Urine analysis to sleep monitors, CES 2023 brings crazy new healthtech gadgets

Before the festival took off, analysts and observers of the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 had pegged health-tech as one of the key segments that would emerge from the festival. The first day has yielded exactly that, with a host of quirky, unusual and cutting-edge technologies in the field of healthcare technologies. From recognised tech brands such as Samsung, Motorola and cosmetics brand L’Oreal, to the little-heard-of Yukai and Valencell, here’s looking at some of the most interesting health-tech devices and services launched at CES 2023. 

Loreal Hapta and Brow Magic 

“About 50 million people around the world live with limited fine motor capabilities,” L’Oreal said in its CES 2023 showcase. The context — L’Oreal’s latest robots, which offer a technological solution to offering anyone with an equal footing for applying makeup. The solutions are handheld and computerised devices that can automate the process of applying makeup, with a robot called ‘Hapta’. It also gets ‘Brow Magic’, a second robot that is specifically built to create customised brow looks. 

NoWatch 

Built by Dutch firm NoWatch, the brand’s first smartwatch does everything but tell the time. It is a wearable device that pairs with an app and uses a slew of onboard sensors to offer readings of stress levels, moods based on health metrics and indicators, and the quality of sleep. In context, it is similar to the health trackers that Jawbone used to make, but never really found a solid market for. 

Variowell Pepaminto mattress topper 

The winner of CES 2023 Digital Innovation award in the category of Digital Health, German startup Variowell has built a mattress topper, which is a layer of foam that you can put above your mattress. It syncs with your Apple Watch sensors to adjust the heat levels of the mattress to give you the ideal temperature of the bed to sleep on, based on your body heat and health. 

Withings U-Scan 

Shaped like a puck and measuring just 90mm in diameter, the Withings U-Scan fits into any toilet seat. At any urination reading, the sensors offer an instant snapshot of a host of health metrics based on the urine, including hydration levels, nutrition, and also hormone-based menstrual cycle data. 

Samsung Telemedicine and Health Monitor apps 

Korean electronics major Samsung has two new apps for its televisions, which include Telemedicine and Health Monitor. While Telemedicine will let viewers access remote doctor consultancies by dictating their symptoms to a compatible camera that sits above the TV set, Health Monitor is a self-diagnosis app that uses a process called ‘photoplethysmography’ to observe minute colour changes on a user’s face, to detect health anomalies and also measure heart rate and other vitals. 

Yukai Fufuly 

One of the quirkier announcements, Fufuly by Japan’s Yukai Technologies is a pillow that makes inhaling and exhaling motions rhythmically to coax your body into sleep. It also adjusts from a heavier breathing motion to a more gradual one, to help users get into a less stressful rhythm for falling asleep. 

Nuralogix Anura 

Health-tech specialist Nuralogix unveiled its latest health-tech platform, Anura, at CES 2023. The platform will use conventional selfie cameras on consumer devices to make readings such as facial blood flow data, and make diagnosis based on these metrics. 

Valencell 

Valencell’s solution at CES 2023 is to simplify the process of measuring blood pressure, without needing elaborate contraptions. As a result, the company presented a solution that does not need a cuff to be worn — instead, it showcased a device that has a sensor, which a user can tap their finger on, and get blood pressure reading on an app. It could well become a precursor to a mainstream feature on wearable devices in the future.