Withings Unveils BeamO: A Versatile Health Device
Withings, a prominent French digital health company, has recently showcased its latest innovation, the BeamO, at CES 2024. This handheld gadget touts the ability to conduct four crucial health assessments in under a minute, establishing itself as a flexible tool for monitoring personal health.
User-Friendly and Portable Device
The BeamO is meticulously crafted into a compact, candy bar-shaped design, ensuring ease of use and handling. Its intuitive joystick controller simplifies navigation through diverse functions. Furthermore, the device sports a dedicated display, although the stethoscope functionality necessitates guidance from the companion app.
Comprehensive Health Tracking Capabilities
Featuring electrodes on its side, the BeamO can gauge blood oxygen levels and heart rate. It boasts the capacity to execute a 1-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), akin to the functionality seen in the Apple Watch. Additionally, the device houses a temperature scanner for monitoring temporal artery temperature and a piezoelectric disc for capturing acoustic sounds from the chest or back, facilitating their sharing with healthcare providers during telehealth consultations.
Swift and Insightful Health Assessments
Withings asserts that the BeamO can conduct a thorough body checkup in less than a minute. It is adept at identifying potential health concerns such as fever, infections, and even cardiovascular issues like atrial fibrillation. The company envisions the BeamO transforming telemedicine by enabling individuals to undertake basic assessments at home, thereby enhancing the accessibility of remote consultations with doctors.
Nevertheless, it's crucial to bear in mind that the FDA clearance is necessary for the ECG feature of the BeamO, implying that availability for this function might not be instantaneous.
Upgraded Companion App Experience
In conjunction with the BeamO, Withings is rolling out a substantial update to its companion app, Health Mate. This revamped version of the app will empower up to eight users to monitor their medication consumption and document their symptoms. Subsequently, this data can be exported and shared with healthcare professionals, including physicians.
Pricing and Launch Details
The BeamO is slated for release in June 2024, priced at $250. While it might present a slightly higher cost compared to other home health devices currently in the market, its array of features positions it as a holistic solution for personal health monitoring.