For mobile health to become more mainstream, companies will have to provide tools that add value, save time and get the blessing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Today, Kinsa said the FDA gave 510(k) clearance to its Smart Thermometer, according to an emailed statement. It’s used with a smartphone to generate readings.
The FDA device approval fits into a broader movement in the future of mobile technology in healthcare to increase the capacity of smartphones to help people track their health and make informed decisions based on the results.
The thermometer connects to the headphone jack of smartphones and other mobile devices. The display shows reading progress and alerts parents if the thermometer slips out of place. It also shows images to distract children as it measures their temperature.
Users can create individual profiles and track their fever, symptom and illness history.
In a statement, the company said it is conducting a private beta test of the device this month and expects to start delivering the Smart Thermometer in March or April.
One of its backers is IA Ventures, but it has also raised money with crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo and AngelList. It also won in the consumer category of the DC to VC competition.
Inder Singh, founder and CEO of Kinsa, is a former executive vice president for Clinton Health Access Initiative, a public health organization that claimed success reducing drug prices for AIDS, malaria, and TB medicines in more than 70 developing countries
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.
The ultimate goal is to use the data collected by the thermometers in real time to map out hotspots for illnesses and where they are spreading. It is currently developing software that will provide alerts when there is an illness outbreak in the user’s area or at their child’s school.
In the statement Singh said:
“… by piggy-backing off of the most widespread medical behavior in the world –- a parent taking a child’s temperature at the first sign of illness, even before scheduling a doctor’s appointment –- we can simultaneously create a highly accurate, first-of-its-kind system to track the spread of illness, revolutionizing health across the globe.”
Part of its work on the software includes working with the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and state and local health departments. Of course, it depends on enough people buying and using its product to generate meaningful insights.
Other companies have used social media to map flu outbreaks and other illnesses across the U.S. and other countries such as Sickweather, Fount.in, and Mappy Health.
