Nima Gluten Tester Wins Tech Award

Nima, one of our favorite products breaking ground in the quest to help people with celiac, won the 2016 CES Hardware Battle Grand Prize! Woohoo! This is such wonderful news both for them and for the gluten-free community at large!

Nima, created by 6Sensor Labs,  managed to triumph over three talented competitors, including Wiiv, a company that produces 3D custom printed insoles, Carbon Robotics, who created a robotic arm at the price of a laptop, and IdentiLock, a product that uses fingerprint technology to allow only approved user access to shoot weapons. In addition to the win, the $50,000 grand prize check definitely sweetened the victory as well.

The San Francisco based startup is working to create consumer tech products that will help you know what’s in your food. Their lead product, Nima, is a device that will both quickly and accurately test liquids and solids for gluten. They are currently running a pre-sale campaign with a significant discount on Nima.

Nima, which we featured on our blog two months ago, takes two minutes to identify if there is gluten in food. 6SensorLabs are planning to develop products that will test for nuts, dairy, soy and more.

Why This is Great News For the Celiac Community

1. What we’re most excited about is what this win means for those of us with celiac and gluten sensitivity. This win is for all of us! First of all, it is huge for awareness, both in the tech industry and among the general population. It shows everyone just how important it is to find ways to support, treat and cure celiac and let them know about a super cool company doing just that!

2. Not only does it put the importance of our condition and our needs at the forefront, it also makes a clear point that even small amounts of gluten can be very detrimental to us. I’m sure I’m not alone in my experiences of “but some crumbs won’t hurt, right?” or “can’t you have a beer just this once?” Nima makes it clear that even tiny traces of gluten in our food can do serious harm. Cross-contamination is a real fear for those with celiac and gluten-intolerance, and part of raising awareness is making this fact well known.

3. Lastly, the more prevalent this product becomes, the more awareness it will bring to food manufacturers and food establishments. Similar to the importance of raising awareness that cross-contamination is such an issue, with the rise in popularity of the gluten-free diet it is important for food establishments to be aware of just how careful they need to be with our food! Nima will include a social media component, allowing users to upload results to sites like Yelp and Foursquare. This means that we can all share and check results, and if a restaurant claims that their dish is gluten-free, then those of us with Nima testers can check it out and share our results.

Congratulations to 6SensorLabs on their big win for Nima, and congratulations to all of us for all of the positive things this win means for us!