CES 2023: Devices to silence snoring, analyze urine and create digital ‘twins’ unveiled

Snore-muffling pillows, urine-testing toilets and “digital twins” for safer surgeries were all on display at a CES gadget festival in Las Vegas on Tuesday, ahead of the opening of the extravaganza. consumer electronics.

Fueled by the pandemic, a rising trend in remote or home healthcare innovations is set to be a major theme at the annual CES gathering.

“We’re going to see some really cool health gadgets that monitor or improve your well-being,” Avi Greengart, technology analyst at Techsponential, said of the show.

anti snoring pillow

South Korea-based 10Minds introduced a pillow with a built-in microphone that detects snoring, then triggers silent airbags that change in size to gently rotate the sleeper’s head into a position that facilitates quiet breathing.

“When you start snoring, it detects it right away,” company representative Daehyun Kim told AFP at the CES Unveiled event.

“It even distinguishes your snoring from that of your dog or your spouse.”

The pillow, which syncs with a smartphone app, collects data that is analyzed to identify snoring patterns to fine-tune its response over time, Kim added.

“It’s (a) very simple solution,” Kim said.

Toilets transformed into a laboratory

Digital health and wellness company Withings was at Unveiled with a U-Scan device that allows people to analyze their urine while peeing like they normally would in a toilet.

A disc suspended inside a toilet bowl can hold interchangeable cartridges, one of which monitors a woman’s menstrual cycle and the other measures indicators of nutritional health such as vitamin C and vitamin C levels. ketone.

“It helps people monitor their metabolic intake to optimize their daily hydration and nutrients,” the French company said in a statement.

“It recommends workouts, dietary suggestions, and recipes to achieve identified goals.”

The device in the restroom syncs wirelessly with a smartphone app.

U-Scan can even distinguish between different 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, priced at 500 euros for a starter kit.

It will not be available in the United States until it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Double digital

French company Abys has presented technology that allows surgeons to create “digital twins” of patients using data from X-rays and other standard medical scans.

Surgeons can then precisely plan an operation, reducing the time and risks involved, company co-founder Arnaud Destainville told AFP.

In operating rooms, surgeons can use Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality headsets to access a patient’s hologram “twin” and other data as they work, Destainville said.

“All the planning, all the information becomes available during the surgery,” Destainville said.

US regulators approved the Abys innovation last week, according to the co-founder.

Massage chair

South Korean company Bodyfriend tackles neck and back pain caused by hunching over screens.

A Bodyfriend massage chair presented as a medical device kneads the muscles, applies heat and even emits electromagnetic waves supposed to relieve pain.

“Our technology helps solve problems created by technology” because spending time on your phone and other screens can create back problems, said Changjoo Kim, director of Bodyfriend North America.

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