Artificial Intelligence and Metaverse Dominate CES 2023

In January 2023, the major consumer electronics expo returns to Las Vegas to renew consumer-facing technology that personalises and improves the healthcare process

Highlights:

CES 2023 was held in Las Vegas from January 5 to 8, 2023, at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Venetian Convention and Expo Center on the Las Vegas Strip
The consumer electronics expo had a renewed emphasis on healthcare technology, which included everything from digital health panels to wearables, AI software, and healthcare applications in smart homes, autos, and other consumer goods
As physicians seek new technology and tactics to engage with customers outside the hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office, healthcare companies are taking a renewed interest in this event

The world’s largest health technology exhibition, CES, in Las Vegas brought with it a slew of new virtual reality headsets, odd robots, smart health devices, and other strange and wonderful technologies ().

Mobile Health Technology can Improve Overall Heart Disease Risk
An app-based secondary prevention program developed to target individuals who have known ischemic heart disease.

‘Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), as well as AI and robots, were extensively highlighted at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. Remote monitoring tools and platforms in the form of wearables that track many vital signs and activities, and smart home technology were also showcased’
Read More..

What is CES

CES, once known as the Consumer Electronics Show, has recently expanded its scope far beyond consumer electronics, with a substantial portion of the event being focused on automotive and digital health advancements.

This year’s topic is human security, with an emphasis on technologies that can help solve the world’s most pressing problems, such as access to healthcare, clean air, water, and food.

“I think tech with a purpose is a great way to think about it; also, tech for good, and making life better,” said Steve Koenig, Vice-President of Research at the Consumer Technology Association, the trade group that organizes CES each year. “You just have to look at all the innovation that’s happening in health technology to find an abundance of evidence for that.”

Wearable Devices and Mobile Health Technology Can Promote Overall Health
Wearable devices and mobile health technology may work better as part of a general overall health plan, rather than working only to help weight loss, finds a new study.

Novel Devices Target Snoring, Pee and Even Surgeries

Snore-suppressing pillows, urine-testing toilets, and ‘digital twins’ for safer surgeries were all on show at the CES gadget carnival in Las Vegas.

A developing trend in remote or home healthcare solutions, fueled by the pandemic, is set to be one of the primary themes at this annual conference ().

EHealth Technology Can Enhance Doctor-Patient Relationship
Rehab medicine has clearly demonstrated that it's possible to employ eHealth tech -- real time televideo showing quality of life shared with the clinical staff.

10Minds Snore-Silencing Pillow

Based in South Korea 10Minds demonstrated a pillow with a built-in microphone that detects snoring and then activates soundless airbags that change the size to gently shift a sleeper’s head to a position that allows for silent breathing.

“When you start snoring, right away it detects it,” company representative Daehyun Kim said at the CES Unveiled event. “It even distinguishes your snoring from your dog’s snoring or your spouse. The pillow, which syncs with a smartphone app, collects data which is analyzed to identify snoring patterns to hone its response over time. It’s a very simple solution,” Kim said ().

Mobile Health Technology
In a report submitted by the WHO it was found that eight in 10 countries are making use of mobile phone services to improve health care.

Withings U-Scan Device Turns the Toilet into a Laboratory

Withings, a digital health and wellness business, was at Unveiled with a U-Scan device that allows individuals to examine their urine by peeing regularly into a toilet.

A disk that hangs within a toilet bowl may hold replaceable cartridges, one of which tracks a woman’s menstruation cycle and another which examines nutritional health indicators like vitamin C and ketone levels.

“It helps people monitor their metabolic intake to optimize their daily hydration and nutrients. It recommends workouts, dietary suggestions, and recipes to achieve identified goals,” the French company said.

The in-tank device wirelessly connects to a smartphone app. U-Scan can even discriminate between various users based on ‘an individual’s urine stream signature,’ according to the company.

Withings will launch U-Scan in Europe in the second quarter of this year, with a beginning package costing 500 euros ().

Abys Digital Twin Technology for Accurate Surgical Planning

Abys, located in France, demonstrated technology that allows surgeons to build ‘digital twins’ of patients using X-rays and other regular medical imaging. Surgeons may then accurately plan an operation, decreasing the time and risk involved, according to firm co-founder Arnaud Destainville.

Surgeons in operating rooms can utilize Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality headsets to access a patient’s hologram ‘twin’ and other data as they work, according to Destainville. “During the surgery, all of the preparation and information becomes available,” Destainville explained ().

Bodyfriend Massage Chair for Pain Relief

Bodyfriend, a South Korean firm, is targeting neck and back pain caused by hunching over screens. A Bodyfriend massage chair, marketed as a medical device, kneads muscles, provides heat, and even pulses electromagnetic waves to relieve aches and pains.

“Our technology helps solve problems generated by technology,” said Bodyfriend North America manager Changjoo Kim, because spending time on one’s phone and other screens can cause back difficulties ().

Opteev Technology’s ViraWarn- Pocket-Size Virus Detector

The show’s media preview provided a taste of the increasing market for digital health technology.

ViraWarn, a pocket-size breath analyzer that detects COVID-19, RSV, and influenza in under 60 seconds was on the show.

“You blow into the device twice, and you receive a positive or negative result via a red positive or green negative LED light on the front of the device,” explained Dana Gardner, Vice President of Business Development at Opteev Technologies.

The reusable ViraWarn is awaiting FDA approval. You only need to change the biosensor cartridge after around two weeks, and the business is intending to market the device at $99 (€93), with cartridges costing “a couple of bucks each”.

“So, it’s bringing the cost of an individual self-test down to pennies per test, since you can use it so many times,” Gardner said ().

Smart Device Assists Workers Transition from Standing to Sitting Posture Without a Chair

An exoskeleton developed by a Japanese start-up, Archelis, can assist factory and healthcare workers in smoothly transitioning from a standing to a sitting posture without the use of a chair.

The device is tied to your legs and has two modes: one that allows you to walk freely - if slightly uncomfortably - and another that locks the device into a position that allows you to relax your lower back and feels like sitting on a high swivel chair.

That device might undoubtedly come in handy for those visiting CES since you are either walking or standing all day as you make your way through the massive exhibit halls hosting over 3,200 firms ().

References:

CES 2023: AI, smart health and the metaverse set to dominate this year's tech show in Vegas - (https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/01/05/ces-2023-ai-smart-health-and-the-metaverse-set-to-dominate-this-years-tech-show-in-vegas)
Digital Health Takes Center Stage At Ces 2023 - (https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/digital-health-takes-center-stage-ces-2023)
Gadgets take aim at snoring, pee and even surgery - (https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2023/01/05/2003792011)

Source-Medindia