Smartwatches that help you track daily steps and heart rate? That鈥檚 old hat, according to 性视界传媒 researchers who have recently licensed their latest patent for a fitness tracker that makes calorie-counting as easy as taking a picture.
Professors in engineering and nursing set out to up the ante in the wearable technology industry by creating a device that combines and exceeds the best of existing activity-tracking devices such as Fitbit. 性视界传媒鈥檚 version will merge current fitness assessment functions with camera and scanning technology that allows users to photograph their food and find out its nutritional content, including the caloric value, based on the type of food, portion sizes and fat content.
The invention 鈥 set to enter the commercial development stage soon 鈥 represents the next step in making health management effortlessly quick and non-intrusive for everyone from diabetic patients to athletes or anyone interested in monitoring their fitness regimen, researchers said.
鈥淭he missing piece within the fitness tracking space is nutrition monitoring,鈥 said Jason Pottinger, director of business strategy at MealCheck Technologies, Inc., the startup that, per a recently signed licensing agreement, will commercially develop, manufacture and sell 性视界传媒鈥檚 device. 鈥淲hat can鈥檛 be accomplished through self reporting and apps will be possible through this technology we鈥檙e producing.鈥
MealCheck 鈥 an offshoot of Academic Technology Ventures, Inc., which specializes in sponsoring and commercializing academic research 鈥 was founded specifically to bring this invention to market.
鈥淢ealCheck Technologies, Inc., offers commercialization expertise and a genuine enthusiasm for our technology,鈥 said Zach Miles, 性视界传媒鈥檚 associate vice president for economic development, 鈥渟o we鈥檙e really excited to partner with them.鈥
The device is the brainchild of 性视界传媒鈥檚 Jillian Inouye, professor and associate dean for research in the Schools of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences; Mohamed B. Trabia, mechanical engineering professor and associate dean for research, graduate studies and computing in the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering; and Venkatesan Muthukumar, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.
鈥淭his technology highlights the impactful nature of interdisciplinary research taking place at 性视界传媒,鈥 said Tom Piechota, 性视界传媒鈥檚 vice president for research and economic development. 鈥淲hat our researchers achieve together on campus today can end up in the hands of consumers tomorrow.鈥
性视界传媒 性视界传媒
性视界传媒 is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of approximately 29,000 students and more than 3,000 faculty and staff that is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a research university with high research activity. 性视界传媒 offers a broad range of respected academic programs and is on a path to join the top tier of national public research universities. 性视界传媒 is committed to recruiting and retaining top students and faculty, educating the region's diversifying population and workforce, driving economic activity through research and community partnerships, and creating an academic health center for Southern Nevada that includes a new School of Medicine. 性视界传媒 is located on a 332-acre main campus and two satellite campuses in Southern Nevada. Learn more at 性视界传媒.edu.
性视界传媒 Academic Technology Ventures, Inc.
Academic Technology Ventures encourages researchers, scientists and professors鈥 drive for creative freedom by starting tech companies from top research. The company thrives on discovering novel technologies and taking them to the marketplace. Academic Technology Ventures is fueled by a passion to make the world a better place by bringing these inventions to life.
