We live in an age where technology is intertwined into almost every aspect of our lives. Perhaps the only place it hasn’t yet completely conquered is our own bodies. That may be why mainstream culture greeted certain wearable technology like Google Glass with distrust and even outright hostility—after all, once technology is on us, isn’t it only a matter of time before it’s in us, or simply is us?
But Philippe Kahn, best known as the inventor of the camera phone, and now CEO and founder of Santa Cruz-based Fullpower Technologies Inc., thinks that attitude is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. More and more consumers are embracing gadgets like FitBits, smart watches, smart beds, and even fitness-tracking smart shoes for their potential to revolutionize the fitness and health care industries. These wearables can track every aspect of daily life, from sleep patterns to steps taken to heart rate, calories burned, body weight, and time spent standing.
Meanwhile, Kahn’s company is already working on all sorts of ideas that will help usher in the next era of wearable tech. Why is he betting the industry will continue to grow? Because knowledge is power. When it comes to improving our health and lifestyles, extremely individualized data can go a long way. And when we decide to make a change and do something about it, wearable technology can provide immediate feedback on our progress.
“It’s simple and amazingly efficient,” Kahn tells GT. Wearable technology provides the kind of information that can get results fast, he says, which feeds its popularity. “Without any other changes, if Ms. and Mr. Everyone are just a little more active and sleep just a little more, health immediately improves.”
Whereas current fitness wristbands and watches collect data mainly through an accelerometer that tracks step-related movements or lack thereof, devices of the future will be able to distinguish among many different and diverse types of exercise, as well as provide data about blood sugar, hydration, hormone levels, and beyond. Additionally, whereas a current concern among wearable technology users and makers is a lack of privacy, the wearable tech of the future will use authentication techniques that are unique to every individual, such as heart rhythm.
Current wearable fitness trackers are fairly limited in the types of exercise they can track, and this is especially true if the exercise doesn’t involve taking steps. The next generation of wearable tech will not only be able to “learn” and measure new exercises performed by the wearer, it will also be able to more accurately track activities like weight lifting, swimming, and even something like playing an instrument that while usually performed stationary is nonetheless a legitimate workout for the upper body. Future fitness wearables will also be able to instantly access the wearer’s diet and medical history and even be able to “critically think” and provide advice. Smart sports gear is also just around the corner, such as a basketball that has an implanted computer and can track made baskets and provide feedback on shooting form, or a football that can help aspiring quarterbacks throw a tighter spiral.

PICTURE OF HEALTH

Exercise and sport aren’t the only frontiers for wearable technologies. They show even greater potential to improve personal health on a large scale because they provide a larger amount of more accurate data to a doctor or health care provider. As long as the patient consistently wears his or her health-and-fitness-tracking wearable technology, a doctor can easily use the data from the device to get a more accurate picture of the patient’s lifestyle. This will allow doctors to make better decisions and diagnoses than ever before. Eventually, wearable technology will allow doctors to treat patients remotely, without having to see them in person—transforming health care for travelers, those who find it difficult or impossible to visit a doctor’s office, and pretty much everyone else.
Some examples of cutting-edge health care wearable technology include body-worn sensors and contact lenses that monitor blood sugar levels and could revolutionize the care and management of diabetes, an increasingly common condition in America. Companies are also developing smart bras that track breast health, as well as wearable technology that could help a person quit smoking by detecting cravings and then releasing medication before the smoker falls off the wagon and lights up a cigarette. There is even ingestible technology being developed that is powered by stomach acid and could monitor the timing and consistency of when a person takes their medications. This could provide doctors with unprecedented information about the adherence to and effectiveness of prescribed therapies.

FUZZY DATA

Wearable technology, however, is still in its infancy, or, at most, its toddlerhood. And there are plenty of growing pains.
One challenge is the drive to constantly improve the accuracy of the data these devices provide. When current wearable technology can only provide estimates on steps taken, calories burned, or anything else, it simply isn’t good enough. This can be a major problem, especially if health care providers are basing recommendations for medication, exercise, diet, and lifestyle on the accuracy of this data.
“Accuracy is important, as that is key work that Fullpower focuses on more than any other company on the planet,” says Kahn. But for most current applications of wearable technology, he believes this issue shouldn’t be overblown. “Remember that the benefits come from being more active and sleeping a little longer, not necessarily understanding every detail of everything.”

There is even wearable technology being developed that turns sound into patterns of vibration felt on the skin from a garment that, with training, can help the deaf “hear” the world around them.

