Self-serve medical diagnostics

SoloHealth, a hi-tech health services company based in Atlanta, GA, announced today that it has secured $1.8 million in financing from private investors, including the AtlantaTechnology Angels (ATA) investment group.

SoloHealth’s inaugural product, EyeSite™, is a self-service vision testing kiosk for use in high traffic retail environments. Through sophisticated optical software and an interactive video interface, users can accurately assess their distance and near vision--free of charge. A printout indicates the results, provides eye health information, and refers the user to a participating eye care professional nearby. [ SoloHealth press release, April 22, 2008 ]

I'm convinced that self-serve medical kiosks are going to be big business. It's a no-brainer when you think about the shabby state of medical care in the U.S. and the fact that some 40 million are uninsured. What's fascinating about SoloHealth is that their entire business is centered around a single kiosk application. Admittedly, it's the optical technology and follow-up services that make it unique, but I think we'll be seeing more of these public health-testing kiosks as time goes on.

They're everywhere!

The funny thing about interactive kiosks is, once you start looking for them, they're everywhere. There's are three kiosks in my local Safeway—an ATM machine, a kiosk to apply for jobs at Safeway, and one in the pharmacy area that measures your blood pressure. At our nearby Irish pub, they have a gambling kiosk at the bar and a digital jukebox from which you can download music from the internet AND buy MP3 players and other gadgets. Clearly, they're hoping to tap into the market of drunks with credit cards who will probably receive their purchases in the mail and not remember buying them.

I was shopping at Macy's recently and they have a little kiosk where you can scan the price tag on your merchandise to find out what the actual price is (discounts are not always obvious, I guess) and there was a large, not-yet-functioning vending machine for iPod-related goodies. I'll have to back and check this out—it's interesting that Apple has moved into retail in such a big way, first with their terrifically popular Apple stores, and now with these kiosks.