NTT DATA Begins Offering Vitals Measurement Service with a Smartphone Camera for Commercial Use in Partnership with Canadian Firm NuraLogix Corporation
TOKYO, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — NTT DATA, a global digital business and IT services leader, today announced that it began providing a “Vitals Measurement Service” on a commercial basis from January 2022 as a new function of its cloud-based health management solution Health Data Bank®. This system uses a smartphone camera to record video of a subject’s face for 30 seconds, and based on this data estimates figures for blood pressure, pulse, stress level, and other health vitals. The ability to confirm a person’s mental and physical health status without the need for special devices will expand the possibilities for companies and organizations employing the service to pursue initiatives that utilize health data.
NTT DATA began by offering this service as part of the health care service for residents of Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City (Mitsui Fudosan), and plans to develop various use cases such as stress care for employees, and business services that utilize and apply health data.
NTT DATA launched Health Data Bank, a cloud-based health management solution to collect, store, and analyze health exam results and other health-related data, in 2002. NTT DATA has since continued to offer a variety of use cases based on the utilization and application of health data, including employee health management and health administration for companies and other organizations, as well as product development based on customer health data, working in collaboration with customers and partner organizations to develop new services and expand functionality.
As part of this effort, through its open innovation forum “From the Port of Toyosu“, NTT DATA conducted a technology and customer reaction survey of numerous startup companies in Japan and overseas with services and technologies related to vital sign data. The technology of the Canadian firm NuraLogix Corporation3 was rated the highest. Utility testing for a health vitals measurement service using NuraLogix technology was conducted in April-Jun 2021 in cooperation with smart cities, as well as many food and beauty companies around the world. In October 2021, a prototype service for elderly persons was provided during the Sante Gym event to raise awareness of frailty prevention, held in conjunction with the Artistic Gymnastic World Championships (AGWC) and Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships (RGWC) in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, at the event venue and at the Aeon Hall provided by Aeon Kyushu Co., Ltd. Measures such as these confirmed the utility of various use cases, and led to the start of the commercial service.
The Health Data Bank Vitals Measurement Service uses the “Vitals Measurement App” installed on a smartphone or tablet. The app analyzes data from a 30-second video of the face taken with 2 the device’s camera, and calculates estimated figures for blood pressure, pulse, stress level, and other vitals.
The service uses patented technology from NuraLogix Corporation to analyze face video data taken with a conventional smartphone or tablet camera to determine intravascular blood flow under the skin, and then analyze the changes in blood flow to estimate vital sign data.
The ability to measure mental and physical health status without the need for a special device, using just a smartphone or other device that people use on a daily basis, will expand the possibilities for initiatives that utilize health data, such as “Individual everyday health management,” “Corporate employee stress care,” and “Businesses using and applying health data.” Of note, this service is not a medical device, and as such is not intended to be used for medical purposes (such as to diagnose, treat, or prevent illness).
- Individual everyday health management
Individuals (employees, customers, residents, etc.) download the vitals measurement app on the smartphone they use on a daily basis, and take a video of their face using the smartphone camera, to determine estimated values for health vital sign. Users can use the vitals measurements and graphs displayed in the app to determine their health status and review their health history.
- Corporate employee stress care
Companies can use the vitals measurements of employees, and other information managed through the Health Data Bank database (such as stress checks5 and pulse surveys) to identify high-stress individuals. Linking this to changes in work responsibilities and other actions for improvement will allow companies to quickly find and respond to employees in need of stress care.
- Businesses using and applying health data
Companies and other organizations can combine the vitals measurements of customers managed in the Health Data Bank database with other customer information they have collected, and with the consent of the individual, analyze the data to offer optimal products according to the customer’s health status, or confirm product effectiveness.