At this point, there is little industry regulation and no governing body to make independent verifications of wearable technology data, and to make sure standards are upheld. Greater industry regulation with independently verified data will go a long way toward legitimizing the entire industry. “We sure hope this happens soon, as it will make Fullpower’s technology shine even more,” says Kahn. “My understanding is that there are a couple of labs who are evaluating the business opportunity.”
There is also the issue of interpretation of all this data—without it, the information is basically useless. “It’s not just quantified self-measuring, it’s using big data science to give meaningful insights,” explains Kahn. “For example, Fullpower’s new Sleeptracker® Smartbed will soon start being deployed by major bedding manufacturers and will provide lots of insights and tools to improve sleep.” Kahn says the insight the smart bed provides is based on data from more than 500 million nights of detailed recorded sleep, and calls it “the greatest sleep study ever.”
Wearable technology not only needs to be stylish, in Kahn’s view, it also needs to be at least somewhat invisible or at least seamlessly integrated into a person’s “look.” Making a one-size-fits-all product that also has universal aesthetic appeal is no small challenge. Just consider how many different companies sell widely diverse products that are all essentially either a shoe, a shirt, a hat, or anything else wearable.
“We believe that wearable tech and fashion are tied at the hip. We are focused on making non-invasive technology that is green, invisible and beautifully discreet,” says Kahn.
Battery life is another challenge. “Fullpower is working on energy harvesting off the host. It’s no different than getting solar energy to work in the home,” says Kahn. His company recently launched the Movado smartwatch that can run for over two years without a charge. Whether it’s using body heat, body movement, or some other source, renewable energy is a big part of the future of wearable technology.

WEARABLE FRONTIERS

As bright as the future may be for wearable fitness technology, the possibilities for merging man and machine on a larger scale may be even more astounding. For example, Lockheed Martin has developed an unpowered exoskeleton that makes heavy tools feel almost weightless, as if they are being used in zero gravity. This kind of technology could revolutionize many industries including construction, demolition, disaster cleanup, and first-responder situations. Still other exoskeletons are being used to help paraplegics regain the use of their legs and walk again. There is even wearable technology being developed that turns sound into patterns of vibration felt on the skin from a garment that, with training, can help the deaf “hear” the world around them in a similar way to how Braille turns letters and words on a page into tactile representations that allow the blind to “see.” Some people are even pushing the boundaries of our senses by implanting magnets into their fingertips in order to be able to “feel” electromagnetism.
The incredible neuroplasticity of the human brain allows for all of this remarkable technology to be seamlessly integrated into the brain’s representation of the body over time. For example, ask any experienced surfer where the body ends and they will all tell you that eventually the surfboard becomes an extension of the self. To them, the body does not end at the foot, it ends on the wave.
All of this seemingly space-age technology being closer to our doorstep than most of us thought begs the question: How much technology is too much technology? But the reality is that technology is in many ways the ultimate embodiment of everything it means to be human, showcasing our ingenuity, ambition and creativity. Wearable technology is only the latest expression of an age-old truth: We have always been natural born cyborgs, using technology to transcend ourselves and our biology.

Technology is everywhere: It’s in the checkout line at Trader Joe’s, glowing in the dark after bedtime, tempting us while we’re stopped for a red light—it even creeps into our bathrooms while we’re sitting on the toilet.
But what is our attachment to our phones doing to our bodies and brains? Well, let’s start with the latest medical phenomenon you should probably know about: text neck.
“Think of it as whiplash at zero miles an hour,” says local chiropractor Michelle Bean, co-founder of the Santa Cruz Challenge. “It’s the shortening of certain [neck] muscles, [while] muscles on the other side of the body get inhibited or elongated. If they’re chronically elongated and inhibited the body turns them off at some point.”
So how relevant is this to anyone who relies on texting as their main form of communication with friends?
“I look around all the time and see people with their heads hanging over their shoulders and it’s sad. I worry,” says Bean. “What’s going to happen with this next generation coming up?”
To experience the healthy, all-too-rare sensation of a straight spine while reading on a mobile device eye, or other screen for that matter, we should raise it up to eye level.
“With text neck, you’re constantly looking down at your tablet or cell phone, and nodding, sitting on the couch, on a chair. You do it hundreds of times a day over the course of years and suddenly your body’s breaking down,” says UCSC’s Campus Ergonomist Brian MacDonald.
Social psychologist Amy Cuddy recently brought the text neck concept—also referred to as iHunch or iPosture—into the national discussion with her Dec. 12 article in the New York Times, which presents this previously underreported fact: “When we bend our necks forward 60 degrees, as we do to use our phones, the effective stress on our neck increases to 60 pounds.”
“That extra weight will either go directly into their neck or transfer down, often to a weak link in the spine,” Bean says. “Sometimes they’ll feel it all the way down their back into the hips.”
The problem is growing, and fast—a 2013 study on the health effects of smartphones and portable devices in 1,049 people found 70 percent of adults and 30 percent of children surveyed reported musculoskeletal symptoms in the body, according to the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association, which collaborated on the study.

