Devices & Diagnostics, Health IT

Omron Healthcare, Masimo, Under Armour use CES to venture into new healthcare markets

One of the themes I encountered at CES this year was companies moving into new […]

One of the themes I encountered at CES this year was companies moving into new product areas, in some cases through collaboration. It serves a dual purpose of creating a splashy marketing announcement but also helps companies test market interest in products that reflect a significant shift for their businesses.  Omron Healthcare, a company most well-known for its blood pressure monitors, offered up a dramatic example of that by demonstrating a 3D bodyscanner and scale prototype.

A spokeswoman said it anticipates that the technology would be licensed to companies in a wide range of industries such as healthcare, fitness and apparel.

The device is designed to calculate measurements for bust, waist and the hip as well as BMI. A spokeswoman for the company cautioned that it was very much in the early stages. Among the healthcare applications it sees are making it easier to produce 3D CAT scans, for example.

Omron also collaborated with Japanese eyewear company JINS Co on a set of smartglasses called Meme. It showed a prototype of the eyewear on its booth, which are designed to monitor fatigue levels by using sensors to calculate how frequently people blink and also measures head movements with a gyroscope and accelerometer to determine which direction users are looking. A companion app reveals some of the usual fitness tracking elements such as calories burned and an estimation of energy levels. A gyroscope and accelerometer track head movement included sensors to track blinking. It also could change the way people have been thinking about smartwear, but it’s not really clear which direction the companies want to go in with this device.

Under Armour tried to challenge perceptions of the apparel company with the launch of an app called UA Record to help users track data such as heart rate, sleep, calories burned, steps and sleep, no matter which wearable they choose to use. The app helps sync that data and use it to motivate users towards fitness goals they set for themselves. Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, said “By syncing the thousands of fitness tracking devices and apps onto its open platform, and creating a visual dashboard of your data, UA Record is a simple and empowering tool designed to help people lead healthier and more active lives.”

Masimo made a big play for the consumer market by expanding its pulse oxymeter technology into consumer wearables in a device called MightySat which will be available later this year. The fingertip pulse oxymeter offers oxygen saturation and pulse rate measurements. The company sees an opportunity to best other wearables with technology that has won the support of hospitals. It makes Accenture’s report this week that was critical of wearables with performance that falls short resonate even more if device makers like Masimo want to expand their marketshare into the consumer sector. Whether they will be able to compete as effectively as their consumer wearable rivals remains to be seen.

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