With over 170,000 attendees, the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is the world’s leading showcase of tech. It’s the place to look for new trends that may impact our lives in the near future. Health technology (health tech) has become one of the darlings of the show in recent years, and 2018 has been no different. Here are the leading trends from this year’s event:
Better sleep for a better life
The benefits of a good night’s sleep are invaluable, and while we now know to avoid disruptive blue light–emitting devices before turning in, more beneficial technology is finding its way into the bedroom. The Nokia Sleep is a wi-fi enabled mat that measures a number of sleep factors and then provides recommendations on how to improve the quality of your rest. Smart-mattress maker Sleep Number promises to go even further. They didn’t bring a product to CES, but they did announce plans to develop mattresses that would help diagnose conditions such as heart attack, flu and sleep apnea.
Remote care and protection when you’re not there
When caregivers cannot be around all the time, new technology promises to step in. Products such as the Helite Hip’Air aim to prevent serious injuries, while others raise warning flags to caregivers when issues occur. The Hip’Air looks like a like an oversized fanny pack, but it’s a lot smarter. When sensors detect a fall, airbags inflate to cushion the hips and drastically reduce the risk of a break. Elsewhere, E-vone Smart Shoes cannot prevent a fall, but when they detect abnormal movement that suggests a fall they send alert messages to predefined contacts or to emergency services.
Even smarter smartwatches
Smartwatches like the Fitbit are becoming ubiquitous, and CES hinted at the next generation. With an FDA submission in the near future, the Omron HeartGuide has a novel function – a blood pressure monitor. The watch’s band inflates to take manual readings and heart rate measurements. It can also monitor you as you sleep, alerting you to hypertension and stroke risks. As they have with smartphones, tech companies are figuring out how to pack even more functionality into the smallest of devices.
A multitude of monitors
Health monitoring continues to accelerate at a dizzying pace. For example, take the Vital Moto Mod – a device that attaches to Motorola phones and, with the insertion of a finger, measures heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, blood oxygen and blood pressure. There’s no need for monitoring to stop there: If you’re allergic to peanuts, the Nima Peanut Sensor could be a lifesaver; if airborne allergens are an issue, the Sensio Air will let you know when household levels are high; and if you are concerned about UV rays, L’Oreal’s UV Sense measures exposure using a device smaller than a dime.
CES takes place every January in Las Vegas, NV. For more information on this year’s show, click here.
