care providers to check and monitor the patient’s temperature.

Fever Smart uses axillary temperature — though it is 0.5°F (0.3°C) to 1°F (0.6°C) lower than an oral temperature reading, it is still accurate but less invasive. Fever Smart was successfully funded through crowdfunding last September and interested consumers can now pre-order the device for only $129. Shipping starts January 2015.

First Derm

We spend a lot of time keeping our skin clean and spend even more money buying expensive moisturizing products, but these aren’t always enough to keep us from having to see a specialist. To help determine when it’s time to call the dermatologist or when an over-the-counter application can solve your skin problem, there’s a new app called First Derm.

Available for iOS and Android as well as on desktops, the app can help assess your skin with a simple photo and a few written details. With a $40 case analysis fee that could take up to 24 hours, it may be just as costly to pony up the co-pay for a doctor’s visit.  The app may not save you much money (or time) if a doctor isn’t needed, and if a doctor is required you’ll still need to pay for that in addition to First Derm’s fee. However, First Derm’s app will readily help you find the nearest dermatologist to suit your needs.

photo credit: KROCKY MESHKIN via photopin cc