CES is upon us again. According to the Boston Globe, the Las Vegas consumer electronics show is dedicating 40 percent more floor space to digital health than last year and more than 300 digital health companies are exhibiting. Whether or not those stats are illustrative, digital health is still a more popular topic at CES than it ever has been. And with more and more big companies like Sony and LG getting into fitness and activity tracking, even the definition of a digital health company is blurring.
The show floor is sporting everything from a profusion of new activity trackers to several new blood pressure monitors and other health devices, and even a few niche sensors, like a new connected toothbrush. Read on below for the some of the biggest health device, activity tracker, and quantified self news from the annual trade show.
Sony Core
Sony hasn't announced many details about its new wearable product yet -- the company is apparently waiting until the Mobile World Congress next month. But a demo is on the floor at CES. According to Engadget, the Sony Core is a small sensor pack that fits into a wristband, but also can be worn in a shoe or clipped on to clothing. It has no screen, so it relies on the user's smartphone to display the data it collects, which includes activity data. At Sony's launch event, they positioned the Core as an activity tracker that would also track social and entertainment behavior on the user's phone, and display a "life-logging" timeline on a connected app.
LG Lifeband Touch and PerformTek HeartRate headphones
South Korean technology company LG is apparently throwing another entry into the crowded activity tracker field. The LG Lifeband Touch is a bracelet with a fully functional touchscreen, a feature currently more common to smartwatches than fitness bands. The device tracks heart rate in addition to the traditional steps-calories-distance package. It also has an altimeter and is water-resistant.
The Lifeband Touch has smartwatch features as well: It can display phone call and message alerts, and can function as a silent alarm clock. The device connects via Bluetooth to both iOS and Android phones, and the connected app already integrates with RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal. It can also bring in data from other devices via Bluetooth and display it on the touchscreen, including data from another new product, heart rate-sensing headphones built by PerformTek. Both products are set to roll out in the first half of 2014.
Garmin was putting out feelers about the corporate wellness space last fall at Health 2.0. Now the sports tracker company has unveiled its first wellness-focused activity tracker, specifically for the employee set. The device is called the Garmin vivoki and it's a small, clip-on, water-resistant activity monitor. Vivoki will connect to Garmin's app and online community, called Garmin Connect, which already syncs with existing Garmin devices. The new device also integrates with the API Garmin began making available last fall.
Polar refers to its latest sports watch as a training computer, and it includes some features useful to athletes that you won't find on just any activity tracker. It monitors training and daily activity and then uses that data to calculate how long an athlete needs to rest between sessions. It can measure heart rate while swimming and has a built-in barometric pressure sensor, as well as continuous GPS tracking. The device can also send all its collected data to a smartphone, but it stores up to four weeks of training history in the watch itself. The device is expected to launch in April for $449.95.
An unexpected new player in the wearable space is Razer, an electronics company that's previously produced laptops, tablets, and gaming peripherals. Razer's wearable debut is a "smart band" called Nabu. The device pairs with a smartphone to display incoming calls and messages. It features two screens -- one on the top of the band and one on the bottom -- and contains an accelerometer and an altimeter to collect fitness data. The company touts other features on its website, like being able to alert the user when other Nabu users in their social networks are nearby. The device pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth.
iHealth's ECG device
iHealth Lab, a subsidiary of Chinese medical device company Andon Health, showed off three new smartphone-enabled, wearable health devices at CES: a blood pressure monitoring vest, an ambulatory ECG device that (assumedly) sticks to the wearer’s bare chest, and a wristworn pulse oximeter device.
None of the devices have FDA clearance yet and no pricing details have been disclosed yet either. If FDA clearances are secured on time, the company expects the three devices to ship in the second half of 2014. Read more about each of the devices here.
Virgin Pulse, the corporate wellness and engagement company formerly known as Virgin HealthMiles, launched its own proprietary activity tracker called the Virgin Pulse Max at CES in Las Vegas.
The Max device is a small black box with a screen that can be clipped onto a belt or worn on the wrist. Although the tracker can sync via Bluetooth with a smartphone, it can also connect via USB to a computer to accommodate users who don’t have smartphones. The device tracks steps taken, calories burned, distance travelled, and active minutes. Boyce said a firmware update system will allow the company to add sleep tracking in the future. Read More.
Withings has announced two new products which it plans launch in 2014: a Bluetooth-enabled update of the company’s upper arm blood pressure cuff and a two part sleep tracking system. The sleep system, called Withings Aura, consists of a sensor placed in the user’s bed and a bedside device that serves as both lamp and alarm clock. The system is controlled via a smartphone app. The blood pressure cuff is similar to the one Withings released in 2011, but adds Bluetooth connectivity and Android support (the previous device connected via the phone’s headphone jack). Read More.
Lift, a new tracker from posture startup Lumo Body Tech, is considerably smaller than its predecessor, and instead of taking the form factor of a belt, the new device uses a magnetic clasp to clip to the wearer’s clothing. Lumo Lift will cost between $59 and $79 during an upcoming crowdfunding campaign and more than that at retail. The company aims to begin shipping the device by the summer. Read More.
iPhone-connected pulse oximeter Tinke first made news two CES shows ago, though we haven't heard too much from it in the meantime. According to CNET, the company's big news this year is a new version of its consumer pulse ox for Android. While the iOS version plugs in to the 8- or 16-pin connector at the bottom of the user's device, the Android version syncs wirelessly via Bluetooth. Both versions measure heart rate, blood oxygen levels, respiratory rate, and heart rate variability when the user puts his or her finger and thumb on either side of the device.
