According to the study reported in BMC Research journal (1), more than 68% deaths in children under 5 years of age can be prevented with optimal management of infectious illnesses (such as pneumonia, malaria, viral fever, upper respiratory tract infections and measles. Most of these infections present with high grade fever that may increase the risk of morbidity and mortality in poorly managed cases. Clinical data indicates that optimal management of fever is mainly dependent on the severity of fever (that is strongly associated with the accuracy of thermometer used for the measurement of hyperpyrexia or fever).
Since thermometers can play a crucial role in the disease management and overall prognosis, experts have developed the smartest new-age thermometer that allow users to effectively monitor fever in young children and older adults. Kinsa smart thermometer is a gadget that can be connected to the headphone jack of any smart phone (android or iPhone) with the help of a data cable. Once in place, the gadget measure the body temperature and record/ transmit the data on your smartphone (via free Kinsa smart thermometer app).
Why do you need smart thermometers?
In words of Kathleen Sebelius (the US Secretary of Health and Human Services), mHealth or mobile health is the biggest breakthrough technology of current times. With the help of highly innovative and cost-cutting gadgets and devices, the mobile telecommunication experts have made healthcare more accessible to an average person.
For example, according to a study reported in the Journal of American Medical Association (2), 34% patients visit their primary care provider for the management of an acute situation that does not even require prescription in many cases. Investigators suggested that innovative devices and mobile apps provide an average user with the convenience and a much stronger grip on personal health.
Why Use Kinsa Smart Thermometers?
Here is why you should consider Kinsa smart thermometer over a conventional mercury thermometer.
Ease of use:
Kinsa Smart thermometer is a highly innovative award winning gadget that is designed for an average layman. Unlike most mercury thermometers that require at least 3 minutes to measure the right body temperature, or insertion in a specified manner, Kinsa smart thermometer requires only 10 seconds with no special requirements for temperature testing. You can use it like an ordinary thermometer (orally, rectally or underarms)
Affordable cost:
According to the data reported in the Journal of American Medical Association (2), the economic cost of vial respiratory tract infections is more than $40 billion per annum. However, most viral infections are self-resolving and does not require vigorous diagnostic testing or prescription medications. As a matter of fact, symptomatic treatment is all you need to get rid of cold and flu symptoms.
The one-time cost of Kinsa smart thermometer is $29 only and your entire family can use it time over time. Most importantly, unlike a conventional thermometer, Kinsa smart thermometer gives you an option to record your associated symptoms (such as stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, sorethroat, headache etc.) for a probable diagnosis and better management.
Record keeping:
Isn’t it pretty difficult to maintain a reliable record of your family’s health? Especially if you have young kids or elderly members in the family who are sick quite often? Well it definitely is. The most remarkable feature of Kinsa smart thermometer is its ability to maintain and store the relevant health data of your family under individual user profiles (based on demographic information like age, sex, date of birth and mode of temperature recording). With any new episode of illness, you can update the profile for a complete health record. Besides recording fever, you can also take down your personalized brief notes about the symptoms or keep a visual record in the form of a photo.
Prognosis and forecasting of health status: Based on the readings and pattern of your fever/ body temperature, the iPhone Kinsa app helps in predicting when you are going to feel better. In addition, you can also track over time if you are symptoms are resolving or worsening in intensity (or if you are developing new symptoms). Needless to say that such extensive record keeping really helps in sharing the symptomatology and complete history of illness with the primary care provider.
Other benefits include:
- Control of your health: Kinsa smart thermometer also let users to share the history of their symptoms with friends, family and relatives.
- Children engagement with the app: Taking a temperature reading in children is always very hard, owing to easy distractibility and simply because a conventional thermometer is not ‘fun’. Kinsa solved this issue by devising an animated screen and games during app use that helps in keeping the children engaged and immobile during the process.
- Access to community health status: As part of the Kinsa thermometer family, you can join different groups (based on your preferences) within the community to get more aware of the overall community health status. This helps in early identification of viral or seasonal illness/ infections within the community, so that you can take early preventive interventions.
- Urgent care scheduling: The smart application also allow parents to share the videos or photos of their kid in order to seek urgent medical advice from the family doctor (or nearest health facility). This feature is currently under testing phase.
Original Article by Dr.Rachita Narsaria, MD.
References:
- Novignon, J., & Nonvignon, J. (2012). Socioeconomic status and the prevalence of fever in children under age five: evidence from four sub-Saharan African countries. BMC research notes, 5(1), 380.
- Steven, R., & Steinhubl, M. D. Can Mobile Health Technologies Transform Health Care?.
- West, K. L. (2014). mHealth: A Comprehensive and Contemporary Look at Emerging Technologies in Mobile Health.
- Hartmann, P. M., Zaki, M., Feldmann, N., & Neely, A. (2014). Big Data for Big Business? A Taxonomy of Data-driven Business Models used by Start-up Firms. A Taxonomy of Data-Driven Business Models Used by Start-Up Firms (March 27, 2014).
- https://www.kinsahealth.com/