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Welcome to PULSE by Wareable. It’s a short week here in the UK, so you’ve had the double-punch combo of our paid-for deep-dive into the effectiveness of wearables newsletter, and our news round-up. I hope you’ve found them interesting.
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GE Healthcare + OURA partner in sensor project
Oura and GE Healthcare are both part of a consortium of companies involved in a new project, based in Finland, which is looking to develop photonic sensors for wearable devices.
The PhotonWear project is looking to develop a new kind of optical sensor that would boost accuracy for wearables to medical grade levels, using high-fidelity multispectral measurements to potentially read glucose or blood pressure levels.
The optical sensors used contain a new kind of photodetector whose sensitivity is up to 50% higher compared to traditional technology, according to ElFys, one of the partners.
Finland is a forerunner for photonic sensor development, which uses light to collect data.
“We’re focused on improving sensor accuracy so that they are fit for medical use, while also making them much more comfortable to wear,” said Research Team Leader Teemu Alajoki, coordinator of the PhotonWear project.
“We are aiming for flexible or even stretchy, extremely comfortable skin-tight electronics that are unnoticeable and reliable even in demanding use cases.”
We’ve seen a move towards companies exploring sensors away from the traditional optical array, which is still a mainstay of wearable devices. Movano is experimenting with RF sensors, while Rockley Photonics is also trialing spectrophotometers.
This technology could have massive implications for racial bias in optical sensors…
UK moves to eliminate racial biases in sensors
We’ve been following this story with interest – and the UK seems to be taking the evidence of racial biases in blood oxygen sensors seriously.
If you haven’t heard, the FDA is currently investigating claims that optical SpO2 sensors – used in approved medical devices – have been showing incorrect readings for those with darker skin tones. And it’s been costing lives.
The issue is called “occult hypoxia” — a situation when a patient’s pulse oximeter reads in the healthy range, but their actual blood oxygen levels are dangerously low.
There has been a raft of litigation in the US – and a new report claims that people with dark skin are 32% more likely to have pulse oximeter readings overestimated. How we’ve got to this situation is truly shocking.
This was a big focus of the UK during the pandemic, and a review has since been carried out by Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead.
The UK Government has now announced that it’s asked authorities to ensure that devices used in NHS hospitals can be used safely across skin tones and to recommend action going forward.
The government will also work with MHRA to ensure regulations for medical devices are safe for patients, regardless of their background, while allowing more innovative products to be placed on the UK market.
Most consumer wearables escape scrutiny by using “not intended for medical purposes” in their small print – but it won’t be long until these also come under the spotlight.
Back in the US, it will be interesting to see when the FDA requires evidence of accuracy across skin tones to be part of its approval process.
Moonbird heads to the US
I like to highlight interesting startups in the free newsletter, and Moonbird fits the bill.
The Belgian-based company has created a handheld stress-relieving device, it’s designed to offer breathing guidance without the need for connected products, such as a watch or a smartphone, that can provide distractions while you chill.
According to Moonbird’s white papers, slowing the breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and destresses the body.
Using a built-in heart rate sensor, Moonbird calculates your level of ‘heart coherence’, indicating how synchronous your heartbeats are with your breathing – and can tailor the breathing patterns accordingly.
In a world where wearable stress tracking can often provide anything but relief, we’re interested to see whether this stress solution can cut through.
Zepp Flow brings full AI chat to smartwatches
We don’t intend to cover too many software updates here at PULSE, but the new Zepp OS 3.5 is one of interest.
Zepp Health has been experimenting with AI for much of the last year, and Zepp Coach is a paid-tier service within its platform.
It has now launched Zepp Flow for Amazfit Balance, which uses large language model (LLM) AI processing to handle any task – claiming it means an end to tapping the tiny display.
Examples include setting schedules, querying health stats, or ‘engaging in free chat’, which could involve asking for recipes or just some good old AI banter.
We tried Zepp Coach in recent reviews and, charitably, found it to still be in the early stages of development.
But Amazfit is certainly taking the lead in imagining how AI can be used in wearables.
WIZPR Ring lets you talk discreetly
We covered the launch of the WIZPR smart ring this week, which offers users the ability to speak discreetly to chatbots and voice assistants.
Whether this will ever make it past Kickstarter (Wareable readers will know my feelings on crowdfunding), who knows?
However, it’s an interesting application of the smart ring form factor, which has homogenized health data and moved away from smart control and payments over the last few years.
It also represents one of the rare occasions whereby a company has tacitly admitted we might be a tad self-conscious about talking to AI/assistants, which I think most people are.
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