Spinal Tax

The physical effects of the now ubiquitous iHunch can creep up slowly, and sometimes people don’t realize that the jaw, wrist, elbow or lower back pain they develop is caused by poor posture in the neck and shoulders.
“What it ends up doing is putting a lot of load on the [spinal] discs,” says Bean. “The disc is designed to absorb load when you put stress on it, and it ends up kind of moving the stress to the front of the disc, squeezing the disc so you can get cracks in the disc or a herniation, disc bulges, bone spurs.”
And that’s just talking about the spine, says Bean. “Other things like lung capacity gets bound because you’re closing down the lung space. Problems with digestion is one we really see. You’re also squeezing down on the abdominal cavity,” says Bean.
The saddest thing about these negative physical impacts is that they’re so easily preventable, says Bean. Most people aren’t yet cognizant enough of the problem to make a change.
Bean and MacDonald both report seeing text neck affecting young people, in a way never seen before, and that there’s a significant gap in education on how to maintain good posture—both at school and in the workplace.
Bean works on patients who come into her practice with complaints of pain, once things like text neck have already set in, while MacDonald’s focus as an ergonomist is to try and prevent those injuries from forming.
MacDonald and the UCSC Environmental Health & Safety Department try to encourage supervisors and managers to report physical effects of equipment as they arise, in order to get funding for ergonomically sound furniture. There’s an altruistic and financial motivation for businesses to do this, too, he says—healthy employees create a happier work environment, but from a financial standpoint, keeping employees in good posture decreases the cost of an injury or hiring and training someone new.
“In the late ’80s, late ’90s, computers started showing up in a big way. Before then it wasn’t recognized that office work was risky,” says MacDonald, who worked as a chiropractor for 20 years before beginning ergonomics consulting.
“But since around 2000, even in the last five years, we’re experiencing an industry-wide shift,” says MacDonald. “For the first time new employees—young people in their early 20s—showing up within in the first few months experiencing these injuries because they’ve been looking at their cell phones, tablets—and they’ve been doing it since they were 3 years old. We’re seeing a new epidemic of young people with these injuries.”
Straightening up in your chair can help, and guess what, there’s an app for that. The Text Neck Institute—yes, that exists too—launched the Text Neck Indicator app for Android phones to notify cell phone users when they’re holding their device at an unhealthy height.
MacDonald also points out that employers are legally responsible for making workplaces ergonomically safe. The California Code of Regulations stipulates that if one or more ergonomic-related injuries takes place on the job, the employer must institute training, an evaluation and controls to minimize the risk of injury.

Necks Generation

Body of Trouble

While our mental state can often affect our posture, poor posture can also affect our mental state. In 2010, the Brazilian Psychiatric Association found that depressed patients tend to slouch with the whole body folding more inwardly than non-depressed people. Meanwhile, a study published last year in Health Psychology showed how the moods of non-depressed participants can become much more negative when sitting in a constantly slouched position.
And then there’s the damage to our eyes.
“The eye didn’t develop to stare at a fixed distance for eight hours in a row,” says Santa Cruz Optometric Center optometrist Laura Prisbe.
The problem is so pervasive that the Vision Council even came up with a name for it: Digital Eye Strain. And with nearly four out of 10 millennials spending at least nine hours on digital devices every day, it’s something to pay attention to, says Prisbe.
“That muscle that controls focusing, by being locked in the specific distance, gets really fatigued staring at the same distance,” Prisbe says.
That’s how people who aren’t genetically nearsighted or farsighted end up with symptoms of those conditions. But that’s not even the half of it. Prisbe says that staring at one spot also causes us to blink less—increasing eye fatigue—and that the glare from a computer screen  coupled with the ubiquitous aesthetic atrocity that is overhead fluorescent lighting is the ultimate recipe for eye exhaustion.
New research coming to light over the last few years details the effects of “blue light”—that familiar glow on most screens—on the human eye. According to the Vision Council’s 2015 Digital Eye Strain Report, the band of blue-violet light thought to be most harmful to retinal cells falls between 415 to 455 nanometres (nm). Some of the “most favored digital devices and modern lighting” typically start at around 400 nm.  
Prolonged exposure to blue light can lead to macular degeneration, especially if you have a family history of it, says Prisbe. “It’s the loss of your central vision. Your macula is the center part of your retina, what you use when you look directly at something,” she says. “With macular degeneration, you get a blind spot in the center of your vision.”
It’s a scary prospect, says Prisbe, who, like Bean, worries most about children spending unprecedented amounts of time looking at screens when the long-term effects are not yet known.
One thing parents can do to avoid future problems, says Prisbe, is make their kids go outside more.
“There’s research that supports that your eye continues to grow if you’re reading up close in poor light—that’s what nearsightedness is, the eyes grow too much,” she says. “With kids who are in natural daylight, they found that having exposure to outside reading was the key in not developing myopia, or nearsightedness.”
For cubicle dwellers, Prisbe recommends anti-glare screens, using artificial tears, and making sure the screen is at least an arm’s length away, the font is at a comfortably large size, the illumination is not at its brightest, and the screen is just below eye level. For those fighting fluorescent lighting, she even suggests wearing a hat or visor. Also worth looking into: a coating for glasses that blocks blue light, and computer-specific glasses to help the focusing muscle relax. For most people, the most important rule to remember is the 20-20-20 rule, says Prisbe: every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds and spend it looking away from your screen at something at least 20 feet away.
“This field is evolving with the research being done,” says MacDonald. “Technology is providing us with new challenges, many people now aren’t working in front of a desktop computer, but they’re looking at their tablet and cell: that provides a new set of static prolonged postures.”