Can your smartphone help you quit smoking, or stop overeating?
Yes, according to our guest this week on the GeekWire radio show. We’re joined in the studio by Jonathan Bricker, PhD., a behavioral scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and led the first randomized, controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of smoking cessation apps.
His research is the basis for a smartphone app called “SmartQuit,” being developed by Seattle startup 2Morrow Inc. under an exclusive licensing agreement with Fred Hutch, announced this week. The project has landed a $250,000 grant from the Washington Life Sciences Discovery Fund, and the app is slated to be released later this year via companies, health plans and states.
Bricker talks with us about the plans for the app and other potential applications of the technology in the future, including methods of helping people stop overeating. He also gives us his take on wearable devices, health-related apps, and other ways that technology is aiming to make people more healthy.
The discussion with Bricker starts in the second segment, at the 8:00 mark, following our weekly news roundup. Topics this week include Amazon’s expansion of same-day delivery, a reality TV star’s decision to move her online education startup from New York to Seattle, and Redfin founder David Eraker’s new real estate startup.
Listen using the audio player below or directly via this MP3 file.
App of the Week: Vhoto, the iPhone app that scans your videos to automatically find the best still images.
Name that Tech Tune: The answer to last week’s challenge: Six Feet Under. Congrats to our winner, Michael Spellmeyer, randomly chosen from the pool of correct answers, who will receive a GeekWire shirt.
