Google medical wearable (Photo : FT)
Google has developed a smartwatch-like wearable device that functions as a health tracker by checking the user's pulse, heart rate, skin temperature, and activity level. Unlike the tech giant's Android Wear product line, the new gadget was made for real-time medical data collection rather than fitness tracking.
Although the new Google wearable is not a consumer device, it looks like the Apple Watch somewhat. However, the former has a bulkier design.
Andy Conrad, head of Google's sciences team, stated in an e-mail that the company hopes the wearables technology will launch a new class of devices that provide high-end, non-stop medical data. It would improve the management of major health conditions.
Besides the health monitoring features, the new Google wearable can also detect sound and light conditions around the user, according to Mashable. This highlights its function as a medical tool.
Google's health tracker will undergo additional testing throughout this summer. The main objective will be to receive official regulation in the United States and Europe.
Google X developed the wristband gadget. The experimental group also created Google Glass and the company's self-driving cars, according to Tech Crunch.
Conrad's vision is to create a "Star Trek" Tricorder. It is a fictional gadget that functions as a handheld medical scanner.
For now the tool will only be a wearable that graces the wrists of medical professionals. However, like Google Glass it could later become geek wear.
The new Google health tracker is the latest device from tech companies to aid medical research. Apple has already launched ResearchKit, which uses iPhones and iPads to collect user data for medical studies.
