Wearable tech promises medical-grade data, but experts advise caution

Wearable devices have come a long way from counting steps or heartbeats, with new tech offering the ability to track blood oxygenation, glucose levels and blood pressure, though its reliability remains a matter of debate.

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Some of the most cutting-edge products were on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Almost 10 years after the debut of the Apple Watch, the global market for "trackers" - watches, bracelets and other bands - is valued at around US$60 billion (S$82 billion), according to several firms, and is expected to exceed US$100 billion by the end of the 2020s.

"Before smartwatches, no one was thinking about heart rate monitoring," said Ms Anna Barnacka, chief executive and president of health tech start-up MindMics.

"Today, everyone is quite aware about how important it is."

MindMics says it uses headphones and wave-based technology to offer a complete analysis of cardiac activity - including the condition and function of heart valves.

"You can look at your heart with the precision of a medical device," Ms Barnacka said.

In clinical trials, she said the device was able to capture a murmur in a patient with aortic stenosis, which is the narrowing of a heart valve.