CES 2023 put digital health on full display

CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is where the biggest names in tech (Google, Amazon, and the like) often unveil their newest and shiniest products.

Though it’s not usually thought of as a place for healthcare professionals, CES 2023 featured a large digital health section in the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center. There were dozens of consumer biowearables, remote patient-monitoring devices, and sleep technology on display. Many of the products also brought healthcare into the home—an emerging healthcare trend.

“The accessibility shortfalls in many global health systems represent a major opportunity for the technology sector to drive solutions,” René Quashie, vice president of digital health for the Consumer Technology Association, the organization that produces CES, told Healthcare Brew.

Morning Brew reporters battled it out to see who would get to witness all the newfangled tech firsthand at January’s conference. (Just kidding...but I won, by the way.) Here are some of the coolest and most useful gadgets from CES 2023:

Remote monitoring wearable from BioIntelliSense

The startup, founded in 2018, created a device called the BioButton that hospital patients can wear overnight. It reduces the need for a nurse to check patient vitals every few hours. The device, roughly the size of a potato chip, adheres to the chest below the collarbone and tracks heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and a range of other biometrics. The data goes to a dashboard called BioMobile for clinicians to monitor.

Wrist wearable for senior care from CarePredict

Founded in 2013, CarePredict created a wrist wearable—similar to Apple or Fitbit smartwatches—that tracks how often older adults go to the bathroom per day and their risk of developing depression, among other data points. The wearable connects to an app that the person’s caregiver can access, and gives insight into changes like if the wearer has slept less than usual, if they skip a meal, or if they fall. The device is sold directly to consumers for $450, plus a $70 monthly subscription fee.

Remote physical therapy robot from H Robotics

H Robotics incorporated in 2018 and created a robotic physical therapy device to help people treat neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, either in a clinic or at home. The device, called Rebless, can be used on both the arms and legs, and facilitates customized range-of-motion exercises for each patient. Patients can also have devices shipped to their homes for at-home treatment and get exercise instructions from their physicians via telehealth visits through the company’s app.

Brain-analyzing helmet from iMediSync

iSyncWave, a device that looks like a bike helmet, measures the electrical activity in the brain through a test called an electroencephalogram, or EEG. The patient puts the device on for five minutes—half the time with the eyes closed and the other half with them open—and it detects abnormalities in the wearer’s brain waves, which could indicate certain brain disorders like epilepsy or a sleep disorder. The South Korea-based company says the device can also estimate the risk for Alzheimer’s disease if the user is at least 50 years old.

All-in-one vitals tool from MedWand Solutions

The MedWand, created in 2014, serves as a thermometer, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, and more—basically an all-in-one device that’s easy to use whether or not you have a medical degree. Anyone from patients at home to traveling clinicians can use this small device, which is about the size of a computer mouse.