Last year, we showed you an image of Alphabet's health watch (seen above): it's not just an ordinary smartwatch. It's designed to be used for medical research and clinical trials, measuring not only your heartbeat but also skin temperature, light exposure, and noise levels. It's an interesting project from what was known then as Google X Life Sciences.
Now renamed Verily, Alphabet's endeavors don't seem to have slowed down. According to Antonio Regalado from MIT Technology Review, who got to see the watch and had a chance to talk Brian Otis, Verily's chief technical officer, the health watch is now a real, working prototype:
The prototype I saw was set in an ordinary-looking brass-colored analog watch casing that appeared not to have any buttons. Otis called it the "Cardiac and Activity Monitor" and said it was at least the second generation of the device.
According to Regalado, the watch now has a circular, paper-white display. Although it may not be as impressive as OLED technology, using an e-paper screen makes much more sense. Considering its uses, people simply cannot afford to charge it every day.
The health watch will have various sensors as well: on the back, it will have LED lights to employ photoplethysmography to measure your heart rate. It also has raised metal pads to measure galvanic skin response and stress levels. According to Regalado, future prototypes are likely to include other measurements as well such as blood pressure.
Although Alphabet's health watch is not designed to be for commercial use, it nonetheless has very important implications, especially in preventive care and remote monitoring. Wearable technology – and especially Wearable Internet of Things – will have a huge impact on today's healthcare system. Telemedicine is already becoming a mainstream method for expanding healthcare access and reducing its cost; just imagine what IoT will do! It may not be so far into the future that a watch around our wrist will alert us when our blood pressure is too high or low and it'll be automatically reflected in our recommended diet, workout routine, etc.
Although Alphabet's health watch is not designed to be for commercial use, it nonetheless has very important implications, especially in preventive care and remote monitoring.
What are your thoughts on technology in healthcare? Let us know in the comments below!
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