Amazon could work on an Alexa-enabled sleep apnea gadget

Amazon could be working on an Alexa-enabled device that could potentially track sleep and detect sleep apnea, according to an Business intern report.

Citing anonymous sources and an internal Amazon document, Business Insider claims the device is about the size of a person’s palm and looks like a hexagonal pad with a wire base. It is meant to be placed on a person’s bedside table. What’s interesting is that the device will allegedly be non-contact, using millimeter wave radar to track breathing and movement during sleep to detect if someone may be suffering from sleep apnea. The device will likely connect to other devices as well, along with a companion app for notifications. Internally, the project is called “Brahms”, named after composer Johannes Brahms. You know, the guy famous for writing lullabies, maybe because he too suffered from obstructive sleep apnea.

The report goes on to note that over the past year, Amazon has expanded the team building this device and plans to create a “sleep analysis” program that goes beyond apnea. some sleep.

Gizmodo contacted Amazon regarding the Business Insider report but did not immediately receive a response.

If this is true, it is not very surprising news. Over the past few months, Amazon has repeatedly signaled its desire to expand its healthcare and wearable tech business. Since November, Amazon has launched its Amazon Pharmacy Service, added fitness tracking features to his Echo Buds, and also launched Halo, his very first fitness tracker.

The fact that Amazon may be targeting sleep apnea also makes sense. Sleep trackers aren’t new, and to set themselves apart, Amazon would likely offer a feature that isn’t currently available. Among medical conditions that health and wearable tech might be able to detect, sleep apnea is still up for grabs, affects estimate 22 million Americans, and is not particularly easy to officially diagnose. Apple claimed its stake in atrial fibrillation via an ECG app in 2018 with the Apple Watch Series 4 – and it wasn’t until 2020 for Fitbit and Samsung to catch up. Samsung has focused heavily on blood pressure monitoring. Meanwhile, Fitbit has been battling for years over detecting the potential for sleep apnea, starting with the introduction of SpO2 sensors. Ionic smart watch. However, it wasn’t until early 2020 that it finally released its estimated oxygen change metric. At that time, Fitbit noted that it was requests FDA clearance for sleep apnea detection function. Withings also announced its ScanWatch smartwatch last year, which also claimed to detect sleep apnea, though it is still pending FDA clearance. Here we are a year later, and the crickets.

On top of that, sleep tracking has become an increasingly desirable feature, despite questions about overall accuracy. Apple finally added native sleep tracking with watchOS 7 in 2020. Recovery-focused, portable sleep tracking devices like Shout and the Oura ring also caught securities last year, in part because these devices were used in studies to see if they could detect covid-19. Either way, the global sleep tracking devices market is expected to grow nearly 16% to $ 43.5 billion by 2026. You know Amazon wants a piece of it.