by Eliza J. Anderson: For Complete Post, Click Here…
The pandemic is continuing to have an effect on gadgets. This is not necessarily true of assistive technology (AT), but it’s easy to see how two emerging trends could become embraced by the AT industry. In September, AT3 News and Tips noted the emerging UVC of Things: gadgets with self-sanitizing capabilities using built-in UV light technology. I’m trying to think about it the way Adrianna Mallozzi has taught me she thinks about AT innovations. What if her mouth controlled joystick could self-sanitize?
Now we’re seeing the emergence of the Oximeter of Things. This is arguably a pretty depressing response to the pandemic, that monitoring our blood oxygen saturation levels would be attractive enough for a mainstream consumer market. Certainly, wearable health monitor devices have been around for a long time and are increasingly integrated into smartphones, but this is showing signs of getting supercharged by the times we are living in.
There are other conditions and disabilities that can make a pulse oximeter a useful tool to have around and particularly for overnight monitoring (including COPD, asthma, pneumonia, and congenital heart defects). What’s new is now we are seeing stylish additions to the market. The Wellue O2Ring is not just wearable technology; it’s veritable cyborg jewelry. It also vibrates silently to alert its wearer of an abnormal heart rate or low oxygen level.
