Lingo, the consumer biowearables division of Abbott, is working on future sensors for ketones and lactate.
That’s according to Olivier Ropars, DVP at Abbott in a podcast interview with PULSE by Wareable.
Lingo has rolled out its glucose-tracking service, which uses the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose technology to help people understand the food that makes them spike, and build better habits around eating and exercise.
Back at the unveiling of Lingo at CES 2022, Abbott talked about its plans to track ketones and lactate.
“Glucose is the first step, but biowearables can do so much more. We want to use that temperature sensor to help with women's health, for instance,” Ropars told PULSE by Wareable.
Ketosis tracking biowearables
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body utilizes fat as its primary source of fuel rather than carbohydrates. When carbohydrate intake is significantly reduced, the body begins to break down fat stores into fatty acids and converts them into ketones through a process called ketogenesis. But it can be really difficult to keep yourself in ketosis.
“The ketone sensor is an incredibly powerful technology for people who are trying to live with a low-carb diet or trying to be in ketosis,” said Ropars.
“Being able to measure this is such a great motivator, and I think it's going to help a lot of people. Right now, it's not ready for commercialization yet; we want to integrate the feature into our core Lingo app,” he said.
Lactate tracking could be really useful for athletic performance. Some wearables such as Garmin will use the heart rate monitor to estimate lactate threshold, but a worn sensor would make it even easier.
“I think lactate will be particularly interesting for the athlete so you can tailor your training to the right zone. That will be really helpful for a lot of athletes out there,” said Ropars.
And he told PULSE by Wareable that this is the beginning of a new phase of wearables and digital health.
“I think we are, you know, we are at the beginning of true consumerization of health how do we give the tools to people to really understand their body.”
Listen to the full episode of the PULSE by Wareable podcast, where Ropars talks about Lingo, the need for more wearable data within Lingo, how the company is tackling behavior change, accessibility for everyone, and the role of AI.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.