Smart bra fights heart disease
Wearable start-up Bloomer Tech is the latest company to try to cash in on the smart bra market, with its sensor-laden smart undergarment. It tracks the wearer's heart rate and variability, blood pressure, body temperature and blood oxygen levels - among many other metrics - with all data relayed to an app in real time. Users can also be sent reminder notifications via the app. Co-founder Alicia Chong said she hoped the smart bra, set to be tested in January 2017, would help fill the gap in data regarding women's heart health.

Smart bras seem to be the next big thing for smart clothes geared towards women's health. Some are aimed at fitness like the OMsignal Bra (pictured above) while others like the iTbra, is being developed to detect signs of breast cancer. Startup Bloomer Tech falls closer to the latter category with its take on the smart bra.

Through the patent pending flexible, washable sensors and circuits, the smart undergarment is able to measure heart rate, heart rate variability, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, oxygen saturation in blood, body temperature, position of the body and movement of the body.

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All the metrics are sent in real time to a smartphone app where it can be shared with doctors. The app will also send notifications - through the phone, not the bra - like reminders to move and so forth, all of which can be 'prescribed' by the doctor based on your needs.

Co-founder Alicia Chong, an electrical engineer and current MIT graduate student studying engineering and integrated design and management, was quoted by Bostinno saying heart disease that affects women haven't been thoroughly researched because there isn't enough data. She's hoping to bridge the gap with the smart bra the Bloomer team is working on.



Like many other smart bra companies, Bloomer Tech is still developing its prototype but testing is slated to begin in January of next year. That means it may be awhile before we see a finished product, but this is one important project to keep eye on until then.





