Over the past few months there has been growing concern among consumers and medical professionals as to the accuracy and efficacy of some health tech wearables on the market today. Fitbit is just the latest to come under public scrutiny because they are the object of lawsuits alleging faulty heart rate monitors. While health tech is an up and coming industry, there is some amount of controversy as to how consumers can be reassured that they are wearing a device that will actually benefit them in self-assessments.
Last Year It Was the Apple Watch
While there are two sides to the Apple story, consumers do make a very good point. The controversy stems from the fact that many people who bought the Apple Watch had problems with accurate heart rates because of having tattoos that interfered with accurate readings. Tweets were abounding over the issue which prompted Apple to release a statement saying that there is a ‘warning’ of sorts on their website stating that certain factors may interfere with accurate readings.
This being the case, perhaps there is a better way of filtering potential users who need to have accurate readings due to cardiovascular issues. Consumers are rightfully worried that the wearable they are spending a high amount of money for will work as it should. This is just one of many concerns facing the health tech industry today.
LG Has Seen Their Share of Problems
Another industry giant, LG, has seen their fair share of problems as well. Although not directly related to the fact that the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition had a heart monitor function, the problems that it did have gave cause for concern as to whether or not other components in the watch were likewise defective. After being just under one week on the market, LG pulled the watch stating that they couldn’t give specifics due to relations with suppliers along with the need to keep their patented technology safe from competitors.
What it boiled down to was a faulty component that interfered with the display. Consumers were alarmed because a wearable that is more costly than the average watch should have been tested by quality control before being launched on the market. They felt that if that one component was faulty, how could heart rate readings be trusted?
In the End – Questions but Few Answers
So, in the end, there are many questions floating around about the efficacy of wearables in the fitness and health arenas. Those who need accurate readings during heavy cardio workouts along with heart patients who rely on accuracy are questioning why these products are even on the market when they obviously haven’t gone through the same rigid controls that are seen with wearables from such companies as biotricity.com.
Perhaps this is because the Fitbit, the Apple Watch, and the LG shouldn’t have been marketed as medical tech devices. They are perfectly suitable for fitness users, but they’re not the ideal devices for those who need to wear them for medical reasons. Biotricity is a device that has been FDA approved and is helpful to both patients and physicians. Designed for those with health problems, the device can feed information directly to physicians, and is a device that patients can count on to monitor their physical health. The Fitbit is unable to do this, and would therefore be better off marketed as a pure fitness aid as opposed to a health tech device.
In the face of this controversy and an attempt to provide the most accurate an effective health tech wearables on the market, this company continually goes through stringent research and development to ensure their products are safe as well as accurate. The future is bright for the health tech industry if only these issues can be resolved to provide users with products that are safe and accurate. In the end, that is what truly matters.
