Minder: A Watch for Panic Attack Sufferers

Panic attacks affect a large portion of the population, and while there are techniques that you can use to help calm yourself down, they are difficult to accomplish while actually having a panic attack yourself. In fact, it’s difficult to even recognize the symptoms, potentially causing sufferers to go into a full-blown panic when it could have been averted if recognized earlier.

To combat this destructive cycle, maker Austin Marandos came up with an excellent solution in Minder, a wristwatch that contains visual instructions as to different techniques that one can use when suffering with such an attack. When the watch’s panic button is hit, or if it detects a spike in heart rate (still under development), its OLED screen lights up, outlining the different methods that can be used to instill calm. It can even provide haptic vibrating feedback when appropriate. The idea is that the wearable can be a non-intrusive tool to immediately help those who suffer from this affliction, and a device to allow trained professionals to monitor patients as needed.

The Minder prototype shell is 3D-printed and runs off of an Arduino-compatible Qduino Mini. This dev board is not only small enough to fit into the custom case, but includes a connector for a LiPo battery which provides a convenient source of power.

Be sure to see the video below for a demonstration of how the watch works, as well as how it was designed.