Google debuts its new health-tracking wearable built for medical studies

In recent years, many interesting projects have come out of Google’s X labs – Google Glass, Project Tango, and even contact lenses that can read one’s blood sugar levels. Today Google’s experimental labs revealed a new health-tracking wearable that will be used in clinical trials and drug tests to give researchers and doctors minute-by-minute data on how patients are doing. According to Bloomberg, the new wearable device can measure pulse, heart rhythm and skin temperature, and even environmental info such as light exposure and noise levels.

“Our intended use is for this to become a medical device that’s prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials”, says Andy Conrad, head of the life and sciences team at Google. The device won’t be marketed as a consumer device, but will instead be prescribed through medical facilities.

This new wristband, if widely adopted, could potentially have a big effect on how doctors receive patient data in the future. Although this is giving patients some new responsibilities (keeping the device charged, wearing it at all times), the results will likely be worth the added effort. Google plans on collaborating with academic researchers and drugmakers to test the wearable’s accuracy.

As of now, the device still needs regulatory approval to be used in the United States and Europe, and Google hopes to begin trials to test the new wearable this summer.