Wellograph's "wellness watch" is a health-tracking smartwatch with an LED screen that displays an analog or digital clockface centrally and fitness statistics on the bottom of the screen. In addition to an accelerometer, it includes a continuous heart rate sensor. Wellograph is less clunky then some other smartwatch products and it doesn't require a smartphone to operate -- although it can sync via Bluetooth Smart. The rechargeable battery lasts two weeks, or three months in watch-only mode.
iFit announced several devices at CES including an activity tracker, an Internet-connected fitness equipment offering, and GPS-tracking apps. The activity tracker is called the iFit Active Tracker. It can be worn as a clip-on device or on a wristband and it tracks activity, distance, steps, calories burned, and sleep patterns, sending the data to the user's phone.
iFit's fitness equipment makes use of a partnership with Google Maps to display moving Google street views as the user moves on a treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike. The user can run or bike a pre-mapped route like the Tour De France or the Boston Marathon, or they can "record" a route via their phone's GPS and a special iFit app, then play it back on the machines later. The GPS app, connected app for the tracker, and the connected machines all use a shared login to allow users to see all their data in one place. The tracker will be available in April for $129.
Movea partnered with Texas Instruments and Xm-Squared to create the G-series, what the company is calling the most accurate wristband tracker yet. The device detects posture, and tracks day-to-day activity, sports workouts, and sleep. Movea says that in tests, the wristband makes remarkably few errors in sleep tracking and step counting and is more than 95 percent accurate in knowing what mode of transportation a person is currently engaged in. It can even predict how the user will move next. In a statement, the company said the wristband is available, but it doesn't appear to be available for purchase on Movea's website.
Consumer heart monitoring company Qardio debuted QardioArm, a wireless blood pressure monitor that delivers data to the user's smartphone. The device is designed to be portable and easy to use, and it can send the data it monitors directly to the user's doctor in addition to storing it in the app. Qardio will be crowdfunding the device on Indiegogo for an $85 pre-order price. It will ultimately retail for $99.
QardioArm is the first of at least two planned products for the company. Next to come is QardioCore, a wearable ECG monitor with a similar design aesthetic.
French company Medissimo's smart pill box imedipac is a feature-filled spin on medication adherence hardware. The device both reminds patients to take pills and tracks when they have using GPS. Users can review information on their computer or on specialized phone or tablet apps. It can send alarms via text message, email, or even call you on the phone and leave voice messages.
YOFiMeter is an "all-in-one" cellular connected glucometer, developed in a partnership with Qualcomm Life. The device is cloud-based, can be operated one-handed, and will be sold without monthly fees. It's still awaiting FDA clearance.
One of the most talked about -- and strangest -- new products out of CES is a sensor device called "Mother." The device looks like a bowling pin with a face and comes with four smaller sensors, called motion cookies. The cookies can be attached to different things to monitor use: a toothbrush to monitor brushing, a water bottle to monitor water intake, or a pill bottle to monitor medication adherence. It can be mounted on the wall as a thermometer or given to teenagers to alert their parents when they come home at night. The sensors store all the data in a smartphone app, which can also be set up to give alarms whenever certain conditions are met. The starting price -- for a Mother and four cookies -- is $222.
Last year's CES saw the first connected toothbrush in Beam Technologies' Beam Brush. This year, a second option has emerged for connected toothbrush shoppers, from Paris-based Kolibree. Unlike Beam Brush's connected manual toothbrush, Kolibree's offering is electric. According to the company, the sensors in the brush detect not only how long you brushed your teeth, but also whether you hit all the hard to reach places between gums and teeth. Those stats are sent via Bluetooth to a mobile app, where the user can choose either to keep them private or to share them with his or her family or dentist. The brushing data will also be available via an API, so third party designers can build games or other applications that use the smart toothbrush.The company plans on launching via Kickstarter and making its product available by the third quarter of 2014. The price will range from $99 to $200 depending on the model.
Epson Pulsense (Update)
CES really was the year of big electronics companies getting into the digital health space. In addition to Sony and LG, Epson America announced that it would be releasing both a health-tracking smartwatch and a fitness band in 2014. The devices will monitor heart rate, activity level, calorie burn and sleep patterns. The heartrate monitoring feature uses a proprietary light-based system, and the device factors in heart rate when calculating calories burned.
The wearables will be smartphone-connected, but will also be able to store 480 hours of data on the devices themselves. Epson will offer the band for $129 and the watch for $199.
Jaybird Reign (Update)
Yet another activity tracker comes from Jaybird, a technology company that previously specialized in Bluetooth headphones. The Jaybird Reign is a wristband that tracks activity and sleep, and the company is positioning it as a motivational, behavior-changing device. The Go-Zone feature prompts users to get active when they sit for too long, and the device can distinguish between walking, running, swimming, and biking. The company has not yet announced a price for the device, due out in 2014. It connects with iOS and Android devices or can be used with a web app.
