Rockley Photonics begins sampling photonics-based wearable
Rockley Photonics, a company developing photonics-based health monitoring technology, has announced the sampling of its Bioptx Biosensing Band and Platform to strategic customers and partners.
The Bioptx Biosensing Band incorporates Rockley’s short-wave infrared (SWIR) biosensing technology based on the company’s proprietary photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chipset. By incorporating the SWIR spectrophotometer into a wearable that is capable of several days of measurement, the company says it has demonstrated continuous collection of spectral data which provides unique insights into tissue composition and dynamics.
The platform aims to deliver real-time streaming of the SWIR-based biomarkers of body temperature and hydration, alongside the LED-based photoplethysmography biomarkers of heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen saturation. Combined with the recently released Rockley Developer API, the company says this platform creates a seamless solution for real-time monitoring of vital physiological parameters.
Dr Stavros Kavouras, a professor of nutrition at the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, and founding director of the Hydration Science Lab, which studies how water intake impacts health and performance, commented: “Hydration is an underutilised biomarker that is critical for monitoring of both acute dehydration, such as in athletes, and chronic dehydration or under-hydration affecting metabolic, cognitive, cardiovascular, and renal health. By creating a spectroscopy-based technique to indicate hydration status, Rockley Photonics is developing an innovative new capability to improve people’s health and wellbeing.”
Dr Andrew Rickman, CEO and chairman of Rockley Photonics, said: “We are thrilled to usher in the next generation of health monitoring with wearable laser-based technology. Rockley has created the full technology stack from the design of the PIC, which forms the miniature spectrophotometer, to the full wearable integration and novel biomarker delivery. We have significantly progressed the SWIR-tissue measurement science and biomarker algorithms through IRB-approved human studies. As we have recently demonstrated with our non-invasive glucose sensing and cuffless blood pressure studies, laser-based biosensors will continue to expand and enhance our understanding of human health.”
