Oxa: new wearable for real-time stress and breathing monitoring
Oxa, a new product from ITET spin-off Nanoleq, is revolutionizing the way we measure stress and breathing activity in real-time. Unlike traditional devices that only track heart rate and sleep patterns, Oxa offers a comprehensive approach to vital sign monitoring.
Introducing Oxa, a revolutionary new product from ITET spin-off Nanoleq that can measure stress and breathing activity in real-time. Unlike other devices that only track heart rate, sleep patterns, or steps taken, Oxa offers a comprehensive approach to vital sign monitoring, with a focus on breathing and heart activity.
Oxa consists of a sensor, a garment, and an app that work together to measure breathing depth, breathing rate, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and estimate stress levels. The sensor is a pebble-sized device with four state-of-the-art sensors, the garment is an eco-friendly and comfortable lounge shirt or bra with incorporated e-textile components, and the app uses the data to provide biofeedback to help wearers improve their lifestyle and health.
One of the key differences between Oxa and a smartwatch is its precision. The device measures the heart rate electrically rather than optically. Additionally, Oxa relies on sensing principles trusted by doctors, such as respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) to measure breathing and ECG to derive live heart rate and HRV.
The Oxa app also alerts and guides wearers with breathing exercises and rewards with musical and visual feedback to help manage stress levels in real-time. As a next step, Nanoleq plans to introduce sleep monitoring in 2023 to detect breathing irregularities during sleep and recommend suitable breathing exercises. Oxa is targeted at individuals and businesses, with potential applications in private clinics, insurance companies, corporates, and doctors.