Health IT, Startups

Thalmic Labs illustrates evolution of augmented reality in healthcare

The applications for Myo vary from gaming and lifestyle uses to helping people with limited mobility, to prosthetics and sign language.

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Thalmic Labs$120 million fundraise this week to support the development of its Myo gesture control device once again drew attention to the interest in augmented reality applications in healthcare. Thalmic Labs’ tech is particularly interesting because it offers a range of applications that show there is more to this market than assisting physicians.

The gesture control technology behind Thalmic Labs’ Myo armband interprets electrical activity of the user’s muscles to operate technologies through gesture and motion control. At least one person has been fitted with a prosthetic arm using the gesture control technology through a collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory.

The applications for Myo vary from gaming and lifestyle uses to helping people with limited mobility, to prosthetics and sign language. The company’s gesture control tool is also finding its way into surgery to reduce the need for doctors to touch equipment to read medical images.

In response to emailed questions, Thalmic Labs CEO and co-founder Stephen Lake said the fundraise would go towards product development. Although he declined to offer details, Lake acknowledged that developers are actively working on healthcare applications for its technology.

“We’re constantly blown away by at the applications that Myo developers and researchers have brought to life through this technology. At Thalmic, the first time we saw Johnny Matheny control his modular prosthetic limb using the Myo armband, we had never been more amazed by what our technology has enabled,” Lake said. “Our developer community and researchers have done amazing things with Myo in the healthcare field, and we will continue to support them as we work to bring other products to market.”

Another business combining gesture control with healthcare applications is Reemo. The company works with Samsung’s Smart Things technology along with the tech giant’s smartwatches to help seniors use locks and lights in their home with a flick of their wrist. The goal is not only to help seniors stay in their own homes longer. Through the use of smartwatches, caregivers and healthcare providers can track seniors’ biometric data, activity levels and GPS locations.

Other companies embracing augmented reality that have made healthcare a priority have used smartglasses, predominantly to aid physicians and surgeons. They include AugmedixStreyeAtheer, and Vital Enterprises.

A Goldman Sachs report published earlier this year noted the potential for augmented reality tech to disrupt patient monitoring in healthcare. The report predicted that this market will grow to $5.1 billion by 2025.

 

Photo: Thalmic Labs

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