Omron Healthcare, which has been making digital blood pressure monitors for nearly 40 years, unveiled two new devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month.
The company, based in Kyoto, Japan, and Lake Forest, Illinois, is also previewing an initiative to advance the blood pressure monitor category to “do more to improve heart health for millions of hypertensive individuals.”
Omron executives at the show revealed the company’s Project Zero wrist and upper arm blood pressure monitors and the new OMRON Connect App — pitched as clinically-tested, highly accurate tools to monitor heart health and scheduled to be available later this year as part of the major heart health initiative the company will conduct in 2016.
Omron, which was named one of Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators in 2013, cited studies showing at-home blood pressure monitoring has helped reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, noting at-home monitoring results are no less accurate than when a reading is taken in the doctor’s office.
The company points to the American Heart Association’s suggestion that blood pressure taken at home provides a more reliable representation of a patient’s blood pressure over time, and that monitoring blood pressure, heart rate and heart rhythm at home regularly, in conjunction with regular doctor visits, consistently provides a more accurate heart health profile.
“Blood pressure monitors must go beyond tracking numbers. 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,” said Omron Healthcare COO Ranndy Kellogg in a press release.
“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,” Kellogg said. “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.”
Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
At the Consumer Electronics Show this month, Omron is previewing its Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor, claimed to be “the smallest, lightest, quietest clinically accurate blood pressure monitor ever.” The company notes that this new device offers more than just blood pressure readings by also providing sleep and physical activity data in real time.
Project Zero Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor users can discretely track blood pressure readings via a portable device without cumbersome 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,” Kellogg said. Because the monitor works with the OMRON Connect App, data can also be shared with users’ physicians.
Project Zero Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor
Omron is also previewing its Project Zero Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor, a user-friendly portable device — free of external wires and tubes — that detects irregular heartbeats and tracks hypertension levels. The monitor’s Bluetooth Smart technology also allows users to store and sync information to a tablet or smartphone using the OMRON Connect App.
Omron executives point out that the one-piece Project Zero Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor uses Omron’s proprietary heart health algorithm, called Advanced Accuracy, to assess more data points and eliminate movements in order to deliver the most accurate readings.
OMRON Connect Mobile App
To further tailor its heart monitor experience and improve connectivity, Omron also unveiled its new OMRON Connect App. The software is designed to work with a range of Omron Wireless Bluetooth Smart blood pressure monitors, enabling users to monitor their blood pressure conveniently and quickly, and to email their current readings to family or healthcare providers.
Users can track progress, activity and personal health history using the app’s intuitive dashboard, which also provides insights on the latest 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 will be available for free download from the Apple iOS App Store or Google Play store in late 2016.
Omron Donates Monitors to American Heart Association
For every visitor who checks in to Omron’s booth, number 73327, at the Consumer Electronics Show in the Sands Expo at the Venetian, Level 2, in Las Vegas, where Omron executives are discussing heart health technology trends and hosting product demos during the show, the company will donate a blood pressure monitor to the American Heart Association.
“The American Heart Association is thrilled to receive this generous donation from Omron Healthcare and to see them drive awareness about hypertension,” commented Dr. Willie E. Lawrence, Jr., speaking for the American Heart Association. “One-third of Americans have high blood pressure, and 20 percent of them don’t even know they have this major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Initiatives and gifts like Omron’s are important for helping people reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease and, essentially, saving lives.”
Sources:
Omron Healthcare Inc.
American Heart Association
