The market for wearable health-tracking devices has received a boost with multi-million dollar funding secured by a leader in the field of wristwatch-type products to continue its development of the "Basis" band.
The Basis tracker can keep a close check on heart rate, motion, sweating and skin temperature, day and night, and develop personalized feedback toward the formation of healthy habits from the data it collects.
The wristwatch-type device, already on the market, should see increased production and become more advanced now that its maker has raised a further $11.75 million in series B funding in a new round of investments.
The band has four sensors on its back in contact with the skin on the wearer's wrist:
- Optical blood flow sensor that captures heart rate patterns throughout the day and night
- Three-axis accelerometer that measures daytime physical activity and nighttime quality of sleep
- Sensor that measures changes in skin temperature to pick up levels of exertion, and
- Perspiration monitor that also captures exertion levels during a workout.
Intel Capital is one of the new investors backing the self-tracking gadget, alongside iNovia Capital, Dolby Family Trust, Stanford University and Peninsula-KCG. Existing investors also added more financing, and Basis Science now has backing totalling more than $23 million.
Intel Capital's president, Arvind Sodhani, also Intel executive vice-president, says:
"Wearable computing enables a data-driven approach to managing healthcare and fitness.
By collecting heart rate, skin and ambient temperature data along with movement tracking, the Basis multi-sensor band opens up opportunities for data analytics driving deeper insights into health and personal behavior."
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