WASHINGTON — Technology is transforming health care. And if you need proof, all you have to do is stroll the aisles at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
There are all kinds of new devices in the personal health category, and they can benefit anyone from an infant to a great-grandparent.
One theme is devices that use digital connections to securely and unobtrusively share vital signs, while other innovators are using smartphones to take old technology to a new level.
Here are a few of the items making news at CES 2016:
SILVER MOTHER
Silver Mother is a new monitoring system designed to enable the elderly to live in their own homes while providing peace of mind for family and caregivers. The system is made up of four different small sensors and a hub connected to the Internet that then transmits data to designated recipients.
A company called Sen.se developed the product, which is perhaps most notable for its flexibility.
Sen.se founder Rafi Haladjian says “every family can decide what is relevant for their loved one” and use the sensors in ways that are most appropriate. For example, a sensor placed on a pill bottle can detect when medications are taken, and one on a door can send an alert if someone wanders off.
Haladjian says this product is very personal to him, noting the idea was driven by the need to help his aging mother. He says the aim was to create an unobtrusive monitoring system that would fit into her everyday life.
QARDIO HEART MONITORS
Qardio is a CES award winner for innovation and brings a new generation of heart monitors to the market. The monitors collect all kinds of data including blood pressure and heart rate. There is a special scale for weight data, and even a way to conduct an electrocardiogram at home.
Alexis Zervoglos with Qardio says what takes the gadget to the next level is its ability to feed all the data via a secure platform to a designated physician, giving the cardiologist or primary-care doctor the ability to track trends over time and react to quick changes.
Zervoglos says the information enables doctors to look after patients on an ongoing basis without constant office visits. He says the company says it is impossible to cheat with the device, noting there is no way to delete a measurement — accidentally or on purpose.
BLUETOOTH HEARING AID
It is the marriage of smartphone and existing hearing aid technology.
Savannah Bailey with Resound — the company that created the new behind-the-ear device — says it’s a revolution in the hearing aid industry.
The device uses Bluetooth technology to stream sounds directly from an iPhone, much like a Bluetooth headphone. Bailey says the audio quality is far superior to existing hearing aids, and the iPhone technology enables the Resound device to be less obtrusive.
That’s in large part because the hearing aid can be controlled through an iPhone app.
“If you need to turn the volume up, turn the treble down, it looks like you are just texting,” Bailey says.
The iPhone connected hearing aid is available only through audiologists and they don’t come cheap. Bailey says typically they run $1,600 to $2,200 per device.
TEMP TRAQ
There’s a new take on that old thermometer in your medicine cabinet.
TempTraq is a Bluetooth wearable temperature monitor that comes in the form of a soft wearable patch. While it’s designed for all ages, it’s a boon for parents who want to monitor a sick child.
“You don’t have to go into a room to wake up a sleeping child,” says John Cannon with Blue Spark, the company that developed TempTraq.
The patch goes under the arm and sends out a signal to an app up to 40 feet away. It keeps sending information for 24 hours and Cannon says a 48 hour version is on the way.
The company is also working on taking the tracking beyond Bluetooth limits by linking the monitors to a secure platform that can transfer data to those who need to monitor a child’s condition from a distance.
WTOP’s Rich Johnson contributed to this report from Las Vegas.
