What's inside the Relief Band?

Becky Stern is a maker living in NYC, publishing DIY projects about technology, and crafts from her Brooklyn studio.

00:00 Intro
00:18 How the Relief Band Works
01:43 DigiKey
01:58 Taking The Relief Band Apart
02:23 David Comes To Chat About The Electronics
04:46 Exploring the Circuit Board Components Close-Up
09:52 Diving Deeper with the Oscilloscope
13:40 The Shape of the "Zap"!
14:30 The Scan
15:49 Does The Zap Stimulate the Nerve Better?
18:00 Is It Worth The Cost?
19:18 Outro

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[multiplysixbynine]

The pair of batteries separated by a washer feels like an intentional effort to reduce the capacity of the device to sell more replacement units.

[devluz]

That was super interesting. I love seeing the insides of unusual devices like this.

[nafakchatsuru]

So couple points. Meclizine (what you take for motion sickness) comes in a chewable and a non chewable variety. I haven't used the model of relief band you broke apart, only the sport, but if you have chronic vertigo or nausea and have to wear it a lot you can actually forget you are wearing it. I do not know if the competitors feel the same either. I would love an open source version, hopefully someone will create one. As someone with chronic vertigo, the cost of the device gets to be prohibitive but it's a choice of being able to function even a little bit versus being stuck in bed. Having more cost effective versions would be great.

[netroy]

5:03 That zapping component is likely a high frequency transformer to create high voltages with such a small package.
BTW, you can get similar results (at possibly much lower cost) by using a TENS unit on your wrist or lower arm.
Then you could also use the TENS/EMS unit for other purposes like pain relief.

[timonsku]

On the pricing part, depending how its sold (medical or not) there could have been some significant cost for things like FDA certification but even as a welness device a part that generates a fairly significant voltage on the body has to adhere to some pretty strong saftey standards that can be a multiple of the R&D time of what "just the circuit" would cost to develop.
You don't want a fault in the software or hardware produce enough power that could cause nerve damage.

[alun]

I had no idea that that wrist stimulation thing actually worked! I always thought it was one of those bits of woo that had somehow gained traction. I might have to get one of these for next time I travel. Interesting stuff!

[devongsmith]

This band saved my wife from constant nausea during first trimesters of pregnancy.

[CyanTiger]

I love to challenge myself in finding data on things and this fun. Turns out, since this was an FDA approved device, I was able to find a document that says its output is 39.8v, 6ma, AC Sharp(??) wave. It lists the output as having a 300us phase duration, a 10us phase interval and a 500us pulse period at a frequency of 33hz. All values are ±0.5%. Thank you for taking the time to share.

[sanches]

Never seen your channel before, it was interesting to see inside of the bracelet. A termination resistor (20k or so) would've been a good idea if you wanted to see a more exact pulse shape. These hv things show some strange transients under no load at all.Forgot to say: Thanks for making this video i really liked the style of the video you're both contributing to it being interesting a lot:)

[CalebKraftmakes]

it works?! I may have to get one. I get motion sick on boats and in VR. Great video as usual!

[dcallan]

conformal coated for the stomach acid?
I have a spinal cord stimulator implant fitted that sends shocks down my legs. The current one is rechargeable via a wireless coil. But one of the others had a lifetime battery that lasted 5 years, I wanted to keep my old ones but the company (medtroinic) insist they have them sent back. I guess the shocks must be very low current to last 5 years.

[lexieprice]

Can you please do a teardown of a Premier? I'm curious if I could replace the lithium ion battery.

[NiHaoMike]

Is it effective against motion sickness caused by shaky videos?

[jmg]

I liked the birthday cake analogy. I'm betting that you're a wonderful teacher, Ms. Stern.

[mikerudy]

Do you know where I can get red plastic holder for

[RAWSTEINE]

Becky having a issue popping the battery out any suggestions?

[Ryan_Tidwell]

What did you use to "scan" the device to see inside the blob?

[lillywho]

I hope this isn't a scam like those colour blind glasses?