wearables

By  Dave Muoio 09:33 am June 16, 2020
With much of the world gradually returning to work after COVID-19 lockdowns, Fitbit sees a new opportunity to engage its employer customers with device- and app-driven health monitoring. The company today announced what it's calling its Ready for Work solution, a service comprising a daily health check-in for employees and an analytics dashboard for their employers, both of which are being...
By  Dave Muoio 02:52 pm June 4, 2020
This morning real-world behavioral data analysis company Evidation Health announced a research initiative that will analyze behavior and symptom data to develop an early warning algorithm for COVID-19. Funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the effort will work with 4YouandMe – a nonprofit that helps individuals...
By  Dave Muoio 01:31 pm June 4, 2020
Handwashing may be a routine habit for some, but for everyone else who struggles to sanitize there's now a smartwatch app from Samsung that encourages regular, thorough handwashing. Available for a free download on a range Samsung smartwatches (all of them waterproof), the app's alarm reminds users to wash their hands at pre-scheduled intervals throughout the course of a day. A dashboard screen...
By  Dave Muoio 02:21 pm May 22, 2020
Fitbit has launched an in-app study the company says could help develop an algorithm for detecting potential COVID-19 cases prior to symptom onset. Device owners over the age of 21 who live in the U.S. or Canada who either had a confirmed case of COVID-19 or recently experienced symptoms consistent with the disease are invited to take part in what the company has dubbed the Fitbit COVID-19 study...
By  Sophie Porter 05:22 am May 8, 2020
SWISS ARMY TESTS TRACING APP A COVID-19 contact tracing app is being trialed by 100 soldiers at the Chamblon army base near Lausanne, Switzerland. The Bluetooth-enabled app logs if users have spent more than 15 minutes within two metres of another user. Then, when one uploads a positive test result for COVID-19, the system and alerts users to the contact. In order to test its efficacy, the...
By  Dave Muoio 12:45 pm May 6, 2020
Fitbit announced this morning the launch of a new atrial fibrillation research study aiming to enroll hundreds of thousands of fitness-tracker and smartwatch owners. Called the Fitbit Heart Study, it will passively and continuously monitor wearers' heart rates using the devices' photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. A proprietary algorithm will interpret these readings and flag potential...
By  Dave Muoio 03:34 pm April 29, 2020
Fitness and sleep-tracking smart-ring-maker Motiv has been acquired by Proxy, a company specializing in digital-identity security. The companies announced the purchase in accompanying blog posts, and did not share the terms of the deal. Proxy CEO Denis Mars wrote that his company has hired "a majority" of Motiv's employees, and will be shifting the focus of Motiv's consumer platform away from...
By  Dave Muoio 04:22 pm April 1, 2020
Belgium-based FibriCheck, the maker of apps that monitor a user's heart rhythm, announced yesterday that it has developed a new version of its smartwatch offering that is capable of scanning for atrial fibrillation while the wearer is asleep. FibriCheck said in a release that the updated app is currently nearing the end of user testing, and that it will be available for smartwatch manufacturers...
By  Dave Muoio 10:57 am March 31, 2020
Fitbit has announced the latest member of its fitness tracker lineup, the Fitbit Charge 4, alongside new fitness-minded features and new content for Fitbit Premium. The new device's standout feature is onboard GPS to enable features like an exercise heat map, which helps users review where in a running or biking route they were working the hardest. It returns with the Sp02 sensor of its...
By  Dave Muoio 04:04 pm March 27, 2020
Two medical research organizations have kicked off new efforts this week that seek to use consumer-health wearables to identify or event predict the onset of disease. The first is the DETECT (Digital Engagement & Tracking for Early Control & Treatment) Study, headed by the Scripps Research Translational Institute. It combines heart-rate, activity and sleep data collected through a range...