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Get the 555 from sxsw in austin, tx

Inside we’ll answer the top five things we believe after attending SXSW, reveal the five questions we should be preparing to answer and highlight five things you should check out for yourself.

A soft, methodical machine-like whirling noise fills the room as several drones move about. They are nimble, quick, and precise. Slenderly built, they glide with ease across the booth’s not-so-plush carpet floor.

Unlike your Roomba, real humans power these drones. At SXSW in Austin, operators in Kansas City control them.

They are a creation of Suitable Technologies.

I walked up to the booth and was warmly greeted by Katie, or should I say, the remote presence of Katie. After a few seconds of feeling awkward standing next to a 4-foot-tall, Segway-like robot knowing I was about to talk to it, I just started in. Crazy enough, a few more seconds after that I began having a real conversation with Katie.

Looking back, the high video and audio quality paired with the ease of robot’s movements seemed to help make this virtual leap.

The idea isn’t exactly new to healthcare–remote monitoring devices and methods have been evolving for a while now. But after experiencing this new class

human-driven drones are about to take over healthcare

of human/machine hybrids, I am convinced it’s where healthcare will be going.

Imagine choosing your healthcare professional without regards for location, or the efficiency of seeing a specialist anywhere in the world.

A physician could sit remotely in a control room with any real-time information at his hands. Perhaps he would want to compare all your scans from previous appointments. While you sit there, he could quickly access all that info on-screen. Or the “drone” could have sensors that passively scan you and provide the doctor with real-time info that would help with determining a diagnosis or treatment plan.

Once this becomes possible, we’ll make the next big leap. Then the whole idea of a doctor’s office will become obsolete.

Treatment will take shape around when and where you need care.Which means you will never wait at the doctors’ office again. You may wait somewhere, but it won’t be there. Soon, the doctor will login to your “home health bot” and your appointment will just begin.

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It all starts with bones, then flip-chews, on to squeaky toys, then silly costumes. Soon you’ll be buying your dog (or cat) a wearable. Yep, a wearable!

Introducing Whistle, the on-collar device that measures your dog’s activities, giving you a new perspective on day-to-day behavior and long-term health trends. Whistle touts, “Stay close to your dog and share in the adventure.”

No doubt wearables are exploding. The market potential is expected to grow to 100 million units by the end of 2014. Everything that can be tracked already is or will be soon.

One internet sensation told us to “hide your kids, hide your wife…they’re coming for you.” If Sproutling has its way, that statement may come true, for your children anyway.

Sproutling is a small, kidney-shaped, Bluetooth-enabled wearable, that attaches to your baby’s ankle and will alert you if your child stops breathing.

But wait–there’s more! Sproutling will also track your child’s heartrate and the temperature of both the room and your little one.

Now that we’re already tracking your dog and your offspring, we might as well make it easy to track you and protect your iPhone at the same time.

So with that in mind, say hello to Wello. By simply holding the case of your phone, all your vitals and data are read literally from your fingertips.

Wello states, “Not only do you get an instant idea about your health, over time you are able to see patterns that help you manage your life better.”

So if I am following along and now tracking my kids, my dogs, and myself, what I am I doing with all this data?

Whistle has you, well, your dog covered. With Whistle your pet’s info can be sent directly to your veterinarian, in order to better evaluate their health.

If your vet can track your pet’s data, there’s no reason why your kid’s pediatrician won’t soon ask for their’s.

2 delivery to death, you & your doG will be tracked

“We humanize technology... We make technology connect, speak, and interact with humans in a positive way.”

Gadi Amit, Fitibit Designer

From the NSA to Disney, it seems like everyone wants access to our every click, jump, step, or wiggle. So with mountains of information pouring in from our activities and our actions, who actually owns that data?

Since Jawbone’s Up records your every step, do they own that data, or because you took every step, do you?

This was a heated conversation that kept coming up in various sessions at SXSW.

Gadi Amit, the designer of Fitbit, believes the idea of a quantified self won’t work because people can’t or don’t want to deal with all that data –it’s simply too much.

Karl Martin, CEO of Bionym, a biometrics company based in Toronto, sees a slightly different future. One where your persona goes digital and your physical world will know it.

They have created Nymi, a wearable device that constantly sends out information about who you are and your preferences.

The Nymi has two great secrets: first it uses a proprietary way to measure your heart rhythm to authenticate you and verify that it’s okay to send out your digital persona.

the world will just instantly know you

Secondly, it allows you to create custom personas so you control what and with whom you share. All, off course, encrypted.

This could have huge implications on healthcare. Imagine you’re shopping and you pass the pharmacy. The pharmacy senses you are near and alerts the pharmacist to refill your prescription. You walk up, grab your meds, Nymi automatically sends payment and on your way you go.

Or, when you go to check in at your doctor’s office, if it still exists (see #1), you can forget about filling out form after form. With Nymi, your insurance information, recent health history, and activity level could all be automatically downloaded and analyzed, so it’s ready when you see the doctor.

This passive, easy pass through of data doesn’t require you or your physician to get bogged down in the “how” of transmitting the data. It just happens.

