The Sleeve Monitors Activity, Sleep, Nutrition, and Overall Wellness

It may look like an iPod or MP3 player, but the innovative new tool that dozens of health-conscious people in East Orlando are wearing is actually an armband called the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve. Developed out of a partnership between Florida Hospital and Welnia, the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve is designed to give people the tools they need to become healthier. Participants wear their armbands every day and download health information into their computer to monitor their goals and overall fitness.

“The feedback I got through the software (after I uploaded my armband and logged my food intake) kept me motivated to increase the amount of calories I burned daily through exercise. I loved that I could see my progress any time I wanted, especially before and after exercise. I have more energy, can now walk/ jog longer and faster, and my heart rate and blood pressure have gone down” said Lourdes Emanuelli, HealthSTYLE ^TM System pilot participant.

The sleeve, which weighs less than a MP3 player, rests on the upper arm and can be worn day and night, or just during workouts. When worn, multiple sensors gather physiological data on everything from quality and duration of sleep to activity levels and along with the interactive, web based software helps members who sign up for the HealthSTYLE™ program with lifestyle modification and disease prevention related to proper nutrition and exercise.

For instance, as a member is biking, the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve is recording calories burned, while jogging it tracks their steps, even while sleeping, the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve is silently working, recording the hours of restful sleep.

Before receiving their HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve, members undergo pre-assessment tests including a thorough lab panel, nutrition, health history and lifestyle analysis that contribute to a comprehensive baseline health snapshot. Once they start wearing the device, multiple sensors in the sleeve record additional physiological data and energy expenditure each day.

Members can create comprehensive reports ready for instant viewing on the web program by plugging the sleeve into any computer and downloading the information. They can also allow web viewing of these wellness progress sheets to their physician, fitness trainer, or concerned family members.

The nutritional software package to this program is another reason it is so unusual for the HealthSTYLE™ member which allows for a complete guide to better health. Nutritional information is monitored as members enter in their daily meals and snacks. The nutritional views are so detailed, they can show a member how much sodium, fiber, or saturated fat, intake that have achieved for the day or after each meal.

With the program, members receive a recommended daily meal plan to help them achieve their goals, and the meal portions and recommendations can be customized to the members food preferences. Using the activity reports, at the end of the day, members can clearly see graphs comparing their caloric intake versus calories burned. That is the formula for success. To help members reach their goals by providing support and guidance, they have access, health coaches, and wellness counselors through the program’s telephonic system.

“The HealthSTYLE™ is the most accurate device on the market for measuring and interpreting energy expenditure and lifestyle activity. It utilizes a patented process for interpreting calorie expenditure and burn called ‘sensor fusion’. This process involves collecting a range of body-data using four physiological sensors instead of a single sensor, which is what other calorie estimation devices such as pedometers and heart rate monitors rely on,” according to Dr. Clarence Smith, HealthSTYLE™ Program Medical Director .

The four sensors are: the accelerometer which measures physical exertion; heat flux which measures how much heat the wearer’s body is giving off; galvanic skin response which measures skin conductivity; and skin temperature which, in conjunction with data collected from the other sensors, can reveal the body’s core temperature trends that are effected by the level of a person’s physical exertion.

“It’s this multi-sensor approach that enables the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve to ‘see’ what the wearer is doing that makes the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve such a reliably accurate device for calorie expenditure and lifestyle activity estimation. Energy balance is simply the difference between the calories that we take in and the calories that we burn. We now have an objective measure for one half of this equation, says Dr. Smith.

Florida Hospital is the only hospital-based location in the United States where the HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve & Wellness Program is available. It can be purchased at Florida Hospital East Orlando or Florida Hospital Orlando’s Gift Shop, or by calling 1-866-493-5642, or by logging on to www.healthstylesleeve.com. The HealthSTYLE™ Sleeve is also being tested as a corporate model for companies who are committed to wellness in the workplace.

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