WELLNESS
Astro Teller would like to see people monitor their health as closely as they track their portfolios. Teller is the cofounder and CEO of BodyMedia (www.bodymedia.com), a Pittsburgh-based service that was started in June 1998 and is launching online this fall. The company will sell a line of ready-to-wear sensors that link users to a companion Web site. Think of it as Quicken for the health-conscious.
"Consumers want to manage their own health," says Teller, who has a PhD in symbolic and heuristic computation. "But until now, it was like dieting without a scale."
BodyMedia's line of "senseware" includes chest straps, arm bands, and smart rings that monitor the wearer's heart rate, respiration, skin temperature, caloric burn rate, and other physiological data. The information is wirelessly transmitted to a PC and uploaded to the company's secure Web site, where it's mapped on a personalized Web page.
BodyMedia will generate revenue from senseware sales (pieces are set to cost several hundred dollars each), health-related ecommerce, and a subscription fee.
But Teller believes the real value of the service will be the ability of users to mine BodyMedia's database to flag potential health problems. Though customers' personal files will be kept confidential, the aggregate data will be used to uncover individual anomalies that may signal trouble.
Some competitors question BodyMedia's ability to turn raw data into useful knowledge. "The world is littered with Ouija-board-and-eight-ball health care," says Matt Sanders, founder and chair of LifeChart, which markets Web-enabled health-monitoring products and other health care items in the US and Europe. "We focus on measurements that are accepted by health care professionals and the FDA."
For now, BodyMedia is marketing its senseware as a tool to promote wellness rather than as an FDA-approved medical device. The company is convinced it's on to something potentially revolutionary. "The technology is a few steps ahead of our ability to make use of it," says Craig Liden, BodyMedia's chief medical officer. "Our goal is to close that gap."
MUST READ
May Day UK All the Rage
DVDecryption on Trial
Community Reporting
Ask Dr. Bob
Chicks-and-Mortar
Casting the Net
This Year's Nominees for Best Award
People
Jargon Watch
Farm Aid
Dosing With Microcrystals
Pipe Cleaner
Stalking the Wild VC
Ready to Ware Health Care
Raw Data
