igeazle portable/travel desk
It can be used in a variety of settings; its applications are endless.

Wearable Sensor for Clinical Research

Google X is developing a wearable health sensor for cardiac and activity tracking. It is unlike its competitor Fitbit, or Apple Watch. The device is a clinical-grade sensor designed for investigational use.

“In brief, we’ll be starting to use it in clinical studies to see if/how a continuous stream of medical-grade measurements of biological signals (e.g. pulse, skin temp, activity levels) could be useful to physicians and researchers as they try to understand and intervene earlier in disease,” a Google spokesperson told MobiHealthNews in an email. “This could give them insights that are currently only available sporadically — e.g. via a diagnostic test, or when a patient is being observed in a clinical setting.”

“Doctors have always looked for new ways to gain insight into the subtle biological patterns that could help earlier diagnosis or intervention in disease,” Andy Conrad, head of the life sciences team at Google, said in a statement. “Our hope is that this technology could unlock a new class of continuous, medical-grade information that makes it easier to understand these patterns and manage serious health conditions.”

“In testing, we’ve been syncing data collected from these devices through an online and mobile internet portal,” a Google spokesperson told MobiHealthNews in an email. “The ability to securely store, analyze, and interpret the data from this device is as important as the technology itself. We’re developing the analysis techniques and software to make sure that the information is medically-relevant and useful for clinicians. As we continue to test the device, we’ll be working with our clinical partners to further refine the user interfaces and analytics that support the system.”

Photos