Happy Health, a health technology company, has received FDA clearance for Happy Ring, a wearable device designed to combine medical accuracy with patient comfort.

The ring monitors vital health metrics, including sleep, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, temperature and brain activity. 

Happy Health's platform is a diagnostic and clinical monitoring offering that utilizes customized machine learning algorithms and generative AI to integrate data into a clinical context. 

For example, instead of just numbers on a screen, the data is translated into actionable notifications and alerts that are forwarded to patients and healthcare providers.

According to the company, this strategy allows people to get cohesive clinical monitoring for a broad range of health conditions, including sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

"If it's not comfortable, people won't wear it," Dr. Dustin Freckleton, CEO of Happy Health, said in a statement.

"If it's not accurate, the data is useless. We're inundated today with wearable devices that are invalidated and inaccurate, leading to poor decision-making and, ultimately, anxiety. Imagine driving down a remote highway with a fuel gauge that's constantly fluctuating and faulty. Instead of providing reassurance, it leaves you frustrated. This is the reality for many people relying on today's wearables for health decision making. We're here to change that."

THE LARGER TREND

In 2022, Happy Health launched the Happy Ring. It was initially designed to measure stress and mood. The company also secured $60 million in Series A funding in a round led by ARCH Venture Partners.

Other companies offering smart ring technology include Oura, which announced in September that it entered into an agreement to acquire fellow Finnish company Veri, which markets personalized metabolic health programs. 

Veri uses the Abbott FreeStyle Libre 1, 2 and 3 sensors to monitor a user's metabolic health by collecting data from their body. Oura plans to integrate Veri's metabolic health offering by adding Meals, a new feature that permits members to track the timing of their meals to better understand how their sleep, stress and recovery are affected by when they eat.

In July, Samsung announced its AI-powered offerings, including the new Galaxy Ring, which collects a wearers' health data around the clock, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra, with its new BioActive Sensors.

In 2021, Fitbit revealed it was working on a new form of its health-monitoring wearables based on a new patient registration. The smart ring was designed for optically measuring biometric data including blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), pulse, blood pressure and glucose levels. 

The patent, which is titled "Ring for optically measuring biometric data," was granted in June. It describes a "ring-shaped wearable device for detecting biometrics with a light source and a photodetector."