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Listen to your liver Your liver: it’s always there for you. It silently deals with every beer, gin and questionable shot you throw at it. Never judging, never shaming you…until now. Canada's Let's Drink Better campaign has created a humorous and engaging way of getting young people to track and limit their alcohol intake with a new chatbot. By personifying the liver, My Liver aims to help young people curb their drinking habits by giving the liver a voice. You can tell it how many drinks you’ve had, and it’ll estimate your blood alcohol level, give a weekly report of your alcohol intake and test how drunk you are through simple questions. It can even evaluate your hangover the morning after – and send you a picture of your puffy, hungover self when you’re at the bar the next night. Ouch. Turns out your liver is pretty resentful about all you’ve put it through over the years, and not afraid to tell you about it.

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Now that’s VaGenius! If you’re an avid Digi follower (we know there’s one out there…right?) you might remember when we covered the PERIFIT device and video game that helped women strengthen their pelvic floor muscles. If you didn’t, GREAT, because we’re about to cover something very similar – a soon to be released Kegel fitness and tracking solution called Vagenie. Similar to PERIFIT, VaGenie will allow women to play video games using their pelvic floor muscles as the control system. The LA-based start-up has, however, taken this idea to another level with a fully integrated app that will provide biofeedback training, expert coaching, supportive engagement and tangible results so users can track and chart their progress. The founder has explained it as a “Fitbit for your ladybits,” so we’re gonna run with that! If this tickles your fancy (excuse the pun) Read more here: http://vagenie.co/

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Teaching kids to play their cards right Remember the food pyramid? There’s probably nothing less entertaining for children than memorising it top to bottom based on how nutritious and healthy foods are. In an attempt to change this, Markonne Pharmaceuticals have developed a new Role Playing Card Game entitled The Pyramid War. The foods from the pyramid have been transferred to playing cards and had values assigned to them based on their nutritional value. Healthy food beats junk food if you play your cards right. The clear goal of the game is to educate kids on healthy choices without them even knowing. You might be surprised when they ask for the fruit bag next time you’re at a fast food chain! Read more here: http://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/direct/pyramid_war

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Gaming for good It’s not often we hear positive reports in the media about the use of video games but, for some schizophrenia patients who don’t respond to medication, it could be an unlikely form of therapy. A small pilot study was undertaken on individuals who experienced threatening verbal hallucinations every day as a result of a more active auditory cortex. Whilst in an MRI scanner, patients played a video game which required them to move a computerised rocket using mental strategies. Results showed that, by playing the game, they were able to “turn down” the voices they were hearing and learn to cope with them better. Although a small study, this digi-approach to schizophrenia treatment marks a new method of approach with the potential to improve daily life for many patients. Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43003378

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Crypto who? It’s a topic most of us can’t quite get our heads around, but we all have that friend of a friend who’s invested in cryptocurrency and “made a fortune off Ethereum coins”. To us, it sounds much more like a toxic chemical than any kind of investment opportunity but hey! It’s 2018 and times are changing. In order to stay on top of this fad, Unicef France became one of the first brand’s to actually use cryptocurrency for good. In one of their recent campaign’s, the organisation launched an online tool that asks PC gamers to mine cryptocurrency in order to generate monetary donations for children in Syria. It’s specifically targeted at this tech savvy population, not only because they actually understand the concept of digital mining, but also because their hardware has the specific capabilities to do so. The tool Game Chaingers can generate donations of $2-3 a day without any extra effort. The user just has to download the software and then let it “mine” in the background. Sounds much less strenuous than mining with shovels and draglines! Check out the video to see if you can wrap your head around it!

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Siri, what’s my blood sugar level? Incidence of diabetes is on the rise, and yet taking your blood sugar measurements if often still a clunky process. But what if diabetics could measure their levels with their phones? The Dario kit is a small, portable device which plugs into your phone, and then, using a specially made app, tracks your blood glucose levels over time. Your measurements can be shared with your doctor, and in the event of a hypoglycaemic episode, it can text your next of kin, letting them know your location and your glucose levels. The app also offers a way to measure carb intake, to help diabetics stay on top of their diet. The device is discreet, quick, and widely available.

