CalmiGo has launched the second generation of its mental health device that helps stop people from having panic attacks or other anxiety.

Clinically tested, the CalmiGo Plus device and its new mobile app leverage gaming technology to improve outcomes faster and effectively manage anxiety every day, said Adi Wallach, CEO of New York-based CalmiGo, in an interview with GamesBeat.

She said CalmiGo is the first and only mental health platform that provides immediate relief and long-term care to users suffering from anxiety, post traumatic stress discorder (PTSD), and panic attacks.

CalmiGo Plus is a breathing device that helps you get control of your breathing when you’re having a panic attack. It helps manage anxiety within minutes and track data insights, Wallach said.

The new platform includes both the CalmiGo device and new app that leverages gaming technology to improve outcomes faster and effectively manage their anxiety each day. 

The habit-forming game in the app was developed from principles in psychology to aid users in the healing process. The app also creates individual treatment plans and provides rewards to further encourage users on their journey of managing their anxiety. The app has gaming features within it that encourage people to keep on using the device, and the clinical efficacy of the game device was 60% higher than the version that did not use it. Those results are early, but CalmiGo is building out the application now.

The app is easy-to-use and intuitive so that anyone — of any age or background — can benefit from it. CalmiGo developed the app as an optional add-on for users with various preferences — some will prefer the gaming features while others can use the progress monitoring offering, a timer with relaxing music, or just use the app every two weeks just to sync the device.

This ensures that every user, regardless of their preference, can benefit from the app and expedite their healing. The CalmiGo app also enables an accessibility mode for screen readers to make access available to anyone.

“Oftentimes anxiety and panic attacks can cast a heavy burden on individuals and as a consequence they avoid situations and places and live in fear of the next attack,” said Wallach. “CalmiGo is designed to empower users with a device so that they can go anywhere knowing that they have relief in their pocket at all times and now the new app creates the  habit of regular use effortlessly.”

The CalmiGo device is a scientifically-proven device that reduces stress hormone levels and provides immediate drug-free relief, enabling users to step out of the vicious anxiety cycle and regain control of their life – no matter where they are located.

The device is a unique portable exhaler developed with patented technology that combines sensors and machine learning to regulate breathing patterns. It learns each user’s individual breathing patterns in real time and provides guidance and feedback to help extend the length of exhalation between breathing cycles.

Gradually extended exhalation activates the parasympathetic system, which counteracts the “fight or flight” response triggered by the sympathetic nervous system in high-stress situations.  

To date, over 100,000 users have benefited from the first version of CalmiGo. The company recently created availability to more users through payment plans, FSA/HSA plans, and key partnerships.

Additionally, CalmiGo collaborated with healthcare providers, insurance plans, and healthcare institutions and clinics that subsidize the device for their patients, including a unique partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The subscription plans range from $199 to $349, depending on the length of time for the subscriptions. To access the app, visit the iOS app store or Google play.

The team has 18 people split between multiple locations, and it has raised $18 million to date.

Wallach said that the founders saw that the level of stress for some people is so severe that they need not only to be diagnosed but immediately addressed so they can calm down. And this is not a matter of just talking to someone, but integrating behavior into their daily routines using scientifically tested methods.

“This is scientifically proven, very easy to use, and easy to integrate into the daily routine or whenever they need to use it, wherever they are,” Wallach said.

The device helps people realize when they are hyperventilating or otherwise panicking and they need to slow down their breathing. It uses well-established methods for calming the nervous system. Breathing is one of those. But it also unleashes smells that people associate with pleasant memories, like the smell of lavender that can help people fall asleep. By looking at the lights on the device, users can tell how to elongate their exhaling in a way that activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This can work whether the user is six years old or 65 years old, Wallach said. The device is designed in a way to gently stimulate all the senses (except taste) in a treatment dubbed multisensory stimulation.

Patients are often told to listen to a voice or look at a picture if they’re feeling overwhelmed. That detaches the user from the state that is overwhelming them.

The first device came out in 2018, and the company has been able to release multiple studies of clinical research showing the improvement in patients, who have lower stress, less anxiety and fewer episodes. Then the company worked on the plus version and developed the app. Since the device is classified as a “low-risk device,” it does not require FDA approval.

For fusion power aficionados, hitting “breakeven” is something of a Holy Grail: the point at which a fusion reaction produces more power than was required to ignite it. Only one scientific experiment, at the National Ignition Facility, has accomplished that feat, and it took over a decade of tweaking the system to achieve the monumental result.

“The day of the NIF result was, obviously, this incredibly celebrated scientific result. They all deserve Nobel Prizes,” Benj Conway, co-founder and CEO of Zap Energy, told TechCrunch. “But you know, the day after, the question is, well, so what? What next?”

And while the NIF has managed to improve upon its first result, its device is something of a dead end. It was meant to probe the limits of physics, not sell power to the grid.

For a startup like Zap, “so what” needs to have a better answer.

