New Sleep Monitoring Device Arrives on Kickstarter

Seems like every couple of weeks there’s a new sleep technology being introduced on the Kickstarter site, and this week it’s a wearable that looks different and sounds different too. It’s called BodyEcho, and it promises to provide consumers with a glimpse into the way that they sleep by offering data on their sleep stages, any disturbances that are going on in their room that they may not be aware of, their heart rate, and more. The analysis that it provides is said to be much deeper than the information that is currently being provided by the popular wearables that are worn on the wrist. The BodyEcho is worn on the forehead rather than placed on the bed or worn as a bracelet. It was created by Boris Tverskoy, the founder of a Palo Alto-based company called OxiRate. Tverskoy is an engineer who has over 25 years of experience creating these types of devices, and he designed the BodyEcho to be worn by anybody who wants to dig deep into their biostatistics to learn what is going on with their body, as well as for those who want to maximize the rest that they are getting. The system works very simply. The BodyEcho sensor is placed on the forehead through a headband that is part of its package. The user then selects the “Sleep Mode” on the unit’s app and goes to sleep. That’s all there is to it – once the app is activated in the correct mode, it does all the rest of the work for you. When you wake up, you can look at either the BodyEcho app or the web portal to get a complete and detailed analysis of the sleep that you’ve experienced. So what does the app do? It tracks laboratory-quality information on your body’s sleep patterns, tracking oxygen levels, heart rate, respiratory rate, and body movements. It detects and reports on all of the different sleep cycles, as well as any disturbances that might occur, including those related to breathing and tossing or turning or even any disturbances that occur in your room. The information is all collected, stored, analyzed and presented in real-time so that users are able to review and compare their information as they make changes to sleep hygiene, showing them how minor adjustments in their habits can make big differences in the quality and quantity of their sleep. The information provided is detailed enough to provide you with a good starting point for a conversation with your healthcare provider if you suspect that you may be suffering from a physiological problem, or require outside assistance in improving your sleep. If you are interested in the BodyEcho for the Kickstarter price, it is currently available for a pledge of $100. The fundraising goal is $100,000. It is also available for developers for $250, with that price including the device, the raw sensor data feed and the SDK for mobile apps.