“Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.”  Oliver Wendell Holmes

This is what happened when clinicians, engineers and scientists came together, motivated to address a common problem made visible by the Covid-19 pandemic. Face touching is a frequent activity that we all undertake, usually without realising it. Touching our faces can spread bacteria and viruses.

A STaR Centre spin-out company, Elbaware is a New Zealand based tech start-up that has developed a novel solution to the problem of face touching. FaceHAP is a smart arm wearable with face touching alerts.

We all touch our face about 20 times per hour, and mostly without knowing it. Founder and Chief Medical Officer Professor John Windsor and Founder Dr Adrian Ng featured on Seven Sharp last week, showcased the innovative device that potentially changes this behaviour. There is nothing on the market that currently addresses this risk. Check out the Seven Sharp video to find out more.

TVNZ Seven Sharp Video