Augmented reality positioned to disrupt children's health

It’s no secret that the healthcare industry has been using AR in operating rooms, medical education and other areas. But AR has never been used before to educate and entertain children in a way that involves them at a young age to understand good health practices through next generation apps based on decades of successful healthcare research and technology.

Stayhealthy is a company which boasts a team that includes Governor Tommy Thompson, former Department of Health & Human Services Secretary, now Chairman of Stayhealthy; Dr. Colin Hill, PhD. Biochemistry and Radiation Biology and emeritus Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Immunology and Microbiology at USC; John Collins, CEO of  Stayhealthy, Inc.; John Demoleas, Associate Director Development and External Affairs Staten Island University Hospitals Northwell Health and Executive Director Staten Island University Hospital Foundation-and others who regard health as the most critical problem faced by the US today and share a passion to make 'America healthier'.

The company has spent the last twenty years aggressively pursuing science-based research to define the best way to use advanced technologies to give people a better understanding of their own personal healthcare.

With a new generation of apps that revolutionise how health and wellness is viewed and experienced-from children to adults-the company is now using augmented reality in apps that are very different from any other mobile experience. Using the power of AR, advanced research and statistics, and with a focus on entertainment and education.

The company is so dedicated to continuing its innovative approach to healthcare that they acquired Augmently, an augmented realism creative agency in March.

Based on years of studies, Stayhealthy, has launched a dynamic new mobile experience for children called Color Quest: an Art Adventure - a first-of-its-kind AR driven app. The app is designed to engage them through experiential landscapes, activities, and interactive steps that get them involved in understanding their own bodies in a fun and educational way.

Through its use of AR, Color Quest delivers characters and interactions that draw children into a game-like setting without prompting them they are, in fact, learning about their own health in addition to playing. This is the first of a suite of personalised AR healthcare apps to be introduced by the company in 2019.

The question here is how does AR affect a child’s ability to understand their own health? Stayhealthy is betting that creating a more compelling learning experience for children will lead to a decrease in the growing child obesity epidemic that has been sweeping the country for years.

Color Quest provides children a great way of staying healthy and one that never existed before. Prior to Stayhealthy’s debut healthcare app, no one has produced an app that includes augmented reality with the end goal of impacting a positive change in childhood health and wellness.

Animated characters that include fruits, vegetables, and bodily organs (such as oranges, carrots and heart), entertain while educating as a child works through all the engaging activities and coloring experiences. Once coloured on a mobile device, the Color Quest characters are activated through augmented reality technology (AR).

For example, a child can colour a heart which will lead to a visual and audio prompt with facts about how the heart actually works. The character can then be placed in a real-world environment anywhere the child chooses. As the character comes to life in the actual colours used by the child, it creates a personal experience for the child - supported by audio - and not offered by any other app on the market. The inevitable result is an entertaining experience that drives the child’s desire to want to learn more. The app leaves the child with life-long learnings and understanding that lead to healthier living as they grow into adults.

Stayhealthy is an engagement based technology company that uses FDA cleared technologies and devices to track and help users change their health for the better. The company’s current innovation in healthcare screening is founded on its expanding use of the mobile platform to screen for excess body fat and other conditions.

This spring, Stayhealthy is introducing its underlying patented BFI (Body Fact Index) technology, which represents a highly accurate alternative and challenge to BMI. Unlike BMI which is noted for its inaccuracy, the BFI is up to 98% accurate. The company’s patented augmented reality technology is incorporated into this soon-to-be released app and offers the additional advantage of not requiring any wearables.

The BFI app is a game changer that is destined to play a pivotal role in giving consumers an all-inclusive experience in managing their own health, measuring excess body fat, and creating a healthier lifestyle.

Years of science-based research, augmented reality tech, and a team of healthcare experts have allowed Stayhealthy to develop a link between the physical world and the digital world in a way that no other company has yet to innovate. The use of augmented reality in this first generation app has the real potential to impact teaching and learning in a more significant way than ever before, while entertaining children on a path of healthier living. The result of healthier living is that it brings down healthcare costs, pharmaceutical costs, overall hospital costs, and more. 

Stayhealthy believes that if they can engage children to learn while playing with AR, they’ve taken the first step toward a healthier America. If the trend of adverse health conditions related to excess body fat remains unaddressed, statistics show that the current generation is the first that is due to have shorter lifespans than its parents.

The Stayhealthy team is dedicated to changing that current trend with its continued focus on personalised technology that supports better health and wellness.