University of Waterloo engineers create jewelry that can monitor your health

Engineers at the University of Waterloo have invented an antenna that's small enough to fit into a ring and is capable of monitoring your health in a non-invasive way.

It can be worn like a piece of jewelry and safely sends medical-related information to a smartphone or health clinic through airwaves.

It’s the first step in creating a device that can be used for non-invasive medical sensing applications, like monitoring blood and oxygen levels, or tracking disease progression. Early detection is a benefit, explained Omar Ramahi, the lead researcher for the device.

“That’s actually the best way for prevention aside from diet, exercise [and a] healthy lifestyle,” Ramahi, a UW electrical and computer engineering professor, said.

The hope is that with constant monitoring the device could provide more accurate readings, compared to a short snapshot in time at a doctor’s office where nervousness could cause blood pressure to rise.

“If we can take health care, or at least monitoring health care science, out of the doctor’s office, I think it will be much better for all of us,” Ramahi said.

Omar Ramahi, the lead UW researcher for the device, shows off the ring with his tiny medical antenna inside. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)

The team is currently focused on combining the use of antennas and sensors to transmit data to a database that stores information. But they're also interested in more than just medical data.

“I would say with the lifestyle of humans [too]. And the next thing is to test it with some sensors that will be built and integrated with this ring,” he told CTV News.

The team is also expanding their jewelry tech beyond rings.

“We have a very attractive, actually very nice-looking bangle. And it competes with Gucci, and Chloé and Christian Dior,” he joked.

They may not be the most fashion-forward, but it is at the forefront of technology.

The team hopes the device will allow people to know more about themselves than ever before.