Innovate Utah: NEW IDEAS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM UTAH COMPANIES

Salt Lake City startup Solace has released its flagship product, a huggable vibroacoustic speaker designed for natural anxiety relief. 

Born out of the pandemic and driven by a Bluetooth app on any smartphone or tablet, the cushion-shaped device is designed to be held close to the chest while a variety of music or other sounds are played. The Solace speaker is marketed to relieve anxiety, help with meditation, promote more restful sleep and encourage relaxation.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

The maker of the Solace speaker said the device passes low-frequency vibrations through the body to help users relax. It can be used as part of a morning routine, while going to sleep or when users feel overwhelmed or anxious. Solace has a thick silicone rubber skin with raised speaker holes to enhance its tactile touch and feel.

When the Solace speaker is connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone using the included app, it can play any of various sounds, such as vibroacoustic music, meditation music, healing tones, binaural beats and even a cat’s purr, or it can play any music selected by the user. The amount of vibration can be controlled separately from the middle and high frequencies.

“I have an autistic son, and I’m always looking for tools, toys — anything to comfort and chill him. [The Solace vibroacoustic speaker] was remarkable. Every school classroom should have one in a calming corner to help kiddos with anxiety. And for mamas out there with special needs kiddos, get one,” said Solace user Melissa B.

Lehi-based EasyPost, a multi-carrier shipping application programming interface (API) provider, has released its Carbon Offset APIthat allows shippers to calculate the carbon emissions from parcel delivery on any shipment and purchase carbon offsets to neutralize the carbon footprint from the shipment. The API is designed flexibly so that shippers can purchase the carbon offsets directly or display a carbon-neutral shipping option for their customers to select if preferred. “EasyPost has the mindset that every aspect of shipping should be easy. So when we learned many of our customers were looking to take action to reduce their carbon footprint from shipping, we prioritized building a solution for them,” said Justin Prostebby, EasyPost head of product. “And we are incredibly proud EasyPost will accelerate the industry going green as a result.”

Merit Medical Systems Inc., a South Jordan-based global manufacturer and marketer of healthcare technology and devices, has launched its SafeGuard Focus Cool Compression Device, an addition to its SafeGuardplatform. It is part of a broader cardiac portfolio that offers products and accessories necessary for cardiac rhythm management, electrophysiology and lead extraction procedures as well as interventional cardiac resynchronization therapy. The device provides compression over closed surgical sites which can assist hemostasis in patients with pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator pockets. “Our ongoing collaboration with physicians allows us to understand their specific clinical needs,” said Fred P. Lampropoulos, Merit Medical’s chairman and CEO. “The SafeGuard Focus Cool is the result of Merit’s fundamental drive to react quickly to these needs, innovating and delivering solutions that advance patient care.”

SocialClimb, a Lehi-based provider of healthcare marketing software that connects physicians with high-value patients, is now offering Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey collection and submission solutions. SocialClimb’s automated platform now enables customers to collect and submit CAHPS surveys much more easlily. The HIPAA-compliant data collection process is enabled through multiple partners and the SocialClimb platform provides access to comprehensive reporting that can then be properly submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) for compliance. “As practices look to the SocialClimb platform to attract new patients and improve patient experience, we are excited to round out our suite of survey offerings with CAHPS data collection,’’ said Ty Allen, CEO at SocialClimb. “It’s our mission to help healthcare organizations grow and improve their patient experience.”

Provo-based FileShadow, a file, photo, email and attachments archiving platform, has announced that it is extending its photo and file sharing to users outside of FileShadow through a new Website Collection Manager. A FileShadow user can now create website collections of documents, photos or videos and share them with anyone, regardless of where they are or if they are using FileShadow or not. Anyone inside or outside the FileShadow system can contribute files to Website Collections. “Now, FileShadow Collections allows individuals to contribute files and photos to a collection — anywhere at any time,”said Tyrone Pike, president and CEO of FileShadow. “Collections can be used in business, for genealogy, with photographers and clients, families and anyone who is collecting and sharing files. You can ensure your files are protected with FileShadow.”

Soft Cell Labs Inc., a St. George-based biotech company, has introduced a new test for complex or chronic urinary tract infections called Urinary Tract Microbiome (UTM). Using technology developed by medical diagnostics company ThermoFisher, the test employs polymerase chain-reaction, the process utilized in the COVID-19 test that Soft Cell and many other labs throughout the world have used since the beginning of the pandemic. UTM can detect 23 bacteria and one fungus known to be associated with chronic and recurrent urinary tract infections. “Our test is not affected by current antibiotic use and accurately detects a wider range of microorganisms than standard urinary tract infection tests. While other tests can take up to 30 hours of culturing time, ours detects harmful microorganisms without needing to culture them,” a company release said.

Qualtrics, an experience management platform based in Provo, has launched Qualtrics Quality Management, an AI-powered and human-assisted quality assurance solution that gives contact center leaders AI-powered insights on customer needs, agent effectiveness and overall performance so they can act quickly to improve the customer experience, reduce operational costs and compliance risk and better evaluate their agents’ performance. “Contact center teams must transform their quality assurance and agent coaching programs in order to increase customer satisfaction and agent effectiveness while reducing operational costs and compliance risk,” said Fabrice Martin, chief product officer for Qualtrics. “No other solution brings together every customer interaction, whether it is handled by an agent or a bot, on a single platform with automatic intelligent scoring, coaching insight and integrated workflows needed to provide real-time quality management.”

Salt Lake City-based Zagg, a global manufacturer and marketer of accessories for mobile devices, has introduced its Rugged Pro Connect case and keyboard for the Apple iPad 10.2, especially designed to withstand the rigors of the healthcare profession. Engineered to be durable, water-resistant and wipeable, the Rugged Pro Connect features interlocking keys that won’t pop off with repeated use, a snap-on screen protector and a detachable keyboard to accommodate different use environments. The device draws power from and transfers data directly to the iPad. “The ‘anything-proof’ design of the Rugged Pro Connect means this keyboard is water-resistant, protects against spills and can withstand being wiped down with medical-grade disinfecting products,” said Chris Ahern, CEO of ZAGG. “It’s ideally suited for everyone from healthcare professions to parents with children.”{/mprestriction}