A series of upcoming “Health Guardian” features will soon be launched on the Google Health app for Pixel watch and Fitbit Air, tracking indicators such as insulin resistance trends to deliver key health insights to users.
Based on reported evidence that identifying fluctuations in insulin resistance early can offer the opportunity to improve metabolic health via diet, sleep habits, and exercise changes, Google’s Insulin Resistance Trends feature is said to analyse physiological data from wearables to record trends and patterns. Similarly, a new feature for blood pressure monitoring aims to spot higher cardiovascular trends that may warrant lifestyle changes or a consultation with a health professional.
Two further features monitor breathing quality and breathing emergencies, according to Google, grant users a daily summary of the amount of sleep time spent in optimal breathing, a monthly assessment to help recognise longer-term patterns, and the option to enable the Pixel watch to automatically call emergency services when blood oxygen levels drop dangerously low.
“Bringing this technology to your wrist is the result of years of breakthrough AI research,” Google states. “Traditionally, teaching AI required experts to manually analyse and label thousands of hours of sensor data. Instead, we developed advanced AI models that taught themselves human biology by observing sensor data from millions of opted-in users across billions of minutes of everyday life.”
Insulin resistance trends have been developed using a large sensor foundation model trained on more than a trillion minutes of data from five million users, Google reports, with an article examining accuracy as validated by standard blood tests published in Nature. Blood pressure trends are informed by WavesFM, a foundation model trained on billions of minutes of heart and movement data, with data validated via a dedicated Google study.
Users are supported in understanding their health insights through Google Health Coach, which also offers practical guidance on improving health and wellness, Google shares.
“By powering Health Guardian features with advanced AI, we’re laying the foundation for a new wave of health insights,” the company says. “Moving forward, these models and advancement will allow your wearable to catch more subtle changes early, helping you take proactive steps toward a longer, healthier life.”
Wider trend: Wearable tech
Innovate UK has recognised 100 female founders in its latest Women in Innovation cohort, focusing on manufacturing, digital tech, and life sciences, with innovations spanning wearable tech, diagnostics, and AI. 61 of those selected will be receiving a £75,000 grant, along with 12 months of business support and training, Innovate UK reports. The remaining 31 applicants will also receive the 12 months of business support. Some of the projects named by Innovate UK include wearable tech to detect dehydration risk in older adults, looking to prevent avoidable illnesses and reduce hospital admissions. Mary-Brenda Akoda, another successful applicant, is using AI to reduce MRI scanning time by up to 90 percent.
A total of £11.1 million in funding has been committed to the launch of a wearables and remote monitoring innovation cluster in Greater Manchester; a partnership between Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the NIHR Manchester Health Determinants Research Collaboration. The ambition is to help reduce barriers to innovation in wearable and remote health monitoring technologies by developing a simpler process to bring technologies to the market.
In our wearables news in brief, we focused on funding news and emerging use cases across the health sector for wearable health technologies, including $11.6 million in seed funding raised by Clair Health to enable preventative care for women, and $575 million raised by WHOOP to accelerate global expansion for its “human performance” technology.
