CES 2020: Exhibitors Aim High and Wide in Digital Health and Wellness

Groundbreaking technologies AI and 5G emerge for healthcare at the global event, while digital health refocuses on affordable and accessible options for home, healthcare, and wellness.

From homes to cars to hospitals, technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G will soon be expected in many types of devices on the market. And, if you've been waiting for them to make their way into healthcare design, the wait is (mostly) over.

Exhibitors at CES, which took place January 7-10, 2020, in Las Vegas, showed they are eager to bring the once pie-in-the-sky technologies to health. But developers didn't forget their bread and butter in digital technologies. Tech-forward medtech companies tinkered with innovative iterations of wearable devices already on the market. And savvy device makers also cast a wide net, showing that they are emphasizing making the latest technology in health available and accessible to all users.

Real-world AI in the Works

CES burst at the seams with artificial intelligence offerings in home, defense, automotive, and consumer technologies. AI in medical is coming a bit slower than in other sectors, out of an abundance of caution. In April 2019, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) introduced the AI in Healthcare Working Group, an initiative to develop new standards and best practices for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. However, some intriguing and practical products harness the technology already.

For example, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) introduced GenkiCam, an AI camera and monitoring device for baby care. This edge-computing camera identifies whether a baby is happy, has its face covered, or is vomiting. It can monitor heartbeat and breathing and immediately informs parents of any abnormality such as sleep apnea. ITRI's technology uses deep learning technology to alert parents' smartphones of dangerous events to ensure infant safety. The company researched 500,000 images of different baby's faces and designed a deep-learning architecture to classify facial expressions and identify dangerous events. The company claims an accuracy of abnormal event detection higher than 95 percent.

In addition, Aural Analytics' touted its proprietary platform that tracks and analyzes vocal biomarkers (components of speech) that detect and measure subtle, clinically relevant speech changes in patients with neurological conditions that impact speech and language. Aural Analytics joined CTA's AI in Healthcare Working Group in December 2019.

Not to be outdone, Oral-B and Colgate both brought smart technology to the dental space with Colgate unveiling a toothbrush that detects biofilm buildup and provides coaching through their app.  Oral-B, on the other hand, now offers the iO toothbrush which uses pressure sensors and an AI enabled app to recommend optimal brush pressure and coaching.

5G Tech Signals to Health Care

Wireless 5G communication is coming to consumers as well as the healthcare industry. According to Medical Futurist, 5G might be suited to the medical field because it enables quick and reliable transport of substantial data files, such as medical imagery. It can provide real-time, high-quality video to improve telemedicine and remote monitoring. 

Kyocera, among others, introduced prototypes of rugged 5G tablets and smartphones. These products will be usable for demanding fields such as emergency medical care. Kyocera also released a "5G Smart Router" device, which can bring edge computing and 5G connectivity to devices lacking 5G capability.

Wearables Advance Multifunctional and Affordability

Technology developers continued to push the boundaries in wearables providing new and exciting ways to collect biometrics and deliver therapies non-invasively. They also worked to close the loop to ensure data collected reaches the right hands at the right time. 

Juggernaut TDK is advancing the notion that "the best possible medical treatments should be available to everyone." The company focused on showing its lower-cost and non-invasive diagnostic methods. These include a biomagnetic sensor and wearable biosensor/activity tracker, Silmee.

Silmee is a wristband-type wearable biosensor that measures and records the amount of conversation/sleeping time/pulse/UV, as well as activity. The biomagnetic sensor is a patch-type wearable used to measure cardiac potential with high accuracy. TDK also promoted a portable-type biosensor that transmits emergency calls along with location information and a digital basal thermometer with a communication function. 

Kyocera introduced a smart carbohydrate monitoring system. This device can estimate carbohydrate metabolism by measuring the user's heartbeat through the wrist, analyzing pulse-wave patterns with a built-in gyro sensor, and displaying results on the user's smartphone. Lifestyle and wellness applications include diet monitoring and pre-diabetic awareness, with no needles or blood sampling required.

Oticon introduced Xceed, which it claims is the world's most powerful hearing aid as well as RemoteCare, an e-health solution that streamlines patient-provider aftercare services.

CES Shows a Mature Balance in Medtech

As the digital health and wellness device industry advances, we see promising applications of the latest technology. These exciting and revolutionary tools will help the medical community and individuals improve their health experiences. We are also pleased to see responsible companies work to solve the problems with existing technology and improve on design and applicability as they gain experience.