I'm studying medical science and I'm currently working on a project, about coming up with ideas for potential new medical innovations. This is all hypothetical, but I wanted to get your opinions as patients to see if you would actually find this invention useful.
Would you use a smart watch (similar to apple watch, fit bit etc) to track your sunlight (UV) exposure, and therefore vitamin d levels? The watch would be linked to an app to give you reminders about spending time in the sun if you haven't done enough that day. It could also tell you if you have spent too long in the sun. The results could also be shared with your doctor to help them know about your vitamin d levels.
I would love your honest feedback (positive or negative!) if you would wear a watch to track your vitamin d, to help manage or prevent osteoporosis.
Thank you!
Note: I know that increasing vitamin d is only one small part of osteoporosis treatment, and that vitamin d levels can be improved with medication as well as exposure to sunlight. The aim of this watch wouldn't be to "cure" osteoporosis, or eliminate the need for medication. It is simply a tool to help you track/measure your vitamin d exposure.
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Brilliant idea in my opinion.technology is moving so quickly and I suffered a brain injury and I can honestly say the biggest support tool I had was a gift of a Fitbit watch.I still use it almost five years later as it reminds me to get up off the sofa if I’ve been immobile for too long,it motivates me to increase my walking I went from 300 steps to 6000 steps as my Injury improved sometimes I’ve even hit 12000 steps on a good day.
Anything that can improve our quality of life is as big hit for me and your tool sounds very practical.I need to have regular blood tests done privately as I have p.a and one of the downsides to that is I suffer from low vitamin/ minerals because I cannot absorb from food because I have no intrinsic factor in my gut,the idea that something could help track my exposure levels for ViT d really does appeal to me so keep doing what your doing,it’s very worthwhile and a great idea.best of luck.
I agree with Diddlydot above, I think that would be a very useful tool to have and not only for osteoporosis. Too much exposure can be bad too.I remember buying wristbands that changed colour depending on how long you had been out in the sun. Trouble was they were only single use and they were plastic. I hate the feeling of sunscreen on my skin so knowing I’d had enough vitamin D then I could just stay out of the sun. So yes, an app linked to a watch or Fitbit would be great. Good luck with your project.
I don't think I'd use it, but please don't let that put you off if others are positive! My reason is that there isn't a straightforward link between sun exposure and Vitamin D manufacture. Everyone is very different, with skin colour and age in particular having a significant bearing on how much we make. You can also only make vitamin D from the sun when the sun is high enough in the sky, which is when your shadow is shorter than your body, and you need to avoid wearing sun screen. Of course it might be possible for this technology to tell you whether the sun is higher enough for the relevant rays to reach you. A few years ago I had a vitamin D blood test in April and again in August. I reduced my supplement during those months on days when I spent a lot of time in the sun in the middle of the day, expecting with all that sunshine that my levels would rise. They actually dropped by 20 points! It's recommended for everyone with osteoporosis to take a Vitamin D supplement all year round, and the only way to know how much you need is to get regular blood tests to measure and monitor your level.
I know what you mean, even a sunny summer topped off with a few weeks camping in the sunny south of France didn’t send my vitamin D levels into overdrive. Like you I’ve got to keep taking the pills. I would still be interested in knowing how much sunshine/radiation or whatever it is that I’ve been exposed to over a day - but I’m a bit of a gadget freak.
Yes I would love a watch like this. I do take vitamin D but am a bit uncertain as to how much I should be taking. Also I suffer from agoraphobia for which I am getting treatment and have just started to go outside again after 8 years so a reminder I need to spend more time outdoors would be amazing . Please do let us know how you get on and thank you for thinking of us.
If your unsure of dosage you could try using the “better you” D3/K2 oral spray you can buy from amazon.It bypasses the gut and gets straight to where it’s needed,I find it excellent for keeping my levels up.so sorry to hear of the agoraphobia and well done you for getting help with and making progress.best of luck
To be honest, living where I do (the Pennines in the north of England), we rarely get enough sunshine and warmth to be able to expose substantial areas of skin, so I would always take vitamin D supplements and wouldn’t find this watch very useful, sorry!
I’m in the U.K., so there is not always (hardly ever!) an abundance of sunshine, but in my opinion it certainly sounds a great idea and I would wear one.Thanks for all your hard work in medical science - it is appreciated !
I would be interested in that feature if it was included with the existing Fitbit features, but I wouldn't buy a new tracker purely to access that feature.I don't think it would be relevant to me insofar as monitoring vitamin D is concerned, however, because I take a daily supplement. But measuring sun exposure would be interesting from the point of view of mood, as I feel that my mood is greatly improved on sunny days - and especially so if I have spent time in the sun. It would be interesting to see actual exposure statistics and correlate with a mood assessment diary.
Yes, I think it's a great idea, and if the monitor could be incorporated into a smart watch or similar then it's a definite yes - wouldn't be keen on more than one watch!
I don't have osteo yet but it runs in my family I would definitely like a watch that did that but not a seperate one to my step counter. Another thing would be impact...if you could sense the impact for bones because that's meant to be good. I sometimes do stamping me feet just in case it helps but no way to know if I get enough impact or not when doing things maybe there could be a sensor of shock waves or something that could estimate if your activity was high impact the way the phone knows magically if I've been going fast? I'd love to use that watch for the mushrooms I have outside right now delevoping vitamin d as I don't jnow how long to leave them! So a mushroom sensor would also be cool!
Can it also have a warning for different skin types as to when you're going to get too much sun! Sometimes on a dullish day I have got burnt and not felt it. a sensor to tell me when to go inside as I've got enough would be very commercially viable I reckon! Gosh can I sign up and crowd fund it to get it on early realease I really didn't jnow I needed one till now but I'd honestly buy it right now.
My mom just told me there used to be a strip you bought that told you when you'd had enough sun for your skin type. In the 80s.
Vitamin D absorption and utilisation is very individual. A person can work all day in the sun and outdoors and still have vitamin D deficiency. I know from experience because I've seen that happen in people I know.
In the UK and Northern hemisphere, the sun is only high enough to create the UV exposure needed to process Vit D through skin between about April to Sept. So the amount of tine spent outdoors does not correlate to vitamin D levels and is likely to be misleading for a person and their doctor.
Vitamin D is stored during the summer months and then depleted during winter months and only blood tests will reveal how a person stores and depletes their vitamin D. So the level of light exposure is irrelevant to monitoring the amount of vitamin D available for use in any given month of the year.
Nothing wrong with prompting people to spend time outdoors as there are other benefits such as exercise and morning daylight for resetting the body clock for better sleep patterns.
Many health conditions can influence vitamin D levels and necessitate year around supplementation so I don't think your idea would be helpful to check or monitor vitamin D levels, storage or intake. Only a blood test can do that. Read up on vitamin D on the vitamin D society website and you'll get a better understanding.
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