Amazon is reportedly developing an Alexa-enabled device to track and monitor for signs of sleep apnea. According to a report by Bussiness Insider, the palm-sized device will use radar radio waves to sense breathing patterns and detect irregularities commonly linked to sleep apnea.
Amazon’s project is reportedly being developed under the code name “Brahms” after the German composer of Lullaby, who incidentally also suffered from sleep apnea. Amazon is also apparently looking to expand the technology to help detect and monitor other sleeping disorders.
Sleep apnea affects an estimated 22 million Americans. The sleeping disorder is also famously difficult to detect and officially diagnose via current methods. In 2014, Nintendo developed a device to track sleep apnea using radio waves, however, it never made it to market because of reliability and accuracy issues. If Amazon is able to create a reliable, accurate, and easy way to detect and diagnose sleep apnea, it will be uncontested in the space, until, of course, its competitors catch up. The global market for sleep tracking devices is expected to grow nearly 16% to $43.5 billion by 2026, so you can expect to see a lot of innovation and development in the coming years.
The development of an Alexa-enabled sleep apnea device is another sign that Amazon is taking aim at the health tech industry. Amazon currently has a couple of products and services in the market geared towards health. Most recently, they launched a fitness tracker called Halo, which scans the user’s body and voice to monitor their health. In addition, Amazon introduced a prescription drug sorting and delivery service called PillPack, which aims to simplify the purchasing and dosing of prescription medications.
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