CES 2021 Wrap-up: The Future of Health Tech is Already Here

Missed the Consumer Electronics Show this year? So did everybody else! The tech industry’s marquee event has also become a launching pad for some of the coolest new innovations in health. The entire event went online this year, and we walked the virtual convention floor, looking for the latest and greatest. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorites.

Sharon’s pick: Rendever applied virtual reality for seniors

Image via Rendever — *Image via* Rendever

As we have been through almost a year of a global pandemic, awareness of and focus on social isolation has increased, especially among seniors. This is a serious public health issue: according to the CDC, loneliness and social isolation in older adults puts them at risk for serious medical conditions including dementia.

A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) highlights that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss.

I am fascinated and hopeful about the application of virtual reality (VR) to address this issue. Rendever is a virtual reality platform created to help reduce isolation, especially among seniors living in nursing homes. Rendever’s mission is “…overcoming social isolation through the power of virtual reality and shared experiences. Relive. Reconnect. Reinspire.” Interestingly, the VR can be used with reminiscence therapy, which guides individuals with dementia through experiences that remind them of their pasts and allow virtual travel to landmarks.

Rachel’s pick: Themis smart health and beauty Mirror

When you look into the Themis mirror, it’s not just your reflection staring back at you. The smart mirror is embedded with sensors and cameras that look deep into your pores to conduct a skin analysis and assess health information. It uses a UV light to analyze your skin’s radiance, pigmentation, redness, texture, wrinkles and shine levels, and provides customized skin care and makeup recommendations. Themis will even guide you through a facial yoga session so you can reduce fine lines without freezing up your face with injectables.

The smart mirror extends beyond your beauty routine to check your vitals, measure your temperature and even track your menstrual cycle. Yes, your mirror now has its eyes on your uterus. It also connects with other bathroom devices such as your scale to monitor your fitness levels and encourage healthy habits. Themis will remind you to partake in regular relaxation sessions and even tell you when to go to bed. Essentially, Themis is your mom, your life coach, your personal trainer, and your cosmetologist all in one.

The launch of the Themis mirror echoes the growing trend towards more customized, connected, and holistic health and beauty devices. As we learn more about how our mind, body, health, and habits are mirrors (no pun intended) of one another, it makes sense that a product originally meant to simply reflect our appearance would also assess the other health markers that affect and alter what we look like. With products like Themis, looking good is no longer all about looks.

Lisa’s pick: INNOVO assisted pelvic floor therapy for urinary stress incontinence

The taboos that surround common women’s health issues – and persist, even in these evolved times when we have a female vice president and we can completely sequence the human genome – are shameful. There’s a long and sordid history of the medical community misunderstanding, ignoring, or demonizing what happens in a woman’s body, and society, in general, treats many dimensions of the female form like they’re unnatural and disgusting. No wonder only about 1 in 3 women who experience some kind of incontinence seek care for it.

Atlantic Therapeutics created INNOVO, a direct-to-consumer therapy that may be a solution for urinary stress incontinence. Users slip on a pair of black bike shorts equipped with wires that deliver EMS to help re-train and re-educate pelvic floor muscles and improve bladder strength.

This is an actual, real product that is available now at a not-unfair price of $450. Achieving results requires a substantial amount of discipline: the user must wear the shorts for 5, 30-minute sessions a week for several weeks. However, both the data and testimonials look good and this device could absolutely be life-changing. INNOVO works for both genders, though it seems to be marketed primarily toward women. By normalizing a condition like incontinence and then supplying a solution that’s discreet but not shame-inducing, Atlantic Therapeutics is doing a lot to empower women.

I feel compelled to chime in that while my bladder is just fine, my back is not and I’m curious if this might have applications for people who suffer from back pain (which is almost everyone). I also feel compelled to chime in that I am thoroughly obsessed with bike shorts, and it looks like they did a good job designing theirs.

Charles’ pick: Quantum Operation’s blood glucose monitor

Image via Quantum Operations — *Image via* Quantum Operations

As a man with a STRONG history of diabetes on both sides of my family, I have a constant nagging in my head about my blood glucose levels. I’ve seen the painful finger prick family members have had to endure to measure their levels to make sure they’re OK and not have to adjust what they’re eating for the day or week.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with prediabetes, as my glucose levels came very close to qualifying me as diabetic. I changed my diet, mainly eliminating sugary drinks like soda, sweet tea (a staple in the south), and many juices. But as I did this, I still had no way of monitoring where my glucose levels were before my next check-up. Quantum Operation’s continuous blood glucose monitor would have been great to have as I worked hard to maintain healthy levels.

The wearable blood glucose monitor has its benefits, but I am also concerned that it could be too expensive for the population who would be most helped by its use. Should this product become a sanctioned tool for managing diabetes, I’d be very curious about how it would be marketed and made available to those who would benefit the most from it. I would hate for it to become a fashionable piece for those who can afford it, much like the Fitbit rather than those who need it reaping maximum benefit and healthy outcomes from its genius.

David’s pick: LG Portable Air Purifier

One of the first virus-fighting tools we were introduced to last year was the face mask. Of course, we had seen them in news footage from other countries and at airplane terminals. But to the vast majority of people in the U.S., face masks were for the most part—literally and figuratively—foreign. Even though their adoption has been met with animosity and skepticism, face masks are here to stay.

As part of their PuriCare line of products, LG just introduced their very first stab at reinventing the face mask. First of all, instead of calling it a face mask, it’s a portable air purifiers. That’s right, an air purifier for your face. And if it were designed by Apple (and it might as well have been) it would certainly be called the iFace or iMask, or other derivations of that.

What LG’s PuriCare Portable Air Purifier brings to the table is more than just protection. It is a wearable, rechargeable, reusable solution to protect you against dust, lack of oxygen and of course, viruses.

To me, the biggest advantage of having a pair of fans next to your face (other than the ability to reverberate your voice to do a cool Darth Vader “I am your fatherrrr” impersonation ) is finally being able to breathe comfortably while knowing you are protecting yourself against Covid-19. And the LG PAP seems to deliver on that.

At the end of the day, it’s far from perfect. But if you’re willing to spend $300 for your own peace of mind and altruistic, climate-conscious well-being…I say, go for it. But you might just want to hang on ‘til the inevitable 2.0 version when they work out all the kinks.