The personal health dashboard: consumer electronics is growing in the health and wellness market.

摘要

The human body does not come with a dashboard. There is no gauge that tells you if your blood pressure or blood sugar is too high or if your arteries are hardening. Yet a number of companies are developing consumer electronics that act as the body's dashboard.At the extreme ends of health and fitness consumer electronics are medical devices such as the implantable defibrillators manufactured by companies like Medtronic and the lower-end pedometers, scales, and blood pressure cuffs available at the local grocery or drug store. This article focuses on that large gray area between the two extremes. The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) estimates there are about 200 companies working in this area, and most experts in the field estimate it will be booming in the next 20 years.Astro Teller, Ph.D., chairman of BodyMedia and CEO of Cerebellum Capital, notes the market's need for "something that is highly desirable by consumers, but something that is also medical grade; something that will empower people to understand their body."