Health-tracking devices gain traction

There’s no question that wearables are a health-tracking trend that will continue to gain traction. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Top health industry issues of 2016,” the more acclimated consumers get to their smartphones, the more they’re going to be looking to devices that will keep them on track toward better health.

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Following are three products, all featured at the CES 2016 Health & Wellness marketplace and retailing for around $100, that may help round out a mobile health and wearable wellness technology destination center.



Misfit Ray Fitness and Sleep Monitor



The Misfit Ray Fitness and Sleep Monitor is one of the newest products in the company’s line of design-forward wearables that features a highly customizable cylindrical aluminum body, giving consumers the option to wear the device with Misfit-branded or custom accessories on the wrist or as a necklace. Retailing for $99.99, the Ray tracks activity and sleep with a three-axis accelerometer and incorporates a vibration motor that allows for nuanced user feedback. Combined with a single multicolor LED eye, Ray provides inactivity nudges, text and call notifications, and a silent alarm. Like other wearables by Misfit, Ray never requires charging (the user-replaceable batteries last up to six months) and is water resistant to 50 meters.



Withings Thermo



Known for its stylish wearable watches and other health monitors, Withings extended its therapeutic areas of expertise with the unveiling of Withings Thermo, a Wi-Fi-connected temporal artery thermometer with a 16-sensor array that provides one of the fastest, most accurate, non-invasive temperature readings available. While not technically a wearable, the Withings Thermo measures the temperature from the temporal artery at the side of the head and provides one of the most accessible and reliable images of body temperature. As a connected device, the Thermo automatically sends temperature readings to a smartphone on a dedicated app, via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Retailing for a suggested $99.95, all collected data can be easily shared with a physician.



Polar Balance



A pioneer of wearable sports and fitness technology and a leader in heart rate monitoring, the Finnish company Polar launched its Polar Balance, a complete weight management service that combines the Polar Balance Blue-tooth Smart scale, a Polar activity tracker and the Polar Flow app and Web service. The Polar Balance scale is available in black or white for $99.95. The heart of Polar Balance is the Weight Loss Speedometer in Polar Flow. At one glance, users can see how quickly they are losing or gaining weight, and whether they should eat less or be more active.