Samsung Launches Consumer-Focused Health Platform

Samsung has beaten Apple to the punch by announcing that it will debut a consumer-focused platform that includes a health-tracking smartwatch known as the Simband. The smartwatch can potentially be used to track everything from ECG to blood pressure and respiration. An onboard accelerometer can track activity. While the company did not release a firm date for the launch of the Simband, it promised it would hit the market before the end of the year.

A cloud-based platform known as SAMI will analyze the data, sharing conclusions with consumers. SAMI, which is an acronym for Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions, can also accept data from non-Samsung devices. Owned by patients, the secured data can be shared with clinicians.

To refine the clinical applications of the technology, Samsung has established a partnership with clinicians at the University of California, San Francisco.

"As far as I know, Samsung's platform is the first with the size and market clout to try and bridge the gap between wearables and care delivery for market segments that would benefit (in health terms) from wearables," said T. Drew Smith, senior business consulting analyst at Kaiser Permanente in the Medical Devices Group on LinkedIn.

The Simband device will be powered by a "shuttle battery," which can be charged while the device is worn.

The Simband is not Samsung's first foray into the health-tracking space. The company had previously introduced the Gear Fit and the S-Health software apps that are compatible with its Galaxy mobile devices.

The Korean tech giant has also announced a $50 million investment fund dubbed the Samsung Digital Health Challenge to spur innovation in the digital health space.