CES 2018

"No Vomiting For Me!" isn't the catchiest of slogans to see on a press release at CES 2018. (Considering I had the flu for the first three days I was here in Las Vegas, I understand just how "catchy" vomiting can be.) Reliefband Technologies, though, is actually in the business of keeping people from throwing up—or, at least, doing the best it can to minimize the nausea that many people experience as a result of motion sickness or chemotherapy. Since my sister is currently undergoing chemotherapy, I stopped by the Reliefband booth to find out about the product's applications for cancer-treatment patients. (I'm getting one for her.) It turns out, though, that the new Reliefband 2.0's "wearable treatable" technology also has applications for treating nausea induced by extended use of augmented or virtual reality devices.

According to Reliefband:

Motion sickness occurs when there is a “sensory conflict” between what the eyes and ears are telling the brain. A conflict occurs when visual inputs report little movement while the balance organ, located in the middle ear, sends signals indicating the body is in motion. With Virtual Reality, this scenario is reversed. The brain has a built-in safety mechanism that interprets this “sensory conflict” as a sign that the body has been poisoned and instructs the stomach to throw up.

The Reliefband 2.0 applies the company's patented Neurowave technology that "creates accurately programmed pulses with highly specific waveforms, frequency and intensity to modulate the median nerve on the underside of the wrist. This precise activity (technically referred to as “neuromodulation”) uses the body’s natural neural pathways to block the waves of nausea produced by the stomach."

The new model includes a "J-shaped smart band" that makes it easy to put on your wrist and comfortable to wear over long periods of existing in alternate realities; has a "stunning design" that makes it wearable in "any social setting"—although, in AR and VR, no one cares what you're really wearing; includes hypoallergenic 31L Surgical Steel contacts; contains an intuitive display with 10 intensity settings; and has a built-in battery with approximately 17 hours of life on the mid-intensity level.

Reliefband 2.0 is expected to be available at the end of January, 2018 for $174.99.

Game on!