The accuracy of wearables employing photoplethysmography (PPG)-based heart rate sensors may vary significantly between specific devices and activity types, but these sensors’ performances do not appear to be significantly affected by the skin tone of the wearer, according to a new study published in NPJ Digital Medicine.
The investigation, conducted by Duke University researchers among 53...
Resting heart rate and sleep duration data collected from Fitbit devices could help inform timely and accurate models of population-level influenza trends, according to a new Scripps Research Translational Institute study published online in The Lancet Digital Health last Friday.
“Currently, CDC [influenza-like illness (ILI)] data are typically reported [one to three] weeks late and reported...
Fitbit users were surprised with an added feature on their wearable this week — the ability to check the variability of oxygen levels in their bloodstream.
Users with any of Fitbit’s Sp02-enabled devices can now access an Estimated Oxygen Variation graph. The Sp2 devices include the Charge 3, Ionic, Versa, Versa Lite and Versa 2, according to Fitbit officials.
The update, which was confirmed to...
“What we have tracked and seen in the last four years is a very vibrant ecosystem, which was in the past, very e-commerce health focused to nowadays, very sophisticated with AI drug discovery, clinical trials and digital therapeutics etc. In 2018, the total amount of venture capital that was invested in Asia Pacific amounted to about $6.8B. To put in context, in the US it is $8.2B and $2B for...
Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images
It’s been a big year for Google’s parent company Alphabet. Once upon a time, Google’s role in the health world was chiefly associated with "Googling" symptoms, but much has changed for the Silicon Valley giant. This year Google made major moves in the health industry—making waves when it announced a plan to acquire Fitbit and even dipping into the EHR space by demoing a new search feature. ...
Not so fast? Google’s plans to purchase Fitbit will soon be under the US Department of Justice’s lens. According to a New York Post report, the merger raised antitrust flags at both the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission, with the former federal agency ultimately winning out.
The Post’s sources said that both of these agencies are hesitant to allow Google an even greater view into individuals’...
There are few clinical areas more in need of innovation than heart disease. It’s the leading killer among men and women in the US, accounting for one in every four deaths by the CDC’s numbers, and yet it’s also a body of health conditions that could be substantially mitigated through a number of lifestyle and behavior changes.
So of course it’s little surprise that cardiovascular health and care...
Earlier this month Google announced its plans acquire Fitbit for roughly $2.1 billion, shaking up the wearable industry, opening up a number of questions about exactly what lies ahead, and what an integration of the two companies looks like.
But the wearables company has long planted its roots in a handful of different markets and business strategies — consumer trackers, health plan partnerships...
New health tracking features are on the menu for Fitbit’s next smartwatch OS update. Unveiled this morning and set to go live on December 3, FitbitOS 4.1 brings some of the sleep health capabilities promised by the company back in August, refines the heart rate tracking algorithm on Versa 2 devices and adds new features to its subscriber offering.
In terms of the latter, Fitbit Premium users will...
Fitbit’s year-over-year device sales flatlined in Q3 2019, which combined with lower sales tag prices drove a decline in revenue, according to the wearables maker’s latest quarterly earnings.
The reporting — which was bereft of an investor’s call, Q&A and any forward-looking statements due to the company’s pending acquisition — is the latest look at a wearables business Google apparently...
