Beyond step counting: wearable tech promises medical-grade data

LAS VEGAS, United States — Wearable devices have come a long way from counting steps or heartbeats, with new tech offering the ability to track blood oxygenation, glucose levels and blood pressure, though its reliability remains a matter of debate.

Some of the most cutting-edge products were on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Almost 10 years since the debut of Apple Watch, the global market for "trackers" — watches, bracelets, and other bands — is valued around $60 billion (P3.51 trillion), according to several firms, and is expected to exceed $100 billion (P5.85 trillion) by the end of the 2020s.

"Before smartwatches, no one was thinking about heart rate monitoring," said Anna Barnacka, CEO and president of health tech startup MindMics. "Today, everyone is quite aware about how important it is."

MindMics says it uses headphones and wave-based technology to offer a complete analysis of cardiac activity — including the condition and function of heart valves. "You can look at your heart with the precision of a medical device," Barnacka said.

In clinical trials, Barnacka said the device was able to capture a murmur in a patient with aortic stenosis, which is the narrowing of a heart valve. Currently, diagnosing aortic stenosis requires multiple tests, including inserting a probe into an artery.

Another wearable product at CES is Stelo, by California-based startup DexCom, the first non-prescription wearable patch capable of continuously measuring blood sugar levels.

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Such patches have typically been reserved for diabetics, but Stelo will be available even "if you have prediabetes, or if you're just interested in understanding how different food impacts your body," said DexCom chief operating officer Jake Leach.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate 100 million Americans have prediabetes — elevated blood sugar levels that are below the threshold for diabetes.

"The vast majority of them don't know they have prediabetes because they haven't had the testing," Leach said.

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