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Smart Mirror Technology Could Detect Signs of Disease

Smart Mirror Technology

Over the past few years, there have been numerous advancements made in the fields of medicine and health technologies. However, in years to come, it may even end up being possible for a smart mirror device to detect whether you would be at risk of developing heart disease or other health-related conditions.

Enter the Wize Mirror Device

Although the Wize Mirror device looks and functions in exactly the same manner as an ordinary mirror, it will incorporate a range of 3D scanners, gas sensors and multispectral camera devices that will be able to assess the health of whoever is looking into it. It is able to do this by examining the person’s facial features and analyzing facial expressions, fatty tissue deposits and even how pale or flushed a person appears to be at the time. Facial recognition software will look for signs of anxiety or stress, and the gas sensors will analyze the person’s breath by looking for compounds that will show how much he or she smokes or drinks (if applicable).

In addition, the multispectral camera devices will be able to estimate hemoglobin levels or even heart rates, while the 3D scanners will be able to scan overall facial shape in order to determine whether a person has lost or gained weight.

Fast Scanning Process

The analyzing of a person’s face will only take around a minute or so to be performed, and once this has been done, the mirror will produce a score that will let the user know how healthy he or she is. It will also provide feedback and advice pertaining to how particular facets of a person’s health can be improved. The Wize Mirror is in the process of being developed by industry partners and researchers from 7 EU countries and the project has received EU finding. Sara Colantino and her colleagues at the National Research Council of Italy want to use the device to address long term health issues that can be difficult to treat, such as diabetes or even heart disease.

Prevention is better than Cure

Colantino and her colleagues wrote, “Prevention is the most viable approach to reduce the socio-economic burden of chronic and widespread diseases, such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.” Clinical trials will take place at 3 sites in Italy and France in order to compare the device’s readings with those of traditional medical devices. This type of technology is fast becoming a part of everyday life – Cardiio is an app that uses a smartphone’s camera to show a user’s heart rate and monitor blood levels. Another program developed by Javier Hernandez from MIT called SenseGlass uses Google Glass or other wearables to measure a person’s mood, which can help manage emotions.

Although Hernandez agrees that mirrors can be great for monitoring health, he stated that actually using them in this manner is more challenging than it sounds. “Accurate health assessments in natural settings are quite challenging due to many factors such as illumination changes, occlusions and excessive motion,” he said. Nonetheless, in future, it may very well become possible for your mirror to tell you who is the healthiest of them all.