Focus on mental health has seen a rise following advocation for it. Slowly but surely, the stigma of discussing and taking care of it will be forgotten.
However, keeping track of your mental health when you're not aware of it can be a challenge.
A startup company has presented a wearable tech to do just that.
Startup Happy Health has recently created a smart ring that could alert users about their mental health using biometric sensors and artificial intelligence.
Happy Health is the latest company founded by Tinder's founder, Sean Rad, per Tech Crunch and the official Happy Health website.
Happy Health Smart Ring Details
Happy Health mentioned that its smart ring, named "Happy Ring," features a custom electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor that monitors changing stress levels in real-time, per The Verge.
The device works by using these sensors to detect when a person's sympathetic nervous system is engaged.
Stress is the body's natural defense against predators and danger, per Medical News Today. As such, it can be essential to a person's survival as it is connected to the body's fight-or-flight mechanism, which is connected to the body's sympathetic nervous system.
Dustin Freckleton, who is a medical doctor and Happy Health's CEO, mentioned that the rings' EDA sensors would measure the electrical changes that occur in one's hand in response to the production of sweat on the palm.
The ring will then feed its findings into an algorithm that identifies its wearer's emotional state, which will be displayed in a companion app that will quantify how calm, alert, or tense they are.
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In addition to the EDA sensors, the ring also comes with four skin electrodes, two temperature sensors, and a three-axis accelerometer. Thanks to these sensors, the ring can also monitor the wearer's heart rate and sleep.
Rad said that once the ring has determined the wearer's current mental state, the companion app will suggest personalized exercises that are proven to help manage stress and improve the wearer's mood and overall being.
Additionally, the ring doesn't use the data it collects against a predetermined user set. Instead, it continually adjusts the AI model to the wearer's data to cater to the wearer's changing moods.
Rad revealed that the Happy Ring is HIPAA compliant but didn't go into detail about it.
Is It A Diagnostic Tool?
Freckleton mentioned that the algorithm Happy Ring uses is more accurate than similar ones being currently offered on the market, especially since Happy Health developed its EDA sensors from scratch with "medical-grade" accuracy.
However, the Happy Ring isn't a diagnostic device; it is a wellness gadget that serves as a proxy for monitoring one's vitals when not at the doctor's office.
Rad stated that the Happy Rng is a device "designed to clinical standards, but not a clinical device."
Happy Health's Happy Ring currently has a waitlist, and the device will be shipped on a first-come, first-served basis. However, Happy Health decided to use a subscription model for the ring's services.
People can get the ring for either $30 a month or $24 per month if an interested customer pays annually. People who take the 24-month plan can get the ring for $20.
It comes in either gloss black or white and is made of ceramic with a resin underside to make it hypoallergenic.
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