The Japanese electronics firm Omron is venturing into the wearables market with their new blood pressure monitor that looks more like a smartwatch than a medical device.
Kristopher Sturgis
Kristopher Sturgis
Nearly 30% of Americans have hypertension and nearly half of those struggle to control their blood pressure. An important part of managing blood pressure is measuring it routinely, which can prove difficult for people on the go or at work. On top of that, the accuracy of blood pressure measurements can be swayed by seemingly trivial variables such as arm position and cuff size.
Omron thinks it has an answer. At CES, the company showed off an inflatable blood-pressure watch into the form factor of a smartwatch that promises accurate readings. Omron is working to obtain FDA clearance for the device and expects to hit the market by the end of the year at a price point of roughly $200.
The technology, known as “Project Zero,” actually encompasses two new devices—the aforementioned smartwatch as well as a more-traditional upper-arm blood pressure monitor that displays results on tiny display screen. The wrist-based version is reportedly the first of its kind.
Tracking blood pressure readings from the wrist is certainly unconventional, as anyone who’s been to the doctor can attest that the sphygmomanometer cuff is usually placed over the upper bicep while the patient’s arm is in a calculated position. However, Omron’s new wrist wearable contains sensors that can calculate the position of your arm, and alert you to raise or lower your arm into the appropriate position for an accurate blood pressure measurement.
Of course, Omron isn’t the only company working on developing a wearable to track blood pressure. Earlier last year,EchoLabs announced that they were in the testing phase of a new wearable technology that uses light pulses to monitor a greater variety of physiological data, including your pulse, hydration levels, as well as blood pressure.
Omron has plenty of experience in tracking blood pressure, with some 40 years of experience in the domain.
Blood pressure measurements would be quite a breakthrough for a gadget in the realm of fitness tracking as it can be an important marker for tracking hyper- and hypotension. In addition to monitoring blood pressure, the device can also count your steps, track your sleep and heart rate, and estimate calories burned. It also tracks the date and time display.
The device will also offer accuracy of +/- 3mm Hg per heartbeat. The device is also designed to be compatible with theOmron Connect mobile app — available for Android and iOS — which will enable users to share all the data gathered by the device with a personal physician.
And while the device may not have the sleekest of designs when compared to, say, the Apple Watch, the device is miles ahead most other wearables that purport to track health metrics, which generally monitor principally "steps" and heart rate. The wearable form factor also could potentially greatly expand Omron’s market in the blood pressure monitoring niche.
Omron thinks it has an answer. At CES, the company showed off an inflatable blood-pressure watch into the form factor of a smartwatch that promises accurate readings. Omron is working to obtain FDA clearance for the device and expects to hit the market by the end of the year at a price point of roughly $200.
The technology, known as “Project Zero,” actually encompasses two new devices—the aforementioned smartwatch as well as a more-traditional upper-arm blood pressure monitor that displays results on tiny display screen. The wrist-based version is reportedly the first of its kind.
Tracking blood pressure readings from the wrist is certainly unconventional, as anyone who’s been to the doctor can attest that the sphygmomanometer cuff is usually placed over the upper bicep while the patient’s arm is in a calculated position. However, Omron’s new wrist wearable contains sensors that can calculate the position of your arm, and alert you to raise or lower your arm into the appropriate position for an accurate blood pressure measurement.
Of course, Omron isn’t the only company working on developing a wearable to track blood pressure. Earlier last year,EchoLabs announced that they were in the testing phase of a new wearable technology that uses light pulses to monitor a greater variety of physiological data, including your pulse, hydration levels, as well as blood pressure.
Omron has plenty of experience in tracking blood pressure, with some 40 years of experience in the domain.
Blood pressure measurements would be quite a breakthrough for a gadget in the realm of fitness tracking as it can be an important marker for tracking hyper- and hypotension. In addition to monitoring blood pressure, the device can also count your steps, track your sleep and heart rate, and estimate calories burned. It also tracks the date and time display.
The device will also offer accuracy of +/- 3mm Hg per heartbeat. The device is also designed to be compatible with theOmron Connect mobile app — available for Android and iOS — which will enable users to share all the data gathered by the device with a personal physician.
And while the device may not have the sleekest of designs when compared to, say, the Apple Watch, the device is miles ahead most other wearables that purport to track health metrics, which generally monitor principally "steps" and heart rate. The wearable form factor also could potentially greatly expand Omron’s market in the blood pressure monitoring niche.
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