Zap’s answer, so far, is a new device it calls Century, for which it recently raised a $130 million Series D. After keeping Century under wraps for several months, the startup gave TechCrunch a peek under the hood, sharing exclusive details about its operation and what it hopes to learn by using it.

Zap is taking a unique approach to fusion power known as sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch. Instead of using magnets or lasers to squeeze the plasma, it sends a bolt of electricity through a plasma stream. That current generates a magnetic field which compresses the plasma — the pinch — and ends up with fusion. The company had been studying the phenomenon through a series of devices at its facilities in Washington State.

But Century isn’t just another physics testbed, Conway said. 

“Our focus is not just on physics, but also on systems engineering. We’re not just a plasma physics company. We’re developing all of the key enabling technologies that we’re going to need to deliver commercial fusion. We think that doing all of this in parallel — everything all-together, all-at-once type thing — is the fastest way to actually deliver a commercial product,” he said. “Century is the incarnation of that.”

The demonstration device stands about a story and a half tall, and the liquid bismuth-lined reaction chamber inside is the size of a domestic water heater. Altogether, the key components occupy as much space as a double decker bus, and Zap thinks its commercial-scale module, which should produce 50-megawatts of electricity, will occupy a similar footprint.

To remain on track to a commercial power plant, Zap needs to hit three milestones: First, it needs to be able to generate high-voltage pulses frequently and continuously. A few weeks after it was turned on this summer, Century fired 1,080 consecutive pulses. So far, so good. 

The next step is to demonstrate the technology for the Department of Energy, running the device for more than two hours by firing at ten second intervals to generate at least 1,000 plasma pulses. Ultimately, to operate as a commercial power plant, Zap’s reactor will need to spark 10 pulses per second for months on end.

After Century completes the demonstration for the Department of Energy, the team will add more liquid bismuth to the reaction chamber. The molten metal protects other parts of the device while absorbing heat that, in a commercial implementation, can be used to generate electricity. Century will be able to hold over one metric ton of the liquid metal, though for now it’s starting with 70 kg.

Lastly, the company needs to ensure that its electrodes, the parts that generate the electric pulses, can withstand the heat and particles unleashed by each fusion reaction. Those parts won’t last forever; all commercial power plants have to undergo maintenance at some point. The question is usually how frequently and for how long. Zap needs to ensure its most vulnerable parts can last long enough to make financial sense for power producers.

By next year, the company will increase the amount of electricity that’s delivered to the reaction chamber until it hits 100 kilowatts. Along the way, Conway expects the company will revamp the Century bit by bit. “Even though Century is one platform, one name, within it are multiple generations,” he said. “We iterate within the iterations.”

If Century works as planned, “my hope would be that we’re building a demo well in this decade,” Conway said. And if that goes well, commercial power plants should follow in the early 2030s.

That’s a lot of “ifs,” something Conway acknowledges. “I’m convinced that when we cut the ribbon on our first power plant and we think about the hardest problems we’ve had to solve in the last five years, my guess is plasma physics and gain is on the list. But I bet there’s a lot of other stuff on the list as well.”

That “other stuff” might be what makes or breaks commercial fusion power. 

“Fusion needs to compete with other ways of making electricity and heat. If fusion power plants cost a lot more than other ways of making electricity, there’s not going to be many of them. There may be one that we take our kids to and show on a school field trip, and that’s it,” Conway said. “The economics of these things is going to really matter.”

It’s not a successor to the Switch, but Nintendo does have a new piece of hardware to announce: a motion-controlled alarm clock. The device is called Alarmo, and it “responds to your movements,” which means you can snooze it with a gesture, or stop it by actually getting out of bed. It costs $99.99 and will be available in early 2025, though Nintendo says Switch Online subscribers can purchase it early right now.

It appears this is the mystery Nintendo gadget that hit the FCC last month. In addition to the motion features, a big part of the device appears to be its immersive sounds, which are pulled from five different Switch games: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, Super Mario Odyssey, and Ring Fit Adventure. There are 35 audio “scenes” in total, though you can also connect the alarm to your Nintendo account for more pulled from Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8, which will be free updates coming later.

There are some sleep tracking features as well. Here’s how Nintendo describes them:

You can also check Records to see how much you move around in your sleep, set an hourly chime themed to your chosen title, and change between Steady or Gentle Modes for your morning alarm. In Steady Mode, the alarm will gradually get more intense the longer you stay in bed, whereas Gentle Mode offers a more consistent intensity level. There’s also Button Mode for a more traditional, tactile “hit the snooze button” alarm clock experience. You can even use sleepy sounds to wind down with soothing music and sounds at your set bedtime.

Security experts have warned of a new phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform that’s emerging as a serious threat, thanks to its advanced features, obfuscation techniques, and competitive pricing.

Security researchers from Sekoia have revealed more on Mamba 2FA, which has been on the market since at least November 2023.