RIDM: Accurate and simple health management, in your pocket

For health, what is important is not body weight, but body composition. At the same weight, someone with high body fat and low muscle mass will be vulnerable to health risks, decreased immunity and more rapid aging. Body composition also is reflected in body shape or visual appearance.

Even if you are at a healthy weight, a beer belly means an excess of visceral fat, which can increase risk of cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. In your 30s, muscle mass naturally begins to decrease. Starting at 40, if you’re physically inactive, total muscle mass can decrease up to 1% every year. Healthy development of muscle mass alone, can improve overall fitness and lower risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hip disease.

Analyze your body composition and see the results in an intuitive one-screen health report. RIDM analyzes the body even beyond basic statistics such as weight, body fat, & skeletal muscle.

Accounting for segmental lean, RIDM can pin-point imbalances in the body while also accounting for total water weight, skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate. A written report, briefly summarizes your body type and what lifestyle changes can benefit your overall health.

Monitor changes and set goals through the RIDM app. With RIDM, health data is broken down by category into easy to follow charts and graphs. By tracking changes to your body, learn what diet and exercises are most effective, specific to your body composition.

One-screen visuals track weight, muscle mass and body fat percentage separately. RIDM can track indefinitely and is only limited by your phone’s storage capacity. Want to track activity? Simply sync to your Google Health, iHealth app or FitBit and activity logs will be displayed directly on the RIDM companion app

Commercial BIA machines have been around since the mid-1980s. In the 1990s technological advancements in BIA, notably direct measurement of body segments and multi-frequency measurement, validated the accuracy of BIA to the clinical research community. However, while these two core technologies have been integrated into BCA scales, the limitations of mobile chipsets made these capabilities impossible in portable devices.

High-end BCA machines are priced at $5000 ~ $20,000 and gyms will often charge $15-$40 per-use. More consumer-friendly devices have since appeared in the form of smart scales or bands, but what they make up for in price, they sacrifice in accuracy. RIDM provides accuracy equivalent to professional-grade BCA machines for under the cost of two BCA readings.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), analyzes your body composition on the cellular level. By sending a small alternating current through the body and tracking electrical resistance, BIA is capable of measuring total body water, as resistance fluctuates based on the amount of water in the body. From this measurement, fat-free body mass, body weight and body fat can be derived.

Your body contains an incredibly large number of cells, made up of both intracellular and extracellular fluid. Lower frequency currents can only measure extracellular water. Meanwhile, higher frequency currents are needed to pass through cell walls measuring intracellular water mass.

As a measure of total body water, fluid build-up or edema, used to cause large inaccuracy in BIA analysis. However, multi-frequency measurement highly improves accuracy with the ability to gauge both extracellular and intracellular water mass. Whereas traditional BCA machines used a single frequency at 50kHz, RIDM operates across a range of five frequencies, alleviating discrepancies due to hydration levels.

The majority of BCA devices project fat percentage based on a singular scan of the upper or lower body. The results of these incomplete readings are then inputted into a set algorithm to estimate body composition as a whole.

The problem? These partial readings cannot account for individualized imbalances in the body. Nobody is 100% evenly distributed and imbalances occur between the right/left side and upper/lower body. RIDM’s unique segmental-lean measurement accounts for imbalances in the body by measuring across five body cross-sections

For monitoring changes to body composition, we recommend one session per day. Unlike fitness trackers or wearables, RIDM doesn’t need to be worn 24/7. Each session only requires a minute or so, so you can spend less time checking and more time doing. For best accuracy, try to be consistent with both time of measurement and measurement posture.

Compact and portable, RIDM allows you to check body composition just about anywhere. Measuring in at 2.28 (diameter) x .51 (width) inches and weighing in at an ultralight 32 grams, there’s always ample room in your purse, tote or backpack to carry RIDM.

With your smartphone, laptop, smartwatch, you already have enough devices to remember to charge. After one full charge, RIDM can provide enough measurements for nearly half a year. A micro USB cable will be included with RIDM for charging.

Easy-mode offers a one-step scan. Simply hold the first pose for 7 seconds. Measure in easy-mode for your daily quick scan.

Segmental-mode measures your body composition across five body cross-sections. In segmental-mode hold each pose for 7 seconds. The process can be completed in under one minute. Measure in segmental mode every week or so for a more in-depth analysis.

It’s YOUR fitness journey, so we definitely understand the need for privacy. Health data is never saved or sent to any remote server. With no printed reports, your data is only accessible by you through RIDM’s companion app. If you change phones, you can still retrieve your past health logs by utilizing data back-up on your RIDM app.

RIDM is already far along in development, with sensor testing and prototype assembly already complete. Previously, BCA devices were only available in the form of scales or bands. RIDM completely re-thinks what a BCA device can look like and how it can be experienced. Accurate health data in a device small enough to fit in your pocket.

RIDM’s case adds a playful accent to a minimalist and un-intrusive design. With an intuitive hook design, RIDM can be hung from any number of surfaces. Made of soft and pliable rubber, the hook case provides simple storage and a comfortable grip during measurement.

Upon a quick scan of Amazon comments for portable BCA devices, one of the most common complaints is frustration with WiFi or Bluetooth pairing. RIDM syncs effortlessly and instantaneously to both iPhone and Android smart phones through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).