GearBain has reported on smart health devices like connected blood pressure devices over the years. At this year’s CES, we saw a lot of big advancements from the manufacturers of these connected health devices and systems. Here is a brief recap of the new digital health devices and services we saw at CES that you can expect to see come to market in 2023 which can have a big impact.
Valencell's new Fingertip Blood Pressure Reader
Valencell
One of the issues we heard from health professionals over the years was the need for better calibration and cuffless-free blood pressure monitoring. Today, thanks to Valencell, the leading company of sensors, and algorithms that have been used in tens of millions of wearable and hearable devices introduced the world’s first device to accurately measure blood pressure (BP) without a cuff or the need for calibration from the finger using blood flow technology.
Valencell’s new finger clip device can read your blood pressure in just 60 seconds with sensors that use reflected light to measure blood flow patterns and clinically validated AI algorithms that combine this information with physical characteristics such as age, weight, gender, and height to calculate blood pressure.
Valencell’s first chronic disease management solution aims to help those with hypertension better and more regularly measure blood pressure and maintain treatment compliance. Users place the device onto their middle finger and it will measure blood pressure without the need for bulky or painful cuffs in under a minute!
Based on our experiences in testing smart blood pressure monitoring devices like Withings BPM Connect Blood Pressure Monitor and Omron’s HeartGuide Wearable Blood Pressure, one of the issues was the readings were inconsistent from the cuff. And our doctors always preferred readings from the finger or arm. We are excited to see the new Valencell fingertip reading blood pressure device and look forward to testing it once available.
NuraLogix's Anura Telehealth Platform.
NuraLogix
We have heard about telehealth services for the past few years, but many never thought the technology was ready. Thanks to NuraLogix, a global leader in contactless health monitoring services, we can say that the technology just got better today with the launch of its new Anura Telehealth platform.
NuraLogix’s new Anura platform uses conventional video cameras to extract facial blood flow information to accurately calculate a host of medical vitals and health risk assessments using numerous consumer devices in the hands of billions of people. Anura is the only video-based contactless health monitoring solution to measure vital signs and assess health risks. Unlike smartwatches, health trackers, and rings that track blood flow through light sensors, Anura can do so with a video selfie. You can see it in action here.
Anxious to see how this platform expands among doctors who want to offer their patients continuous health and vital sign measurements while on a video call. It sure will make everyone’s lives easier.
Withings – In-Home Biomarker Analysis
GearBrain
Withings has been manufacturing quality smart health devices for years and GearBrain has tested many of these devices. At CES this year, the company unveiled its first foray into urine analysis with a miniaturized health lab that will change the way people monitor their health from the comfort and privacy of their bathroom. It’s the company’s most technologically advanced device to date and consists of a pebble-shaped reader that sits within the toilet bowl and changeable analysis cartridges designed to assess specific biomarkers without the need for external sample capture or strips. It will initially debut with two consumer health cartridges to help users monitor metabolic insights and women manage monthly cycles with medical versions following in the future. Learn more about this new hands-free connected home urine lab on Withings site.
Jabra's new Elite 5, Evolve Series and Enhance Plus earbuds launched at CES 2023
GearBrain
Jabra is one of the well-known manufacturers of personal sound and office solutions. GearBrain has tested many of its headphones and earbuds over the years. At CES this year, the company showcased three new products: Jabra Elite 5, the newest addition to the company’s flagship Elite earbud lineup, Jabra Evolve2 Buds, the latest version of Jabra’s Evolve series and a new over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid product called Jabra Enhance Plus. This new OTC earbud product caught our eye since it was designed specifically for the digital health category.
Jabra Enhance Plus sets a new standard for bringing together the convenience of truly wireless earbuds with advanced hearing technology to alleviate unaddressed hearing needs. As part of the new OTC hearing aid category and cleared by the FDA as a self-fitting hearing aid, Enhance Plus empowers millions of Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss to take the first step on their hearing health journey.
Jabra Enhance Plus delivers a 3-in-1 experience in a miniaturized true wireless form factor design, around half the size of Jabra’s smallest true wireless earbuds. It includes the calls and music functionality that users expect from true wireless earbuds and provides hearing help for users in a discreet and comfortable design. Taking true wireless tech to new levels, the device packs four key audiological features: Warp Compressor for analysis of sounds similar to the human ear, Digital Noise Reduction for keeping speech clear, Digital Feedback Suppression to keep the feedback from interfering with sound quality, and Binaural Beamformer with directionality to isolate sounds.
Earable Technologies new sleep solution, FRENZ Brainband
Earable Technologies
At CES this year, Earbable Neuroscience introduced the FRENZ Brainband. As experts in deep tech and scalable, human-centric solutions that improve the everyday experience, the company introduced the first wearable that can track and stimulate brain activities via bone conduction speakers to help facilitate better quality sleep, focus, and relaxation.
FRENZ Brainband
Earable Technologies
According to Earable, FRENZ is the first sleep tech brainband that precisely interacts with the brain based on neurofeedback, using scientifically proven audio techniques to enhance sleep. The wearable can precisely track several vital data points (EEG - brain signal – filtered into brain frequencies of Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, EOG - eye movement, EMG - micro facial movements, SpO2, heart rate..) in real-time. It can provide instant personalized feedback with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) content for users to adjust and improve their cognitive functions via the device’s integrated bone-conduction speakers. And it leverages deep machine learning to provide meaningful insights like sleep and focus portraits.