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Smile for this healthy selfie While a non-issue for some, the battle for clearer skin is a struggle for many, filled with expensive lotions and potions that promise to leave you loving the skin you’re in. It can take years to find your perfect product and even then there’s no guarantee that will work forever… Say hello to the next generation of skin care with Neutrogena’s SkinScanner smartphone tool and Skin360™ app. Simply attach the SkinScanner tool to your smartphone and allow the sensors to track your skin’s health, both above and below the surface. Your unique skincare data will then be sent to the Skin360™ app, which provides an analysis of your skin health, as well as personalised advice such as a skin care routine and product recommendations. Who knew a selfie could be so smart?!

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Let the boys do the talking How do you break down the tampon taboo and get first time users educated on toxic shock syndrome? Go to the audience that knows the least and get them to talk about it of course! In this hilariously cute campaign by Nett, the French sanitary product brand, a group of ignorant young boys amusingly attempt to explain how to use tampons. The comedic value received a great level of engagement on Facebook pulling in over 16.2K comments, of which 99% were positive - a great achievement considering the amount of Facebook trolls these days! More importantly, it got their target audience (young girls) chatting about the topic and asking questions on the Nett Snapchat account. With the open dialogue, Nett hope to reduce the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome and hopefully brew some well-educated boyfriends in the process! Watch the video here: https://vimeo.com/242659897

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Safety first It’s great news that drink driving is on the decrease, but did you know there’s a new culprit in town causing a similar number of road accidents? Thanks to our ever increasing digital dependency, texting whilst driving has become one of the most common causes of driving related injuries and fatalities. In response to this dangerous habit, Audi have been driving forward an initiative to make roads safer. The Audi Safety Code is an extract of computer code which can be added to any website for free. Using GPS data, it determines whether users are travelling over 20km/hr and blocks access to sites until users confirm they are not actually driving the vehicle. This initiative is spreading awareness of this real-world problem, with the added benefit of saving some lives on the way!

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DrugStars, it's a win-win! Make a difference, not only to yourself, but to others every time you take your medication or vitamins with the new DrugStars app. The free app will donate money to charity whenever you take your medicine. Once you download the app you will be asked to input your weekly medication routine, it will then remind you to collect your ‘stars’ once you have to take your dosage. Not only does DrugStars makes it very easy to stay on track of your own health but it also encourages you to help others in need as you can donate your ‘stars’ to specific charities. DrugStars will then convert these stars to money and give this to the charity of your choice. This is what we call the ultimate ‘win-win’! Find out more here: https://www.drugstars.com/

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Help stop the blood clock Blood loss after childbirth is the single leading cause of maternal death worldwide, with at least one mother dying every 6 minutes from post-partum haemorrhage a year. The WOMAN trial found that tranexamic acid, if readily available, could cut down the number of deaths by a third! With the need and passion to share this information the WOMAN trial involved an obstetrician by day and mathematician/handyman by night, to create a piece of art that graphically illustrates the amount of blood loss women lose before they bleed to death. ‘The Blood Clock’ is an incredibly well designed and confronting work of art that is engineered to complete its full 360 revolution in 6 minutes (signifying another death). What makes this clock tick is the blood that trickles through a glass cylinder dropping in to a baby’s bath and lifting back up to make the clock turn. The powerful video is raising awareness through the campaign page and social media channels. Policies are already changing globally to make sure women are treated with tranexamic acid to cut down these preventable deaths. Find out more here: http://womantrial.lshtm.ac.uk/

