Omron Healthcare unveils next generation of blood pressure monitoring
LAS VEGAS – Blood pressure monitor market leader Omron Healthcare provided a sneak peek of two new devices and previewed an initiative to evolve the blood pressure category to “do more to improve heart health for millions of hypertensive individuals” at the recent Consumer Electronic Show here. They're the kind of blood pressure monitors everyone envisioned when telemedicine was first talked about - easy-to-use, wireless, health app friendly and designed such that they not only help boost home testing of blood pressure, but also medication compliance with an added medication reminder and tracking function.
The company provided a first look at its “Project Zero” Wrist and Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitors and the new Omron Connect App – clinically-tested, highly accurate heart health tools that will be available this year and are part of a major heart health initiative that the company is rolling out in 2016.
“Blood pressure monitors must go beyond tracking numbers," stated Ranndy Kellogg, COO Omron Healthcare. "Omron Healthcare is aiming at a greater mission – to help improve heart health. In addition to building on our heritage of accuracy, we are designing our new products to provide more insights, encourage behavioral change and promote healthier lifestyle habits," he said. “Our new Project Zero blood pressure monitors are medical devices. That’s an important distinction in the market and that clinical support matters to millions of hypertensive individuals who rely on technology to prevent a heart attack or stroke. These new devices and others we now have on the market are designed to work with our new Omron Connect App which tracks your activity and personal health history, offers insights to improve your numbers and even connects with your doctor as a tool for more insightful care.”
Omron previewed the Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor “the smallest, lightest, quietest clinically accurate blood pressure monitor ever” at CES, noting that this new device goes beyond blood pressure readings to provide physical activity and sleep data in real time.
Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor users can discretely track real time blood pressure readings with a portable device, free of cuffs, wires or hoses. “This new device also allows users to receive detailed data that reminds users to take medication and record the time they take it to
improve and track compliance,” said Kellogg. And because this monitor works seamlessly with the Omron Connect App, information can be shared with a personal physician for more insightful care.
Omron also previewed its Project Zero Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor, which tracks hypertension levels and detects irregular heartbeats in a sleek and portable design that’s userfriendly and free of tubes and wires. This device’s Bluetooth Smart technology also allows users to sync and store readings to a smartphone or tablet with the Omron Connect App.
Omron executives said the Project Zero Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor uses Omron’s exclusive heart health algorithm, Advanced Accuracy, to measure more data points and eliminate movements for the most precise readings. This one piece sleek monitor also gives upper arm users easier access to blood pressure readings on-the-go without inconvenient wires and hoses.
Making strides to personalize its heart monitor experience and improve connectivity on-the-go, the company also introduced its new Omron Connect App which is designed to seamlessly work with a range of Omron Wireless Bluetooth Smart blood pressure monitors. The Omron Connect App enables users to quickly and conveniently monitor or email their readings to family or healthcare providers anywhere, anytime.
Users can track activity, progress and personal health history at their fingertips with an intuitive dashboard that offers insights on health trends. “We designed the new Omron Connect App to be easy-to-use, with an interface that seamlessly transfers readings to smartphones so users can monitor and manage heart data and decrease their chance of a heart attack or stroke,” Kellogg said.
The Omron Connect App can be downloaded for free from the Apple iOS or Google Play store in late 2016.