Every year, 900 million consumer wearables are sold worldwide. With 60% of the world population suffering from sleep problems, the world is experiencing a sleep pandemic, which is expected to grow. As a result, sleep-aid products are emerging as a potent and fast-growing industry. In 2021, the global sleep aid market was valued at USD 64.08 billion, with an astounding CAGR growth of 7.1% expected by 2030.
Tam Vu, the Founder and CEO of Earable, shared, "In providing accessibility, affordability, and easily acquirable habits, the FRENZTM Brainband can improve sleep worldwide and unleash true human potential. We aim to be the deep tech neuroscience company that dramatically improves the world's mental state at scale and ease."
Earable also kicks off its global pre-order campaign. Customers who pre-order a FRENZTM Brainband and pay in full by March 8th, 2023, receive a promotional pre-order price of $350 (excluding sales tax and shipping cost), a savings of 30% off the normal full price of $490, and the option to choose the limited-edition mint color, a fashionable leather travel case, priority delivery as early as April 2023. Additionally, from January 3rd until January 15th, 2023, to celebrate the CES Launch, Earable Neuroscience is offering an exclusive $250 pre-order promotional price (excluding sales tax and shipping costs) for its FRENZTM Brainbands when using the code CESFRENZ at checkout at www.frenzband.com
HP Hearing Pro self-fitting over the counter hearing aids
GearBrain
In 2022, the FDA passed new rules for over-the-counter hearing aids which will have a big impact on how these smart hearing devices will ber labeled and their intended use guidelines. According to HP, their new HP Hearing PRO self-fitting over-the-counter hearing aid are the only product [as of November 11, 2022] to have received FDA clearance for the OTC self-fitting classification “QUH” under the newly enacted law 510(k) Premarket Notification (fda.gov) which required a 510(k) clearance and a clinical study to prove our substantial equivalence and meets the OTC hearing aid law and guidelines.
At CES 2023, we got to see the HP Hearing PRO which features include a true wireless form-factor, Active Noise Cancellation, and support for both Apple and Android platforms. But what makes these earbuds special is they are powered by Nuheara and stand alone as the only cleared OTC self-fitting hearing aid under 874.3325 QUH.
If interested in learning more about the first FDA-Cleared OTC Hearing Aids, you can visit the company's website. Also, Nuheara announced a new partnership with InnerScope, which provides innovative point-of-sale Hearing Screening Kiosks and product displays in independent pharmacies and Walmart Vision Centers, and in early 2023 will roll out over-the-counter hearing aid displays in Rite Aid pharmacy stores. Together with distribution already announced in Best Buy, this expands the total retail footprint for HP Hearing PRO to approximately 4,600 US stores.
Manage your digital health info from Omron devices with Omron Connect App
Omron Healthcare
At CES this year, the company made three big announcements that will have an impact on the digital health category. First, the company introduced a new upper-arm blood pressure monitor with built-in ECG. It is part of their program “Going for Zero” – Zero Heart Attacks and Zero Strokes. The company’s new mission is to help address the growing Atrial Fibrillation (AFib).
With their new innovative device, users and healthcare professionals can utilize home-monitored data for the treatment and, as a result, the early detection of AFib in hypertensive patients could be realized.
For those of you who don’t know, AFib is a growing problem. It is one of the heart conditions and a risk factor to cause cardiogenic cerebral infarction. As it presents subtle symptoms that come and go or simply go unnoticed, it is difficult to detect the disease at an early stage. However, early detection and appropriate treatment can reduce heart attack and stroke risk. Thus the reason why the new Omron Healthcare device.
The company is also expanding features for the OMRON Connect app with new AI technology to provide insights and guidance on users’ health. And lastly, the company announced its new program, Viso, a new multi-disease RPM platform in the UK. This program will help patients with chronic diseases share vital health data from their homes with their physicians.
And lastly, one of the more popular services emerging in digital health is remote patient monitoring (RPM). Consumers are using these services to get to their doctor quickly when feeling sick or under the weather. But Omron Healthcare has a vision on how to use RPM to help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
The Viso service lets physicians monitor the physical status and medication adherence of their patients to improve chronic care management. In the UK, patients have the option to register with a General Practitioner (GP) who will care for a wide range of patients and conditions, from an initial visit to long-term treatment. Therefore, optimizing the distribution of their time and workloads is critical.
With Viso, patients can share their multiple vital data, including blood pressure and body weight, with their physicians while the physicians remotely monitor their patients' data between their office visits. Accumulated blood pressure data by Viso is analyzed by a medication program being developed by a University of Oxford team, and the app recommends a customized three-month medication plan for each patient to their doctors.
With Viso, patients are also able to input their medication adherence and physical condition by answering the questionnaire that is supervised by a specialist doctor. Therefore, the more the users use the app, the better it gets to know patients and how it can help them understand their condition.
How does the Viso app work? The app sends automatic notifications through physicians when a patient has readings that indicate if action needs to be taken, which spotlights the most urgent and high-risk needs.
Viso can be integrated directly with the physician's Electronic Medical Record (EMR) so that the patient’s records are safely and securely managed centrally and comprehensively. The Company is committed to supporting chronic disease patients in the UK and making a stride forward in realizing the early detection and treatment of heart attack and stroke.
This new service is launching in the UK in early 2023.
OMRON Evolv Bluetooth Wireless Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor with Portable, One-piece Design – Works with Alexa
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