Can CardieX match Omron?

CardieX CEO Craig Cooper faces the race of his life if he wants to catch up to Ranndy Kellogg.

Kellogg is President and CEO of Illinois-based Omron Healthcare, part of the Omron Group, Kyoto, Japan.

On January 7, 2019 Ranndy Kellogg unveiled the world’s first wearable blood pressure monitor…and a strategic move into health coaching.

"There are 103 million hypertensive Americans", Kellogg said.

"This year, Omron Healthcare will offer a range of devices tailored to serve every one of them."

Kellogg added: "More than 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable with lifestyle changes.

"It all begins with regular blood pressure monitoring and achieving better insights into your heart health."

Wrist Watch
Branded HeartGuide, Omron’s breakthrough BP monitor comes in the form of a wrist watch. The watch band includes an inflatable cuff.

Omron says the cuff technology sets the device apart from other wearables that rely on sensors.

Omron filed more than 80 new patents to create HeartGuide which uses oscillometric tech and pumps and valves that are as small as a grain of rice.

HeartGuide has FDA clearance. It can process email, call and text notifications. It can track steps, aerobic steps, calories burned and distance.

And, with an accompanying HeartAdvisor app, it can monitor sleep quality and activity, including when the user gets into bed and when the user falls asleep.

Omron will soon launch a related Complete heart device including ECG/EKG/Electro Cardiogram tech developed by its AliveCor affiliate.

Based in Mountain View, CA, AliveCor is the first firm to receive FDA clearance for a medical-device accessory to the Apple Watch, a feat that Craig Cooper would no doubt envy...and wish to emulate.

Blumio
As reported, CardieX engineers are helping the group’s Silicon Valley-based Blumio affiliate to develop a BP wearable using a radar sensor linked to CardieX’s FDA-approved SphygmoCor central BP device.

The Blumio prototype is not designed as a wrist watch. It’s worn on the arm.

Craig Cooper promoted the Blumio tech on Twitter when attending the CES/Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas last month.

He joined Blumio CEO and co-founder Catherine Liao in a photoshoot. Interestingly, the wearables pair posed in a booth emblazoned with the logo of German semi-conductor and RFF/radar sensor goliath $IFX/Infineon.

Nearby, Omron Healthcare was busy showcasing its HeartGuide.

Sequels: Engadget gonged Omron with "Best of CES" award for best wearable. Tom's Guide awarded HeartGuide the "Best in Show" award for best health device at CES 2019. HeartGuide was also selected as a recipient of the Techlicious"Top Picks of CES" award, an award that acknowledges new product innovations.

Given that Omron Group has sold more than 200m BP units over 40 years, it’s not realistic to expect CardieX to match the group in the short term.

But as athletic Craig Cooper says, CardieX is not running a sprint. It’s running a marathon.

Health coaching
Cooper may be heartened that Omron is moving into health coaching. Why? Because the strategy aligns with - and endorses - the strategy being adopted by CardieX as it develops its InHealth Medical Services business.

Key to Omron’s health coaching initiative is its HeartAdvisor mobile app.

As mentioned, the app will allow users to input data that will show how diet, exercise, sleep quality and stress can impact BP readings.

HeartAdvisor will allow customized heart health coaching to act on this data. It will soon be available on Apple iTunes and Google Play stores.

Alexa
As well, Omron’s Connect app will allow users to ask Amazon’s Alexa to connect with and open their app, locate and read back their latest BP reading, calculate their average reading over a day/week/month and compare readings across different dates and times of day.

Alexa can also call out higher-than-normal readings and provide guidelines and tips to ensure accurate BP measurement.

While Omron has developed formidable heart technology, it doesn’t have the pioneering, gold standard SphygmoCor central BP testing tech developed by CardieX and used in all the top hospitals in the US.

This may give Craig Cooper a key edge in his marathon with Ranndy Kellogg.

Can CardieX match Omron? Unlikely. Can CardieX seek to emulate Omron? Absolutely.