Sharp has developed a Health Support Chair to let the user relax while it takes a number of their vital signs quickly and easily. The chair itself is a redesign of the Emperor work chair and is not anything new or innovative. But the repackaging as a health tool is imaginative and practical. Sharp demonstrated this chair at the recent CEATEC convention in Japan earlier this month.
The chair lets you sit and relax and take your blood pressure, weight, pulse and temperature. These stats can be sent to your physician and/or stored and tracked over time. Sharp plans on adding videoconferencing to the chair so that the user can connect and talk to a physician for questions or comments on their vitals.
The chair would be a great addition to a public space, for example an airport or shopping mall. I like the idea that the chair promotes monitoring and wellness, allowing a user to track their vitals, store them and monitor themselves easily in order to keep well. Other information could easily be added to the chair, such as health information on nutrition, exercise and more.
Watch this video for more detail:
Sources:
http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/10/sharp_transforms_a_luxury_work/
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/09/sharp-health-care-support-chair/