BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leman Micro Devices (LMD), the developer of regulated consumer healthcare products that is backed by major players within the mobile device industry, believes that the smartphone market - which has seen a slowing down due to a lack of significant new features – is set to be rejuvenated as handset makers include, for the first time, medically-accurate health monitoring systems within their next-generation devices.
Speaking at Mobile World Congress 2016, Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, commented there is a “growing view that design features of smartphones have reached a plateau”. This is a problem for handset makers hoping to upgrade customers to newer devices; so much of the activity in the smartphone market over the past year has centred on newer makers who are delivering low-cost, feature rich devices. However, healthcare, as Apple CEO Tim Cook says, could ‘dwarf’ the smartphone market, so if accurate, reliable vital signs measurement can be delivered via your handset, this could be as significant as the inclusion of a high quality camera or GPS.
Recently, LMD introduced its V-Sensor health sensor and app - the only smartphone-integrated solution that measures blood pressure and other vital signs with medical accuracy. The price, power consumption and size of the V-sensor is no more than other components in the phone, so there is no negative impact to users, either in price or performance. Crucially, the phone does not become a regulated medical device but is an accessory to LMD’s V-sensor, which will be the regulated element.
Commented LMD CEO, Mark-Eric Jones: “Smartphone makers are urgently looking out for the next big differentiating factor. Accurate blood pressure monitoring using just your smartphone is of massive interest - hypertension affects a quarter of the world’s adult population. Data from Rock Health, a venture funding company dedicated to digital health, indicates three times as many people track their BP as their heart rate, yet heart rate sensors sell in large numbers.” He concludes: “Therefore we believe that the market is set for significant growth in the very near future as users learn to rely on their phone not just for communication and entertainment, but also as part of their daily health routine.”