On Tuesday, Google Inc.'s GOOGL advanced research division – Google X – revealed that it is working on a health-tracking wristband.
However, Apple AAPL and Fitbit FIT need not be worried since Google’s new wristband targets only doctors, physicians and researchers.
Google’s Wristband
With this health band, Google is seeking to give doctors, researchers and physicians minute-by-minute data on how their patients are doing.
Andy Conrad, head of the life sciences team at Google, in a telephonic interview with Bloomberg said "Our intended use is for this to become a medical device that's prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials"
Google’s experimental device can determine pulse, heart rhythm and skin temperature, along with environmental information like light exposure and noise levels.
Conrad also stated that like Apple and others Google offers health-monitoring smartwatch features in its Android Wear software platform for consumers. However, he believes that most consumer devices are not precise enough for research.
Plans for the Future
According to Bloomberg, Conrad hopes that with time, tools like Google's wristband would help healthy people detect early signs of disease. "Prevention means all the time” he said.
According to a Google spokeswoman, Jacquelyn Miller, trials to test the band will start over the summer.
Meanwhile, Conrad revealed to Bloomberg that Google will team up with academic researchers and drug makers to test the wristband's precision and look for regulatory approval to use it in the U.S. and Europe.
Google might also just look for a manufacturing partner, according to Conrad.
For now, Google seems to be getting serious about health issues. The company has been working on quite a few healthcare-focused technologies, from smart contact lenses for monitoring glucose level to the Google Baseline Study and nanoparticles to detect disease.
The future seems quite healthy with Google around.
Google currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the industry is Synacor, Inc. SYNC which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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