It's that time of the year again, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). An event where many companies large and small unveil their most innovative products, one of the busiest sectors this year for announcements has been sleep technology.
One unique announcement is from Withings, a company historically known for smart watches that still look like traditional analog watches with a long battery life. Withings has announced the ScanWatch, which not only monitors a user's heart rate and can take an ECG reading, but also monitors for sleep apnea using an SpO2 sensor. Sleep apnea is a major problem that often goes undiagnosed for long periods of time. According to the National Sleep foundation, over 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea.
Withings is waiting for approval from regulatory bodies such as the FDA before launching ScanWatch officially, but expects that to happen soon. The company already has an issued patent for sleep monitoring that is specifically tailored to detecting sleep apnea based on a measured drop in blood oxygenation and pauses in the breathing cycle.
