French consumer device company Withings is continuing its encroach into the healthcare space with a updated version of its blood pressure monitor that has the additional ability to perform EKGs.
Known for its line of sleek smartwatches, Withings also produces sleep monitors and over-the-counter diagnostic devices like blood pressure cuffs. Last year, the company was acquired by its co-founder Eric Carreel after a largely unsuccessful tenure under the control of Nokia.
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With the acquisition came a renewed focus on the digital health space as a potential growth opportunity for the company.
“By relaunching Withings what we want to do is position ourselves as a preventive health helper to show that we’re a part of this revolution in health which is to take care of ourselves in our daily lives,” Carreel told me last year.
The company’s new BPM Core model has the ability to measure blood pressure, record an EKG and listen to heart patterns with a digital stethoscope attachment. The company touts the combined cardiovascular features’ ability to detect heart conditions like atrial fibrillation and valvular heart disease.
Withings’ device has the ability to perform all three measurements within 90 seconds and upload the results to the associated Health Mate app, which can be shared with a patient’s doctor.
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There is a high degree of comorbidity between hypertension and other forms of cardiac disease and Withings says the BPM Core’s ability to collect multiple streams of cardiac data in one device adds to its ease of use and effectiveness in sniffing out cardiovascular issues.
“When technology is made simple and non-intrusive, we notice an increase in the frequency of use and long-term adoption, which makes a real difference in people’s lives,” Withings CEO Mathieu Letombe said in an email.
Alongside the BPM Core, the company is releasing the BPM Connect, a more portable version of its previous blood pressure monitor.
“The particularity of a heart condition is that it can easily be missed during irregular doctor visits, since its symptoms are inconsistent. With BPM Core and BPM Connect, Withings is now providing connected devices for easy and accurate home monitoring of cardiovascular health and offering a game-changing advantage to identifying heart issues early,” Letombe said.
Both devices can also be linked to Apple Health to share systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate measurements.
The device is going on sale in Apple Stores in Europe and online through the Apple.com and Withings.com. BPM Core is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in the coming months pending its FDA clearance. BPM Connect is available in both Europe and the U.S.
Retail price for the BPM Core is $280 and the BPM Connect sells for $100.
Picture: Withings