If you could invent one specific thing, what would it be? Although simple, this question has led to the creation of several unique inventions throughout the previous centuries.

When Dr. Dave Rabin set out to answer this question, he had one thing in mind. Dr. Rabin had been studying chronic stress for nearly 15 years. In 2014, he studied ways to effectively treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in patients at the University of Pittsburgh.  He wanted to provide the human body a way to recover, or “bounce back,” from stressors they may have been exposed to. Of course, he wanted this invention to be non-invasive to give the end-users the ability to feel safe without doing much work. His research was what first sparked the idea of Apollo. Dr. Rabin and his wife, Kathryn Fantauzzi, founded Apollo in 2017, and their invention began to soar.

“I’ve always been fascinated by resilience.”

Dr. Rabin mentioned that he always had a fascination with our body’s resilience, or ability to overcome obstacles and struggles we’re faced with. With his passion truly lying in treating PTSD, he wanted to revolve his invention around Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Exposure, otherwise known as CBTE. CBTE focuses on the alteration of thoughts and actions with the ultimate goal of treating various disorders or diseases.

Developing the Concept

While working with Dr. Greg Siegle at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Rabin had an idea that they could interfere with these stress loops in the brain. Dr. Rabin and his team found they can interrupt these stressors or brooding by using safety signals in the body, such as touch, massage, or music. Dr. Rabin mapped the pathway from the skin to the brain using touch to produce oxytocin. Oxytocin is a healthy hormone our body produces that helps us feel safe.

Using low-frequency vibrations, they developed the technology to help reduce anxiety and stress, which became the Apollo wearable. The frequencies were oftentimes derived from music, and the concept was for patients to feel them rather than hear them so that they weren’t distracting. Ultimately these frequencies help to calm us and make us feel safe. “There are certain rhythms we’ve developed in the lab that works with nearly 95% of people”.

Dr. Rabin focused on creating the Apollo wearable directly on this concept of CBTE. He wanted to help induce the feeling of safety through frequencies that the wearable would send off.  It is like always having your therapist with you or someone holding your hand or hugging you on a bad day.

Apollo Today

What once started as an idea to treat PTSD is now being studied to treat diseases and disorders, such as autism, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and so much more. According to their research, “Apollo helps to regulate our circadian rhythm.” If you’re unaware, circadian rhythm is our body’s natural ability to regulate our internal sleep-wake cycle.

A common problem Dr. Rabin addressed was how individuals wake up and immediately drink coffee or hot tea to provide themselves with the caffeine needed to get through the day. However, by the time they try to go to bed, they often need to take some sort of sedative to help them sleep because the caffeine is still currently in their system.

Once this becomes a constant cycle, our circadian rhythm does not work properly. However, through the use of the Apollo wearable, individuals who previously lived the aforementioned lifestyle noted that it helped them sleep when they wanted to sleep and be present when they wanted to be awake. The wearable enabled them to eliminate the need for some medications and caffeine and helped them function better throughout their day.

Lack of Physical Touch During COVID-19

An important thing to note is that especially during these trying times with the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lack of human touch. This absence of touch is having a drastic impact on people’s mental health. Touch deprivation can impact our psychological and physical health, and Apollo has recognized this.

Their wristband helps provide touch sensations to the user, thus helping them maintain their health, both physically and psychologically. Human touch is essential to our overall wellbeing, as it helps to promote positive mental health, and can even impact our digestive systems or our immunity to illness. With the lack of human touch, especially in the current environment, the Apollo innovation is beneficial now more than ever.

“It is a new generation of wearables.”

When discussing any roadblocks Dr. Rabin had stumbled through, he answered by stating that the Apollo wristband is a part of “a new generation of wearables.” He addressed saying wearables today passively provide data. It’s up to you to analyze the data and make the appropriate changes in your life.

The difference between Apollo and other wearable devices on the market is that Apollo actively changes your physiology without you ever having to do anything. This is viewed as a positive feature within the wearables industry. It’s difficult to explain this technology to someone since it is new. He felt that his biggest obstacle was explaining this new technology to others in a way they could understand and would want to be a part of.

Advice to Current Inventors

When asked what his biggest advice would be to current inventors, he stated, “surround yourself with people who know a lot more than you do.” There will always be things you’re good at, but there are also several things you will still need to learn. By surrounding yourself with others, you’re exposing yourself to a plethora of knowledge that otherwise wouldn’t be available to you. Ask questions and learn from the answers that others give to you. Dr. Rabin advises, “You can’t possibly have a grasp on everything unless you take the time to learn from others.”

If you want to learn more about the Apollo wristband or purchase one, please visit their website here!