Digital health incubator Rock Health hosted the 2012 Health Innovation Summit last week in San Francisco. In a series of posts, I’ll be profiling some of the interesting new health companies represented at the summit. You can browse all of the startups I liked from the Rock Health summit here.
Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work and doctor visits. New mobile health company LumoBack estimates it will enter a $1 billion addressable market when it releases its sensor and mobile app technology that targets poor posture, one of the major causes of lower back pain.
Poor posture puts stress on the spine and strains back muscles. The LumoBack system — soon to begin beta testing — includes a sensor placed on the back that vibrates when the wearer slouches and a mobile app with a gaming element to help encourage good posture.
The sensor is attached directly onto the lower back by an adhesive or onto clothing by a clip and it monitors how you are sitting and moving in real time, and buzzes when you slouch. An avatar mimics your posture in real time on the app.
Cofounder and CEO Monisha Perkash said the system has drawn interest from corporate physical therapists, fitness instructors and chiropractors. It will cost less than $100 when it’s commercially released.
See how it works in this demo from the Health Innovation Summit.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
