Reduce your stress

But what is the difference between Oxa and a smartwatch? “Oxa is much more precise than any smartwatch or fitness tracker because it measures the heart rate electrically rather than optically” explains Vincent. A smartwatch only shows the average heart rate which is not sufficient to suggest health improvement exercises.

Oxa, however, relies on sensing principles trusted by doctors. Breathing is measured based on respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP); a measurement used by doctors to estimate sleep apnea. It also delivers an ECG from which live heart rate and HRV can be derived. HRV helps to determine the stress level. At high stress, e.g., when running a marathon or high mental stress, the HRV is low, and in a relaxed state, the HRV is high. The app displays these figures in real-time and analyses the data and responds to the wearers’ breathing and emotions. 

Why measure the breath rate?

“Breathing is the only vital sign we can control to influence how we feel”, explains Vincent. Anyone who practises yoga knows the importance of breathing techniques and how they can influence your well-being. The Oxa app alerts and guides or rewards with musical and visual feedback to notify the users of their stress levels in real-time and keep them engaged. Vincent adds: “We developed the breathing exercises with pulmonologists, yogis, and breathwork instructors. If executed and followed, the exercises can reduce stress and improve health.” 

As a next step, Nanoleq will introduce sleep monitoring in 2023. Oxa will detect breathing irregularities during sleep and recommend suitable breathing exercises to do before you go to sleep. “Some breathing exercises in Oxa help to increase the HRV up to 50%, and therefore substantially help with sleep recovery,” promises Vincent.

Oxa is targeted at individuals and businesses. Anybody with stress and sleep issues can benefit. Likewise, Nanoleq sees a lot of potential for private clinics, insurance companies, corporates (mental health of employees), and doctors.

Stretchable electronics from ETH

Nanoleq was founded five years ago and has already various smart textiles such as work wear and medical wear on the market. These applications either help protect workers or support patients’ recovery. Nanoleq reckons that the smart textile market will grow 30% between now and 2027, largely because people wish to manage their health.

The technology supporting the wearables are stretchable wires and dry electrodes – Nanoleq’s patented invention “bodyGuard”.  bodyGuard is the material innovation behind Oxa and Nanoleq’s other products consisting of PhantomTape (stretchable wires) and ElectroSkin (dry electrodes, i.e., no need to wet or apply gel on the surface). The products are highly washable, comfortable and easy to integrate for textile manufacturers. “bodyGuard is the Gore-Tex of smart textiles”, states Vincent, “it can be used for many different applications”.

Oxa is certified for the EU, the US, and Canada, but their smart components are available everywhere. Nanoleq has just launched Oxa via a kickstart programme and is keen to talk to anyone interested in improving their employee’s or patients’ well-being.