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Shattering Schizophrenia Stigma’s The three S’s that, when combined, are an incredibly difficult challenge to crack! But SARDAA, the American non-profit organization working to improve the lives of people living with schizophrenia, decided that this was a challenge they were willing to accept. By taking a different approach to Schizophrenia awareness in their Hearing Voices of Support campaign, they were able to breakdown the stereotypes surrounding the sufferers of this disorder. The initiative ensured it only shared positive stories spoken by schizophrenia patients across a variety of digital platforms. These encouraging, support stories forced people to view this stigmatised disease in a different light AND, speaking of light, the organisation also pulled together an incredible art installation using light and sound during Schizophrenia Awareness Week. By creating a number of individual spotlight sound pods within a large dark room it simulated a common symptom of the patients - hearing voices. The nature of the videos led to 80% of attendees confirming they want to do more to help schizophrenia sufferers. Click the link below to watch how the interactive art installation had mental health benefits not just for the people affected, but also for the visitors to the gallery!

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Feeling blue? Meme too! In just a few months, a little blue meme character became the most successful unbranded pharma Facebook page EVER. The big-headed recluse called Lighter Blue was amazingly able to connect millions of similarly depressed and isolated individual’s and got them to speak openly about their feelings on social media - a platform that was very rarely used for such purposes before. The 100+ pictures and videos were cute, humorous but most importantly relatable to so many. As part of Takeda Pharmaceuticals campaign they also had an educational website that sufferers could access through their Facebook page along with a fantastic, picture book for psychiatrist offices!Check out the cute and incredibly effective camapaign site: https://www.lighterblue.com/?utm_medium=banner&utm_source=FacebookMedia&utm_campaign=LighterBlueFB#real-people

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I got 99 problems but a stutter ain’t one Teens nowadays are notorious for always being on their smartphones and for kids who stutter (5% of children in the Netherlands!) this constant digital communication means they are avoiding speaking in real life. Vodafone have developed a new app to help children speak more fluently and build their self-confidence, without the need to part from their smartphone. In collaboration with famous Dutch hip-hop artists and the Stutter Foundation, Get the Flow consists of exercises that provide rhythm and guidance in an engaging way. Filled with tongue twisters and alliterations, changes in tempo and the functionality to recognise users’ progress, the app provides a clear change from the typically boring exercises kids who stutter are used to. Over 70 stutter practices in the Netherlands are now using the app as an official method to help kids get the flow!

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Give the gift of life this Christmas Here in the UK, it seems there are only a small number of us who actually know our blood type and, more often than not, this is only as a result of a serious hospital visit (or two). In an effort to spread the word and gain more donations, NHS Blood Donation has created a new educational video to teach people about the different blood types and how they can find their match. With the tagline “You’re somebody’s type” the illustrated video educates viewers on which blood types are compatible and inspires them to go ahead and donate. https://www.blood.co.uk/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=animationtypedec4

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A santa hat can't compete with this helmet...

Athletes spend their lives learning how to improve their performance, both physically and mentally, and a recent study undertaken by the car manufacturer, Ford, has provided some insight in to just how much mental preparation it really takes to be the best. Using a newly developed brain scanning helmet, Ford have read electrical signals during races following varying amounts of mental preparation and studied the differences, which turn out to be quite substantial! Through the use of visualisation techniques and breathing exercises, it seems that races really can be won or lost in the mind. Check out the article below for some mind blowing Christmas reading. https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/12/the-unique-racing-helmet-that-monitors-the-brain/

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We wish you a Merry Sweaty Christmas It’s that time of year again and we all know it’s way too easy to pack on a few festive pounds… and THAT IS OK! But if you (or someone you know) lives in Montreal and you’d like to score yourself a sweet, sweaty deal on a Christmas gift you may want to consider trading in the mince pies for a quick staircase run. The active wear store, Sports Express, have installed a thermal imaging device conveniently located at the top of the stairs leading in to their store. The device scans your body and rewards the customers with different discounts depending on how warm/sweaty they are. This is your last chance to make santa's good list, get moving and see much you could save. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iskq3HEuO2I