The Digital Doctors are here to stay

After the smartphone and fitness bracelets, here comes the smart ring. “Wellness” computers that monitor your pulse, temperature and other health indicators are becoming increasingly sophisticated and varied to cover every aspect -- and age -- of human life.

Some products, like the ŌURA ring by Finnish startup Ouraring, are specialized in optimising physical training by tracking sleep patterns and physical activity. Others are looking to fit into healthcare services, such as in developed countries that are struggling to cope with aging populations.

Health gadgets took the limelight at this week’s Slush fair, a gathering of technology startups that has drawn 800 investors and an estimated 15,000 participants worldwide.

Lasse Leppakorpi, founder and CEO of Beddit, a startup specialising in sleep-monitoring equipment, says new gadgets will increasingly change the role of doctors to “consultants and experts.”

“The focus of healthcare will shift from treating illnesses more toward responsibility of caring for one’s health,” he said at the Slush fair.

Earlier, Technical Research Centre of Finland launched a digital maternity package, complete with pacifiers that can monitor babies’ sleep, well-being and physical development. It has now turned its sights to the other end of the life curve -- to smart rollators for the elderly, to analyse users’ physical condition.