Digital voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri send us reminders, answer questions, and provide music and entertainment at our spoken command. We’ve written about several medical and health-related Alexa Skills such as Sharecare’s library of health questions and answers integrated into Alexa’s knowledge base. The First Databank skill answers consumer questions about clinical drugs. The BreathJunior skill uses microphones in Alexa-compatible Amazon Echo smart speakers to monitor babies’ breathing and movement.
At CES 2021 iCon.ai introduced a Smart Healthcare Device with Alexa built-in. “Alexa built-in” is different from “Alexa-compatible.” Alexa built-in is an Amazon classification for devices that have licensed onboard circuitry with the same functions as an Echo Smart Speaker or Smart Display. In other words, you don’t need a separate Echo device in your home or office to speak to and receive answers. Most such devices as also have additional features or capabilities.
Icon.ai’s Smart Healthcare Device consists of two physical components: the generically named Smart Display Speaker with Alexa built-in and the Detachable Health Tracker. The Tracker is a mobile device. When users put two fingers on the Tracker, it measures heart rate trends, heart rate variability, blood pressure trends, and blood oxygen concentration. The device contains ECG and photoplethysmography sensors. Icon.ai claims that the device can transmit a health report to an associated mobile device within 60 seconds. The Tracker can also send alerts to pre-configured personal and healthcare contacts if it detects a medical emergency.
The Smart Display Speaker with Alexa built-in has an LCD touchscreen, a speaker with audio controls, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The Smart Display Speaker does not have additional health tracking features separate from the Tracker.
There is limited published information about the Smart Display Speaker and Detachable Health Tracker, but in our experience the integration of the two components is unique. We look forward to hearing more about this combination and accompanying health-related Alexa skills that enable user queries about their health via the display unit.
