I’ve been working on a few stories for the upcoming issue of Trib Total Media’s Caregiver magazine and the theme for the winter issue is technology. In my research for story ideas I came across a blog called The Medical Futurist that is full of information on the latest advancements in health and medical technology. It’s fascinating if a bit over my head at times, but I came across something he wrote on handheld food scanners. After doing some research I pitched it as one of the stories for the issue and last week interviewed Isabel Hoffman, the CEO of Tellspec, a Canadian company that’s developing  a handheld scanner for consumer use that will be available in early 2017.

The scanner is a spectrometer that uses cloud-based analytics to identify things such as calories, nutrients and contaminants. Initially, the scanner will be most beneficial to diabetics in order to accurately track sugar, carbs, glycemic index, etc., as well as people who are committed to eating clean. Ultimately they hope to expand the technology in order for users to be able to scan for allergens, etc., but their long-range goals are much loftier. They hope to spark of a vital change in how people eat and our ability as consumers to eliminate harmful chemicals and contaminants from our diets. I can’t wait to watch as this story unfolds over the coming months.

I also completed a few more stories for the Team USA site including a feature on figure skater Ashley Wagner, who, at the age of 25 is skating better than she has at any point in her career. She ended up winning the Skate America competition over the weekend, and it’s always nice when the athlete or team you feature in a preview is successful.