Fitbit appears to be considering a new form for its health monitoring wearables based on a new patent registration filed last month.

The Google-owned wearable-maker shared insights into a “ring for optically measuring biometric data” such as blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), pulse, blood pressure, glucose levels and more.

The filing focused on the SpO2 measurement features of the smart ring because the finger is the most common place to collect this data in clinical settings, according to Sensors. This measurement is taken by shining a light through the finger skin and blood vessels to a photodetector on the other side.

A smart ring that can measure SpO2 would be superior to other methods, because clinical devices found in hospitals are often tethered and aren’t suitable for everyday use, and because consumer smartwatches with this capability can be unreliable and have a limited battery life, according to the patent filing.

Fitbit’s patent registration says its ring can be worn comfortably throughout daily activities to accurately measure biometric data with an extended battery life of “a few days to a number of weeks depending on use.”

Data collected by the ring can be shared with external devices through Bluetooth or near field communication, meaning it could connect to the Fitbit app, hospital networks or other wearables.

Additionally, the patent revealed several possible iterations of the smart ring, including designs for a regular ring, one for the thumb or a set of stackable rings that could be worn together or on different fingers.

WHY THIS MATTERS

While a patent filing doesn’t guarantee that a product will come to market, this could put Fitbit in direct competition with smart ring-maker Oura Health.

The Oura Ring records activity, steps, calories and naps during the day. At night the ring measures heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature and sleep. The wearable hosts a number of different sensors including an NTC body-temperature sensor, infrared LEDs to actively measure blood-volume pulse, and an accelerometer and a gyroscope to detect movement.

All of the measurements are directly fed to Oura’s corresponding app, which also provides insights and behavior-change suggestions for the user.

Another health-tracking ring developer, Motiv, which was scooped up by Proxy last spring, has since closed its business and stopped selling rings. At the time of the acquisition, Motiv said it would continue to support the Motiv App for existing device owners.

THE LARGER TREND

Lately, Fitbit has kept itself busy with a number of research projects and new product launches. It recently began a blood pressure tracking study, teamed up with Stanford Medicine to study COVID-19 spread among college athletes and launched the Health Equity Research Initiative to support researchers looking specifically at health inequalities in underserved populations.

As for its latest devices, in March, Fitbit rolled out its latest child-centered wearable, called the Fitbit Ace 3, which can track activity and sleep. It released the Luxe in April, which combines health-and-wellness features with stylized finishes designed to look like a piece of jewelry.

There already appears to be interest in the use of smart rings, since Oura Health cut deals with the NBA and the WNBA to track player and staff health last season. It was also featured in U.C. San Francisco's TemPredict Study.

Early results from the study indicate that the temperature data collected by the Oura Ring was able to reliably detect the onset of fevers, one of the most common symptoms associated with COVID-19 and the flu.