10 Healthcare Wearables, Devices Dominating CES
This year's wearables go beyond basic step counting to measure core health data such as blood pressure, vision quality, and body temperature. At CES 2016, InformationWeek got up close and personal with the latest wave of health-centric devices.
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LAS VEGAS -- Healthcare technology is a core trend here at CES 2016 this week, along with smart home gadgets and connected cars.
As you might expect, fitness trackers are popular products to showcase at CES. Familiar consumer brands such as Under Armour, Garmin, and Fitbit are demonstrating their new technologies. Total unit sales of wearable devices, smartwatches, and fitness bands are expected to top 38 million in 2016, according to a Jan. 4 report from the Consumer Technology Association.
While wristbands that record steps and calories are popular, these devices give a one-sided picture of the wearer's health. There are plenty of devices for tracking activity, but there are fewer for measuring blood pressure and vision.
An interesting trend at CES 2016 is the discussion around health wearables designed to do more than track activity and calories. Some of these devices are available to consumers. Others, like a smart electrocardiogram, can only be distributed by a doctor.
[Check out these smartwatches announced at CES 2016.]
Several companies are on the show floor with products such as smart hearing aids, blood pressure monitors, and devices designed to relieve pain with infrared technology. Some devices take fitness tracking to a new level with smart t-shirts and exercise monitors.
Over the next 12 months, these devices will help redefine what we think of as the Internet of Things.
Read on to learn more about the health technology innovation we're seeing on the show floor this year. What do you think? Are there any devices you'd like to see on the market that aren't there yet? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
(All images: Kelly Sheridan/InformationWeek)
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Omron's wristband looks like a bulky fitness tracker, but it's not there to count steps. The Project Zero wrist-worn health wearable is a subtle and clinically accurate blood pressure monitor (BPM) that provides real-time blood pressure readings. Its purpose is to help patients with chronic illness better record and manage their health data. The wristband also collects data like steps, calories burned, and sleep quality, to give patients a better picture of their health.
Omron also showed its Project Zero monitor for the upper arm, which measures heartbeat and hypertension. It incorporates five times more health points than earlier models, so users can get on-the-go blood pressure data without dealing with tubes and wires. The wristband and armband will project the user's data to the Omron Connect mobile app, and are slated to launch later this year for $200 and $100, respectively.
Resound builds smart hearing aids and accessories for people with mild to severe hearing loss. The ReSound LiNX2, shown here, is its second-gen aid that enables wearers to control their hearing via an iPhone app. These hearing aids are built for the iPhone and connect with an iPhone, an iPad, or an Apple Watch via Bluetooth. Users can adjust volume, treble, and bass, and create specific programs of settings they can access when they're outside or in a restaurant. The device is available now.
These goggles use eye tracking and gaming stimuli to measure vision performance. Healthcare providers can use the vision test to assess eyesight and detect concussions and performance problems. The Neuro Vision tool, launched in October 2015, uses vision tracking to determine whether someone has had a head injury within the previous six months.
At CES, the health tech company demonstrated two new types of vision tests. RightEye showed how its smart goggles interact with a sensor (attached to a PC) in order to measure essential vision and performance vision, using a test already employed by sports teams and the US military. The test delivers pages of health data that can be used to evaluate visual skills and vision health. This product is designed for, and sold to, medical professionals, not the general public.
Yes, GymWatch is a fitness-focused wearable, but it has a specific niche: Tracking speed and form during body weight exercises. The wearable band is strapped to the arm or leg while you lift weights, use gym machines, or do body weight exercises. It detects the range of motion and strength used during exercise, and offers real-time feedback on your form.
Data is recorded through three built-in sensors, and ports to a mobile app (iOS or Android). At CES, the company showed its new Apple Watch app, which displays metrics and coaching in real time. GymWatch sensors have a suggested retail price of $99 for one or $189 for two, and they're available now. The release date for the Apple Watch app has not been announced.
Hexoskin has gone beyond fitness bands to create smart clothing. Its biometric shirts have sensors woven into the fabric for measuring your heart rate, pace, breathing rate and volume, steps taken, calories burned, and sleep.
Recorded data is transmitted to a mobile app (iOS and Android), or users can access their health information via an online dashboard. The company showed its next-gen shirts at CES, and shared its new compatibility with other popular fitness apps such as Strava and RunKeeper. Expected to ship later this year, Hexoskin products will have a suggest retail price range of $299.
iHealth builds connected healthcare devices such as blood pressure monitors, wireless scales, glucose-monitoring systems, and fitness trackers. At CES, the company showed its new iHealth Rhythm, a smart electrocardiogram that records heart activity and saves data to an iOS app.
The Rhythm is subtle and worn under clothing. A flat recording device clips to a three-electrode patch worn on the sternum. It can be prescribed by a doctor to measure cardiac activity for a 72-hour period. If a patient feels something is wrong while wearing the Rhythm, he or she can press a button to note the problem. All data is recorded on the iHealth Pro app for doctors and patients, and storage is free on the iHealth Cloud. While iHealth products are sold to consumers, the Rhythm has to be distributed by a physician. While pricing information was not announced, the device is expected to be available later this year.
It isn't a wearable, exactly, but it's a nifty patient health tool. Veta's smart case for EpiPen holders aims to help people be prepared in the event of an emergency.
The case holds an EpiPen and connects with a mobile app that can be downloaded by the patient and their family, friends, or caregivers. It comes with features like FindMe, which displays the pen's last known location; separation alerts, which trigger a notification when the case is left behind; and temperature and expiry monitors so a patient knows when their medication is too warm, cold, or old to be effective.
The Veta case will be available for pre-order in the first quarter of this year. It will cost $59. The app is free. EpiPen purchased separately.
Zhor has built smart footwear. Its DigitSole shoes, which come in futuristic sneaker and high-heel styles, can be adjusted according to the size of your foot. In addition to warming your feet, they also measure steps taken and calories burned. They charge wirelessly, and submit data via Bluetooth to a compatible mobile app. The shoe lines will be available later this year, with a suggested retail price of $450 a pair.
LumiWave provides infrared light therapy to people with chronic pain. The infrared light penetrates tissue and causes the body to release natural pain relief. Each therapy session lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, and the device is temperature controlled to protect the wearer. Available for pre-order now, LumiWave will have a suggested retail price of a $299 for a four-LED-pod model, and $499 for an eight-pod model.
Thermo, built by Withings, is a smart temporal thermometer that contains 16 sensors and HotSpot sensor technology to record accurate body temperatures. It uses WiFi to sync temperature and advice to a compatible mobile app, which can be used to track the health information of everyone in the family. Data can be saved and shared with a doctor. Thermo is slated to be available in first-quarter 2016 for a suggested retail price of $100.
Thermo, built by Withings, is a smart temporal thermometer that contains 16 sensors and HotSpot sensor technology to record accurate body temperatures. It uses WiFi to sync temperature and advice to a compatible mobile app, which can be used to track the health information of everyone in the family. Data can be saved and shared with a doctor. Thermo is slated to be available in first-quarter 2016 for a suggested retail price of $100.
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