Smart technology respects age

My father is eighty-seven and tech-savvy. I mean he has a smartphone that he uses for forwarding pictures and texts on Whatsapp and has his profile on Facebook. No, twitter timelines move too fast for him and he laughs, ‘This one needs me to be too precise and I like telling only long-winding stories.’ There is another side to his life as well – the rather tech-subdued one. He copies Sudoku puzzles in a notebook and then solves three or four every day. No, he isn’t comfortable with the game app. But I must add here that he is a disciplined fellow and even has a notebook where he meticulously jots down the blood pressure readings and his pulse rate every morning and evening. His tables have hand-drawn lines and the readings are his conversation ice-breakers.

‘Look at the readings two weeks back, Arvind. I think there was some kind of a surge in Systolic. But I’m not sure how serious it is. So I’ve brought my notebook with me.’

‘Good,’ I said, ‘but your notebook doesn’t have charts. They’d have made things so much easier for the consultant.’

‘Oh, now don’t expect me to be drawing charts. I don’t understand them at all, what with they being called pie and bar. Right? Eating and drinking are anyway banned for me. Ha! Ha!’

It isn’t easy to win an argument with my father because he will anyway fall upon age as his faithful final supporter. But I had an ace up my sleeve and I said, ‘I have a magical new gadget to show you.’

‘Another smartphone, I’m sure,’ he began, ‘but will it draw charts for my readings? I’m sure it will not. Smartphones aren’t so smart yet.’

This was when I brought out the new Omron Smart Elite HEM 7600T and let me just say that his first reaction was, ‘Another digital BP apparatus! I still believe those old ones where you pump in air manually.’ He paused and then remarked, ‘This one looks strange. Where is the tube for air?’

I told him that the HEM 7600T is a next generation device and has a tubeless technology that can be strapped on without one being particular about the position and direction. ‘The company calls this a 360-degree smart technology and it works with a single soft touch!’

Omron Smart Elite HEM 7600T_communicates through bluetooth

‘Looks impressive,’ he said, ‘tell me more.’

‘The device has an IntelliWrap Cuff that snaps on the arm,’ I said, ‘here, let me try this one you.’ He was surprised with the ease with which I was able to put the device on his arm and he insisted that he did it himself. And he did. Not once but many times, until I said, ‘This isn’t all. This device automatically sends the readings to my smartphone, keeps them safe, and even converts them into an easy chart that can be emailed to your doctor, if needed.’’

‘What? Come again? App? Now is this too hard for an eighty-seven year old man?’

‘No, not at all. Let me show you how.’ And I installed the Omron Connect App on his smartphone, paired it with the device, and even took a picture of the twinkle in his eyes when he saw the readings automatically transferred on his phone.

‘Magic, you had said. This is more than that.’

Well, for readers who are interested, let me add that the Omron Connect app is for Android and iOS users and installing it happens without a hitch. Bluetooth is the connecting medium and pairing it with the device is something that doesn’t need a person to be a technology expert. My father did it easily.

By the way, the device is a charmer in looks and has even won the Good Design Award given by the Japan Institute for Design Production. I wouldn’t have mentioned this because I am personally completely floored by the design, but then if the awarding organization has recognized over 44,000 designs in the past 60 years, this fact needs to be mentioned. Thus the device carries the G mark symbol which was founded in 1957 by Japan’s then Ministry of International Trade and Industry, currently the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

But let us get back to my story of an eighty-seven year old who turned to me and said, ‘Gift this one to me. I like it and I believe in its power.’

‘I can’t,’ I said, ‘this is a review device and has to go back.’

Well, not every story ends like a fairy tale, you see, but in this story my father went off to sleep with a smile on his face. And I am happy because I had finally come face to face with technology that did not intimidate age but treated it gently and with respect.

The Real Fiction Smart technology respects age . . “But let us get back to my story of an eighty-seven year old who turned to me and said, ‘Gift this one to me. I like it and I believe in its power.’ ‘I can’t,’ I said, ‘this is a review device and has to go back.’ Well, not every story ends like a fairy tale, you see, but in this story my father went off to sleep with a smile on his face. And I am happy because I had finally come face to face with technology that did not intimidate age but treated it gently and with respect.” . Read the complete post on my blog: https://passey.info/2018/04/smart-technology-respects-age/ . . #Omron #HEM7600T #BP #bloodpressure #digital #intelligenttechnology @omron_healthcareindia

A post shared by Arvind Passey (@arvindpassey) on Apr 5, 2018 at 6:57am PDT