Fitbit has built its business around tracking users’ steps and heart rate. It now wants to use its wearable devices in order to detect a disorder called ‘sleep apnea’. The disorder, sleep apnea afflicts millions of people; but it frequently goes undiagnosed.
Fitbit eyes sleep apnea space for next digital innovation
Wearable makers like Fitbit are now exploring medical use-cases in order to make their devices useful for millions of people with chronic illnesses rather than just fitness lovers. The company told in a statement that Fitbit is building tools so as to help diagnose and even monitor sleep apnea, a disorder that has affected around 18 million American adults.
With the Fitbit’s stock price down 62% in the past year and Apple also threatening its market leadership; the company’s future might be predicated on its success in the medical sector.
How is sleep apnea detected?
Sleep apnea is characterized by pauses in breathing and shallow breath. It comes with an increased risk of heart failure, obesity, and strokes. And, one of the biggest concerns is that a lot of people don’t even realize they have it.
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Conor Heneghan, Fitbit’s lead research scientist said, ‘We’d perform a useful public service by alerting users to the fact that they have a problem’. Heneghan currently works on Fitbit’s research and development team that is focused on testing out new biomedical sensors and exploring potential applications.
A big potential market
According to Research and Markets, with revenue expected to increase to $6.7 billion by 2021 from $4.6 billion, sleep apnea can be considered as a big potential market.
Fitbit’s shipments sank around 35% in the first quarter from the last year to 2.9 million devices. So Fitbit is now looking for new ways so as to keep pace with chief rival Apple in the competitive wearables market.
It is currently working with sleep labs to study how prototypes perform in detecting sleep apnea. Heneghan now expects to bring the sleep apnea product to market within a year, if the company can prove to the medical community that the device is sufficiently accurate.
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Date: June 27, 2017