Body-monitoring tech trend comes with concerns

Issued on: 01.06.2022 - 04:10

Las Vegas (AFP) - A ring shimmers at the Consumer Electronics Show, but this isn't just a piece of jewelry - it's packed with sensors that can detect body temperature, breathing, and much more.

Start-ups at the annual Gadget Extravaganza in Las Vegas touted technology-enabled accessories that look appealing on the outside and at the same time question what happens inside the wearer.

"We want to democratize personal health," said Amaury Kosman, founder of the French startup that launched the Circular Ring.

While this goal was shared by a number of exhibitors, some experts feared that a trend towards ceaseless tracking of steps, sitting times, heart rate and more could bring with it risks for stress and addiction.

Circular Ring provides a wearer with a daily "energy value" based on the intensity of their activity, taking into account heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels, and other data, Kosman said.

"It goes on at night, we track the phases of sleep, how long it takes you to fall asleep, whether you are aligned with your circadian rhythm, etc.", he said of the ring, which will cost less than 300 euros. when it hits the market later this year.

"And it vibrates in the morning to wake you up at the right time."

According to the founder, a mobile application synchronized with the ring will provide personalized lifestyle recommendations to improve health based on the data collected.

High demand for wearables

The demand for body tracking wearables is huge: CES organizers predict more than $ 14 billion will be spent this year on a category that includes sports technology, health monitors, fitness trackers, connected exercise devices, and smartwatches.

That number is more than double the spending in this category in 2018.

Growth was driven by smartwatches such as those made by the powerhouses Apple and Samsung, as well as internet-connected exercise equipment - which boomed during the pandemic - and personal tracking devices.

Businesses are also meeting the need for tools that provide data that can be relied on in a pandemic-induced trend in remote healthcare.

Swiss Biospectal uses smartphone cameras to measure blood pressure when a finger is placed over a lens.

The French Quantiq develops algorithms that calculate heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure from "selfies".

The Japanese start-up Quantum Operation has now developed a prototype bracelet that continuously measures blood sugar levels. Diabetics would be spared needlesticks for frequent blood sugar tests.

Body-conscious wearables can provide valuable health data, but some fear that a trend toward “quantified self” is blurring the line between wellness and stressful obsession.

Get addicted?

The South Korean company Olive Healthcare presented a “Bello” infrared scanner that analyzes belly fat and suggests how it can be broken down, as well as a “Fitto” device that evaluates muscle mass and ways to increase it.

According to the German political scientist Nils-Eyk Zimmermann, society must clarify whether such tools solve problems or "create new dependencies".

There is a risk that the “digital self” generated by such technologies will not correspond to reality, argued Zimmermann, who blogs on the subject.

He also saw dangers in "game" features such as rewards and competition from others that put pressure on users who may not be healthy.

Withings US sales director Paul Buckley was confident that people would be able to handle health data provided by devices such as the Body Scan intelligent scale presented by the French company at CES.

"I don't think it's too much," said Buckley as he showed off the scales, doing the electrocardiograms, and analyzing body composition.

"You are able to be better informed about what is going on in your body."

© 2022 AFP

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