COOLHUNT - The 'ThuisMeetapp' (Home measurement app)

I read an article in 'De Telegraaf' (a newspaper in the Netherlands) about a home measurement app (in Dutch: ThuisMeetapp). There's been a test with this app for people with heart failures and the lung disease COPD. Almost 90 percent of the people who participated in the test recommended the health app. 

WHAT? This app is developed by a healthcare innovation company FocusCura. The app can be prescribed by the doctor and he will give the patient assignments to do at home. You can think of things like doing measurements at fixed times like bloodpressure, weight etc. If you do the measurements yourself you don't have to go to the doctor so often. If you connect the app with an iPhone or iPad it will send the measurements to a medical call center and your own doctor. Until now the app could only be used by patient with heart failure and the lung disease COPD. But because of the success the app it will also be available for parkinson, child diabetes, obese, asthma, trauma, and palliative care in the future. 

WHY? What's so cool about this app is that because of the measurements at home abnormalities will be detected earlier. And in this way appropriate assistance can be provided. In this way chronic diseases can be controlled way better.  This app is a form of an Inline trend. Because normally you go to the doctor but now you can measure your own values without going to the doctor. And for that you're using an online function namely an app on your iPhone or iPad. I think the macro trend in this story is control. The control of your own body, and the knowledge about it. When we used to go to the doctor we didn't always know what he was talking about. And look at us now! We're playing doctor ourselves! 

Source: http://www.sonhaber.nl/bilimteknoloji/hastaneye-gitmeye-gerek-kalmayacak-h32306.html

Sources:

* http://www.changinghealthcare.nl/thuismeetapp-officieel-inzetbaar-als-hulpmiddel/

* 'Chronisch zieke kan zelf controles doen.' (De Telegraaf 19-09-2014) 

COOLHUNT - Playing the piano together.

Last week when I arrived at the train station in Nijmegen something was different. I heard a beautiful sound coming towards me. It was the sound of a beautiful piano piece. It sounded loud and with a great  acoustics. Then I saw it. A guy was playing the piano on the station. At first I thought what is this? Did someone bring their piano to the station? But when I came a little closer out of curiosity I found out what it was. 

WHAT? It's an initiative from the organization 'Buiten Spelen'. It's the fifth piano in Nijmegen. There were already other piano's spread through the city. The intention is to bring people together spontaneously so that they can make music together. When I arrive at the station I hear people play beautiful music and it's really worth to listen to them. The piano is paid out of crowd funding. They renovated the piano before they put it on the station. Now it's a great way for people who have to wait for the train to come together and make great music! You can see the photo that I made myself. And also a video from 'Omroep Gelderland'. They will tell you something more about the initiative (in Dutch). 

WHY? This is a really cool idea because the train station (NS) is often compared to negative thoughts, trains who are always late, people who are in a hurry and little irritations between travelers. This piano brings a bit of life and joy to the train station! I thinks it's a great way of sharing which in my eyes is the 'macro' trend in this story. We are so busy with sharing everything through social media and even in restaurants you see that sharing is a trend (like tapas). It's also a great example of togetherness. People come together and they just forget their stress and hurry and just make some music! And other travelers who are maybe not as musical as the people who are playing can just enjoy the music. Because the acoustics are great in the station! 

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8F_TtVkbBk

Source: my own photo

Source: http://www.omroepgelderland.nl/web/nieuws-1/2070232/vrij-bespeelbare-piano-op-station-nijmegen.htm#.VC-lgEuVd4E

COOLHUNT - The canary: a gluten tracker

For people with a gluten allergy it’s hard to find out if there’s gluten in the food that they eat. They don’t have very much choice and sometimes the ingredients are not listed on the packaging of products. For some people it can be dangerous if they don’t know what’s in their food so we need something that they can detect what’s in their food.

WHAT? According to trendhunter.com there is a solution. And that is ‘the Canary’ a portable device that can test gluten in foods. This gadget will help people with allergies and it will prevent them from getting sick. The device is created by 6SensorLabs and it is a pocket-sized device that has disposable units. You can put those units in your dishes to test the gluten levels. The information will appear on the device and you can track it by using a corresponding smartphone app.