But then there’s the ownership question again. Who owns the data? You do. Or at least I believe you do, and will. It will become a digital extension of you.

Just like you, that digital self needs protected and needs rights. And it will get them one day.

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Well, let’s put an asterisk on that–legal likes those. *I am more so saying that the mere definition or thought behind what a prescription is will change.

The idea that a doctor prescribes you only a pill will cease to exist. Instead, there will be digital prescriptions, app prescriptions, service prescriptions, perhaps even lifestyle prescriptions.

First, pharma companies will begin to offer companion prescription apps. This will be a way to not only differentiate their prescription from other parity competitors, but could also offer insightful data to help or inform future product research.

Dr. Gulati is the Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Innovation for Physicians Interactive.

soon PeoPle won’t take PrescriPtion Pills*

He believes it’s already happening, and will only increase in the coming years.

“Re-imagine the point of healthcare to the point of health,” he challenged.

What does that mean for, say, pharmacies? Do you get an email when your prescription app is ready from Walgreens to download? Or do pharma companies begin going direct to consumers with these new types of prescriptions?

Doctors aren’t the only ones looking to alter the definition of prescriptions, so are Payers. They’re looking at a way to incentivize patients to increase adherence, knowing more than 75% of patients aren’t. Soon you may be “prescribed” a tracking app that allows you to get discounts on your healthcare costs if you gain or get certain levels of achievement.

Regardless of whether it’s an app, a service, or a monitoring device, the idea of what your doctor will prescribe you will soon change.

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More people with a chronic disease would

accept a new app from their doctor than would

accept a prescription (90% v 66%). - Digitas90%

How can that be you ask? The product hasn’t even launched yet. The developer/demo version of the product (low res, I might add), is already so groundbreaking, that the idea of Rift as simply a video game accessory is dead.

It will be so much more as the developer version has already demonstrated.

At SXSW, HBO used Oculus Rift demo kits to create a truly immersive experience dubbed “Ascend the Wall.” The experience brings fans inside the fantasy world of Game of Thrones.

“I was swaying back and forth trying to keep my balance because in virtual reality, I could practically feel the creaky lift swaying back and forth. At several points during the roughly two-minute ride, I couldn’t help but reach out and grab the bars of the cage for security,” wrote Mario Aguilar, GIZMODO

“The Oculus experience at the #GOTExhibit is ridiculously good,” tweeted Andy Kinsella, executive producer at Google Creative Lab. “Wanted it to last for hours.”

At a convention where everyone is looking to stand out, this Oculus allowed HBO to shine. People waited for nearly three hours to see the experience. And remember, this is only the developer kit version, not even the consumer product.

This device has the potential like the iPhone and iPad to change markets, change the way we create and consume information and entertainment.

The film Zero Point has begun work creating an exclusive documentary using the Rift to put viewers “inside” the movie.

Greg Miller is using the headset to bring back to life Seinfeld’s iconic Upper West Side apartment.

But this is just the beginning of an emerging medium.

Cancer patients could be transported away to any corner of the globe while they get chemo treatments. Kids could learn about history by experiencing a virtual recreation of Gettysburg or bounce alongside Neil Armstrong as he takes his first steps on the moon.

Virtual reality debuted a few decades ago, but not until now, is it truly becoming our new reality.

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oculus rift

is already dead

questions we should be PreParinG to answer

4Wearables are everywhere with data practically swirling about us. What if you had a personal area network?

3What if we created and shared our experiences, not just shared data? Connecting people, not just the steps they took?

What if we could deliver adaptable web/mobile services based on time or real-time?

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2What if each individual owned their personal data and could grant or deny others access?

When sharing your sensitive personal data, what if it only existed for a few minutes, and then just disappeared? Is it time to think Snapchat for your personal health data?

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toP 5 thinGs to check out from sxsw

Skully, winner of the SXSW Accelerator Award, is an advanced motorcycle helmet that incorporates the use of Augmented Reality. Think Iron Man here. The product also provides the rider with a 180-degree rear view of what’s behind them and side collision sensors for additional safety.

skully

2Cinematique is a touchable video platform where people can discover and ultimately purchase items in a video format.

Cinematique touts, “You simply touch the things that interest you as they move across the screen. It changes the way we tell stories! It opens the doors for more exploration and information and creates a deeper relationship through video.”

cinematique

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Dialog right now is just a concept. But a very cool one at that. It’s designed to help people with epilepsy better understand their condition and make informed decisions about their care.

Dialog is a wearable that collects a variety of important patient data, then transfers it to a companion smartphone app. This allows patients to gain insights into what may trigger events.

dialoG

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Nymi lets you use your unique heart rhythm to authenticate who you are, allowing you to wirelessly take control of your environment. The world around you will know you, and your preferences.

nymi

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Wello is a health tracker that’s built into the back of your phone cover. It’s both cool and functional.

Simply hold it and sensors inside the case begin testing your vitals. This information is then sent to an app on your phone where you get an immediate read-out about your health.

wello

To discuss this report live, request another module, or schedule a presentation of trends, please contact Leigh Householderat 614-543-6496 or leigh.householder@gsw-w.com.