AppleInsider Staff
Omron showed off its latest wares at the ShowStoppers event at CES 2019 on Tuesday, including the HeartGuide wearable blood pressure monitor and an at-home BP monitor with EKG technology developed in partnership with AliveCor.
Omron claims HeartGuide is the first wearable blood pressure monitor to squeeze its complex components into a smartwatch-style form factor. The company says it filed more than 80 patents to realize the device, which contains parts and technology that miniaturize components required for oscillometric measurement.
Like traditional — and much larger — blood pressure measurement devices, HeartGuide relies on an inflatable cuff hidden in its band to facilitate readings. The process is thought to be more accurate than methods employed by other products which rely on solid-state sensors to provide blood pressure estimates.
A transflective, backlit display saves on energy, allowing Omron to build in general smartwatch features like email support, call and text notifications, health tracking, sleep tracking and more. Users can expect to charge HeartGuide two to three times a week, Omron estimates.
In addition to HeartGuide, Omron this spring will release an at-home blood pressure monitor with built-in EKG capabilities. Called Complete, the device allows users to measure and store blood pressure and heart readings simultaneously. Readings can subsequently be shared with healthcare practitioners.
To bring the device to market, Omron partnered with AliveCor, the same company that delivered Apple Watch's first FDA-certified accessory in the Kardia Band EKG meter. Omron says the Complete utilizes advanced algorithms to detect atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of stroke.
Both the HeartGuide and Complete sync data with Apple's HealthKit through their respective mobile apps.
HeartGuide is available now for $499 through Omron's website. The Complete is currently under FDA review and is expected to ship in early 2019 for around $200.
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6 Comments
I wonder if the current Watch 4 will be adding blood pressure at some point or if that is destined for watch 5? So far I am enthralled by my never-ending stream of inconclusive EKG results.
From what I know, wrist BP cuffs are very unreliable and frequently show very different BP with each measurement, as an expensive toy it is OK but not really a serious device for monitoring BP. Every time I checked wrist measurements on various wrist devices they were so much off the actual BP that I just stopped using them...
The holy grail feature for the Apple Watch health app portfolio will be non-invasive blood glucose monitoring. Once Apple gets that function figured out I'd expect to see an exponential increase in Apple Watch sales.