WHY? People with allergies can now go out for dinner without worrying about the food. It’s a great invention with a lot of potential. Maybe in the future the device can not only track down if there are gluten in the food but also other nutrients that are dangerous to other people like nuts or sugar. It’s an example of an Inline device with the underlying value of people who are more curious about what’s in their food these days. We’re much more conscious these days about what we eat. If you have a gluten allergy this device is great, because it can detect gluten in dishes. People don’t have to worry anymore if they can eat something the device will do that for them. Devices will take over a lot of functions from humans but sometimes it’s convenient. This is a great example of Inline. Because you take something offline (a measure instrument) and you make something online from it (a gadget). 

Source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-gadget

Source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-gadget

COOLHUNT - The clothing library

In April 2013 a clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed. These factories are known for their extremely low paid employees and extremely dangerous working conditions. Those people work very hard but don’t get paid enough for it. And the clothes are sold for much more in Europe. These ratios are not good. We spend a lot more money on clothes and also we never have enough (especially the women among us). The question is can we create a more even distribution and can we stop the child labour in third world countries.

WHAT? Well this is a big problem but 3 friends in the Netherlands came up with a plan of starting a clothing library in Utrecht. Karin Zwiep one of the founders says: “Costumers can borrow clothes for 4 weeks with a card”. And when the costumers bring it back they will wash it because it seems that people don’t trust each other washing qualities. Evita one of the founders has done some research for her study, which showed that people more often exchange clothes and they don’t want to buy it anymore. But how do they get the library filled with clothes? They put large buckets in the city where people can put in their old clothes. And they got a lot of clothes from the organisation Humana. They also have a special feature that they can bring costumers in contact with designers that will make their piece of clothing unique. The target audience is primarily young women because they are the biggest users en polluters.

WHY? This is an idea that can grow in the future because if it works it can be introduced into more cities and maybe we can bring the consume numbers down a bit. It’s a great example of Togetherness because we can share clothes trough an open library. The value behind this trend is definitely sharing because this has became a great part of our lives like Facebook etc. So if you’re interested go to Utrecht where you can borrow clothing in the clothing library. You can keep it for four weeks and then you’ll have to return it. A great way of sharing!

Source: ‘Bewuste modeliefhebber kan naar de kledingbieb’. (Metro, do 18-09-14)

Sources:
* http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3431680/2013/04/25/Bangladesh-200-doden-die-20-cent-per-uur-verdienden-voor-onze-goedkope-T-shirts.dhtml

* ‘Bewuste modeliefhebber kan naar de kledingbieb’. (Metro, do 18-09-14)

COOLHUNT - The life saving bracelet.

According to ‘Noorderboog’ each year more than 600 kids in Dutch hospitals end up with unconsciousness caused by the use of too much alcohol. Or even worse they will end up in a coma. And if you are lucky one of your friends will bring you home before it’s to late. So how can we prevent the number of teenagers that ends up in the hospital?

WHAT? A bracelet that will measure your alcohol and dehydration levels when you go out. It’s called the ‘Vive Smart Bracelet’. This bracelet with all his functions has to make sure that you come home save and don’t end up in the hospital. What are those functions? Well you can connect the bracelet with an app that will measure your alcohol level when you start drinking. During the evening the bracelet will send random vibrations and when you squeeze it the bracelet knows you’re OK. If you don’t squeeze the bracelet will send an aware through social media to your friends so they can check on you if you’re all right. It can be used by anyone who goes out for a drink.

WHY? It is a cool idea because maybe in the future a lot of patients that come into the hospital with an alcohol problem could be prevented because of this bracelet. And maybe the quality of going out will be a lot more fun. It is an Inline trend because a bracelet is an offline thing with in this case an online function. I think the need behind this trend is safety. We see a rise of young kids that end up in the hospital drunk and I think with this product parents and friends don’t have to worry anymore.

So maybe this is the future of going out? The product still needs some thinking because there are some problems but I’m excited about this idea because I hope it will prevent a lot of alcohol problems in the future!

Source: http://www.nsmbl.nl/handig-deze-armband-vertelt-je-vrienden-of-je-dronken-bent/

Sources:

* http://www.noorderboog.nl/ziekenhuiszorg/patienten/onderzoeken-en-behandelingen/nazorgtraject-alcoholvergiftiging-bij-jongeren

* http://www.nsmbl.nl/handig-deze-armband-vertelt-je-vrienden-of-je-dronken-bent/