Electronics
to one another – to provide adhesion and consistent monitoring without the use of chemical adhesions. By making it as easy as possible to record biomarkers, Cheng believes the convenience and ease of use for patients will bolster compliance and, ultimately, health outcomes.
Off the cuff
The Fingertip Blood Pressure Monitor combines photoplethysmography sensing with AI to help patients keep track of their blood pressure.
Steven LeBoeuf is president and co-founder of Valencell, an American medtech company that’s developed a small, portable and cuffless blood pressure monitoring device to help patients monitor chronic diseases such as hypertension remotely. Not yet cleared by FDA, the fingertip blood pressure monitor was engineered to make blood pressure management easier and more convenient. “Our solution, comprising a fingertip sensor and a mobile app, provides accurate blood pressure spot check measurements without ever requiring the need for a cuff or calibration,” he explains. Valencell’s smart sensing device delivers blood pressure readings with the help of its proprietary machine learning software. In an average time of one minute, the device collects photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor information collected from a patient’s finger, combines it with their unique age, weight, sex and height data points and transmits the resulting blood pressure reading to the patient’s mobile app. According to LeBoeuf, Valencell’s software is powered by a machine learning model that has been trained on over 10,000 datasets from over 5,000 human participants across the globe. Monitoring devices with PPG sensing technology collect patient data by emitting light onto skin tissue while a photodetector measures the light
that’s being reflected. Valencell evolved from a developer and supplier of PPG sensing tech for fitness wearables to its current identity as a digital health technology solution brand focused on chronic disease management and prevention. “Valencell has been breathing life into wearable PPG sensors for over 15 years,” LeBoeuf notes, adding that the company’s claim to fame was the development and commercialisation of the world’s first optical-based heart rate monitoring technology, which is now a common fixture in gyms and on fitness gear. Taking a wider view of the industry, he points to four areas of technological advancement that have made sensing devices like Valencell’s possible: wireless and mobile tech, wearable tech, machine learning, and digital health tech. Adherence has long been a practical limitation of remote sensing technology in healthcare, he explains: “A low- burdensome wearable sensor is practically useless without seamless wireless data logging. If people need to keep re-establishing wireless connections due to drop-outs, the best sensors in the world might as well be doorstops.”
Devices that are difficult or burdensome to use are an issue not just for end-users, but also for healthcare providers. “Even a perfect user- friendly sensor with seamless wireless connectivity to a healthcare professional is a commercial non- starter without an autonomous way of making sense of the data. And that’s where machine learning comes in,” adds LaBoeuf.
Continuous monitoring
Headquartered in California, Bigfoot Biomedical is another medical device company focused on leveraging complex sensing technology to provide simple, personalised, and convenient healthcare data for patients. “We’re challenging the current approach to diabetes innovation by focusing on simplicity over complexity so that people with diabetes can live the lives they choose,” the company’s CEO, Jeffrey Brewer, explains. “Bigfoot aims to provide simple, easy-to-use tools to reduce the cognitive, emotional, and financial burden for diabetes patients who require insulin.”
While there are other monitoring systems on the market that provide alerts and information, the primary function of the Bigfoot Unity System is to give patients actionable advice and insights based on their blood data, which is continuously monitored in real time. When a Bigfoot user asks how much insulin they should take at any given moment, the system is designed to deliver a personalised answer instantly. “We hear from users that data is good, but knowing what to do with it is better,” says Brewer, adding that Bigfoot’s simple approach to functionality and use
76 Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
Valencell
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