Balance November 2017 - 42

bac k to the futu r e
WEARABLE
HEALTH

PRINTS
DISARMING

The self-tracking movement has blossomed. Sleep
monitoring, diet logging and mood journals are
about to be augmented by the era of mind tracking
(read more about this in our bio-hacking feature
from page 26). Developers of these brain wearables,
essentially headsets with electrodes, claim the
devices can help detect stress, improve focus and
measure mood, by examining brain waves using
electroencephalography (EEG).
Tracking cardiovascular and retinal movements
provides opportunities to answer questions around
concentration and mood. A study by Lancaster
University found retinal tracking can be used to help
detect illnesses such as ADHD, schizophrenia and
addiction and they believe there is huge potential for
'eye movement analysis for mental health monitoring'.
Keep your eye on the ball for more developments.

Researchers at the University of Vermont undertook
an experiment in which they looked for visual cues of
depressive traits from Instagram photos, then taught
a machine to do the same. They claim the algorithm
can identify depression with 70% accuracy.
Chris Danforth, a professor at the University of
Vermont who co-led the new study with Andrew
Reece of Harvard University, said: 'This algorithm
can sometimes detect depression before a clinical
diagnosis is made.'

GENE MAPPING

Patients will no
longer need to
have symptoms.
Doctors can look
at their genes and
determine if they
are at risk

APPLIANCE
OF SCIENCE 

Epigenetics, the study of hereditary genes,
focuses on what causes adjustments in gene
expression patterns. These changes are a result
of environmental and lifestyle factors so by
adjusting your lifestyle and environment, your
gene patterns could change.
The UK's 100,000 Genomes project is a DNA
sequencing initiative that seeks to analyse data
to investigate how best to treat patients with
cancer. If successful, it could revolutionise the
way patients are diagnosed and treated.
No-one has ever attempted whole genome
sequencing at this scale before as part of everyday
care in hospitals.
Rather than offering a way simply to fix problems,
this next-generation tech provides data indicating
where changes could be made to both prevent
health issues and aid in the recovery process.

Having a device not only on you, but also in you,
might sound like something from a dystopian
narrative, but it's fast becoming reality. Prior to their
demise, Jawbone had developed an ingestible
tracker used to monitor bodily functions including
digestion, alcohol levels and heart rate.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has
approved the Proteus Ingestible Sensor, a device
embedded into tablets and which, once swallowed,
tracks health patterns and medication treatment
effectiveness, leading to more informed healthcare
decisions. Another innovation is the PillCam COLON
- a tiny pill that takes a series of photos and videos
as it passes through your digestive system, and
transmits the footage to a doctor's computer.
The problem with digestibles is that what goes in,
must come out. Research (on pigs) is being used to
see whether devices can be held in the body for
longer, so health professionals can track the body
over time. The results seem promising.

42

A BIT EVEN
FITTER

Looking just like your fitness tracker, Spire, a device
billed as 'fitbit for the brain' clips onto your clothing
and monitors your breath to identify when you are
feeling stressed or calm. The app iSee allows clients
and counsellors to monitor the frequency and
duration of your phone use, using a GPS tracker, a
light sensor, an accelerometer (to capture physical
movements) and a touchscreen. It takes all of this
information and correlates it to moods and
emotions, to identify what factors increase a
patient's vulnerability or resilience. They found the
software 'provided behavioural markers strongly
related to depressive symptom severity.' B

BA LA N CE November 2017

IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES

BRAVE
NEW WORLD

PILLCAM COLON IS A TINY PILL
THAT TAKES PHOTOS AND
VIDEOS AS IT PASSES THROUGH
YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance November 2017

Balance November 2017 - 1
Balance November 2017 - 2
Balance November 2017 - 3
Balance November 2017 - 4
Balance November 2017 - 5
Balance November 2017 - 6
Balance November 2017 - 7
Balance November 2017 - 8
Balance November 2017 - 9
Balance November 2017 - 10
Balance November 2017 - 11
Balance November 2017 - 12
Balance November 2017 - 13
Balance November 2017 - 14
Balance November 2017 - 15
Balance November 2017 - 16
Balance November 2017 - 17
Balance November 2017 - 18
Balance November 2017 - 19
Balance November 2017 - 20
Balance November 2017 - 21
Balance November 2017 - 22
Balance November 2017 - 23
Balance November 2017 - 24
Balance November 2017 - 25
Balance November 2017 - 26
Balance November 2017 - 27
Balance November 2017 - 28
Balance November 2017 - 29
Balance November 2017 - 30
Balance November 2017 - 31
Balance November 2017 - 32
Balance November 2017 - 33
Balance November 2017 - 34
Balance November 2017 - 35
Balance November 2017 - 36
Balance November 2017 - 37
Balance November 2017 - 38
Balance November 2017 - 39
Balance November 2017 - 40
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Balance November 2017 - 42
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