Samsung focussing increasingly on health tech
pharmafile | February 25, 2014 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Apple, Samsung, digital, health tech, innovation lab, smartwatch
Samsung has partnered with a US university to create a digital health innovation laboratory whilst also unveiling some new health-tracking smartwatches.
Collaborating with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) – Samsung’s new venture aims to establish the UCSF-Samsung Digital Health Innovation Lab, a space where they say some of the world’s leading researchers and technologists will be able to develop and run trials to build exciting new mobile health technologies.
UCSF’s associate vice chancellor for Informatics, Michael Blum, says its raison d’être is that there are medical devices coming onto the marketplace without validation that lack impact, but meanwhile there are doctors who have the ideas but lack the technical knowledge to implement them.
He said: “This partnership will bring together these two very different worlds of expertise with the resources needed to accelerate new and disruptive technologies that will truly change lives.”
Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer of Samsung Electronics added: “Harnessing new preventative health technologies to help people live healthier lives is the next great opportunity of our generation.”
“Samsung’s global Digital Health Innovation Lab initiative is aimed at enabling great new ideas to be tested, validated, and commercialised more quickly, thereby making lives better for millions of people around the world.”
This partnership links into the somewhat increasing trend of wearable tech devices and marries this to a renewed focus from the entertainment industry towards healthcare, the latter of which was apparent last month through Nintendo’s announcement.
In an attempt to steal the limelight away also from Apple’s long-rumoured iWatch and its links to health tech, Samsung has also announced updates to its Gear smartwatch range, with a slimmer design and personal training functions.
By releasing its offerings this April it will beat Apple to the post for bringing a health-tracking smartwatch to market, which will also feature a screen camera and a range of new customisation options over its older model.
Samsung spokesman Simon Stanford told the Mirror newspaper: “Samsung continues to lead in the wearable technology market with innovative, creative devices that are completely integrated into the lives of our customers.”
Brett Wells
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