A Twin Cities tech company creating a bracelet to make users aware of behaviors like nail-biting has found a new mission during the COVID-19 outbreak: getting people to stop touching their faces.
Minneapolis-based HabitAware offers a device called Keen, a bracelet created for those struggling with trichotillomania (hair-pulling), dermatillomania (skin-pulling) or other body-focused repetitive behaviors. When Keen detects repetitive motions, it vibrates softly to alert the wearer.
In December, HabitAware received around $225,000 from a division of the National Science Foundation to continue developing Keen. Keen was also recognized by TIME Magazine for being one of the Best 2018 Inventions. HabitAware won the Minnesota Cup in 2018 and was one of Minne Inno's 2019 Startups to Watch.
The company estimates that about 4% of Americans are affected by body-focused repetitive behaviors. But in the last few months, the amount of people concerned about touching their faces has skyrocketed.
Currently, more than 15,000 Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. One of the most important steps someone can take to prevent the spread of the virus is not touching their eyes, nose and mouth, according to the Center for Disease Control.
"I think the whole world understands the gravity of the situation," HabitAware co-founder Aneela Idnani Kumar told Minne Inno. "But realistically, it is so hard to 'just stop' something you don't know is happening."
Kumar said that in recent weeks, her company has received notes from users and physicians who have been using Keen to minimize face touching to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"Programming Keen to teach people to stop touching their face in general just makes sense," said Dr. Job D'Souza, an emergency physician in Washington, D.C. "The less we touch our faces, the less likely we are to get sick."
Other healthcare professionals have told HabitAware that they're using the device to cut back on face-touching in their dangerous work environments.
Kumar said that she hopes the situation will help more people empathize with those fighting body-focused repetitive behaviors.
"For me, the silver lining is that we as BFRBers finally have something that the world can relate to," she said. "I think this will help us be more comfortable in seeking support from friends and family, and shift from hiding to healing."
