ITRI Introduces Health Tech Innovations at CES 2022

Technologies include PoseFit and CES Innovation Award Honoree iPetWeaR

HSINCHU, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan's largest and one of the world's leading high-tech applied research institutions, today announced it will introduce health technologies at its CES 2022 booth 9513, North Hall, LVCC, and its virtual event site (https://event.itri.org/CES2022). ITRI's health technologies include the PoseFit muscular functional screening mirror, which measures muscular strength, flexibility, and imbalances and provides a personalized and actionable exercise plan; and iPetWeaR, a CES 2022 Innovation Awards honoree, a wearable device attached to a pet's collar without skin contact that tracks a pet's health data including heart rate, respiration, and activity, and alerts the pet guardian of abnormalities.

ITRI's PoseFit muscular functional screening mirror measures muscular strength, flexibility, and imbalances, and provides a personalized and actionable exercise plan.

PoseFit captures a user's specific movement and posture through a lens and uses a skeletal recognition system to determine muscular function. By analyzing the strength of specific muscle groups, posture, flexibility, endurance, and sense of balance, it indicates which muscle groups are too tight or are not strong enough. Lastly, PoseFit provides customized exercise suggestions to strengthen muscles or point to places that should be massaged or relaxed. PoseFit requires no wearable devices to operate. The examinee is required to complete five sets of exercises, each of which is demonstrated with an instructional video.

PoseFit is suitable for two types of users: those trying to improve fitness and frail older adults. For those wanting to enhance body shape, performance and muscles, PoseFit provides a clear assessment of postures potentially harmful to health. Users can then avoid movements or physical patterns that may lead to sports injuries or future structural issues. Trainers also can provide professional advice to improve training programs based on test results. 

For older adults who may experience age-related physiological decline, PoseFit helps identify weak muscle areas and posture issues, and provides recommended workout plans for improvement. Trainers can record and review results and provide suggested exercises to help minimize the risk of falls associated with poor posture or low muscle mass.

iPetWeaR, a CES 2022 Innovation Awards honoree, is a wearable device that tracks a pet's health data including heart rate, respiration, and activity, and alerts the pet guardian of abnormalities. The low-power physiological detection radar technology is completely harmless and does not require skin contact with the pet. The device is attached to a pet's collar in any position enabling it to be near the pet's neck or chest, where it can detect vital signs and physical activity level at any time. The sensing technology also can be integrated into various pet mattresses. The collected physiological data is sent by Bluetooth to the pet guardian's mobile device, where they can instantly view the data in an app and learn whether the pet is asleep or awake. In the case of irregular heartbeat or breathing the pet guardian will immediately receive a warning notification. The long-term history is also logged in a database for easy viewing.

Early detection of a pet's underlying health condition can lower the risks of its sudden passing caused by heart attack, heat stroke or adverse vaccine reactions. Besides its application at home, iPetWeaR can assist staff in animal shelters and hospitals to provide improved animal care services. The basic US$80 product package includes a sensor device, a collar selected from various options, and a user-friendly cross-platform Android/iOS app.

Additional health technologies that ITRI will showcase include:

• The All-in-One Thermal Sensing System, a CES 2022 Innovation Awards honoree, enables high-precision remote detection of vital signs and patient activities. Its AI-based ultra-resolution thermal image processing preserves privacy and measures body temperature, heart rate and respiration rate for multiple subjects simultaneously. The system also monitors bed exits, falls, and prolonged sedentary time. The compact design makes it an ideal tool for basic physiological assessment in clinics, long-term care facilities, or homes, offering a cost-effective solution for telemedicine services.
• The Full-Body Strideway Analysis System measures gait and posture without the need of wearing any device or sensor. It includes a pressure sensing mat, cameras, and an AI image recognition engine. By detecting walking speed, stride length, cadence, feet pressure and trajectory of the center of mass, lean and swing angle of upper limbs, the system can evaluate the subject's physiological age and provides suggested preventive or corrective measures.
• The EPiTRI bionic full-thickness skin tissue printing system constructs the multi-layer skin tissue in a continuous step within 10 minutes. The full-thickness skin tissue can then be induced to differentiate to have mature barrier function within six days, achieving the highest differentiation and maturation efficiency out of the international average of three to four weeks. EPiTRI can be used as a testing material for cosmetics and skin-care products. By combining with stem cells, the artificial skin can also be used as a wound dressing for burn trauma.
• The Automatic Cell Production System enables mass production and stable quality for cell therapy products. By integrating functional modules for image detection, medium exchange, subculture and cell harvesting, ITRI's system provides a full manufacturing solution, aiming to improve the quality and capacity of large-scale cell products and reduce production costs.

ITRI's health technologies are launching in the United States at CES 2022. ITRI is seeking technology transfers and business collaboration opportunities for the above technologies. Interested partners are welcome to book a meeting session at https://event.itri.org/ces2022/register.

ITRI's CES 2022 online press kit is available here: https://ces.vporoom.com/ITRI.

Images, technology fact sheets, and videos of all the above technologies are available here.

About ITRI

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is one of the world's leading technology R&D institutions aiming to innovate a better future for society. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan's industries from labor-intensive into innovation-driven. To address market needs and global trends, it has launched its 2030 Technology Strategy & Roadmap and focuses on innovation development in Smart Living, Quality Health, and Sustainable Environment. It also strives to strengthen Intelligentization Enabling Technology to support diversified applications.

Over the years, ITRI has been dedicated to incubating startups and spinoffs, including well-known names such as UMC and TSMC. In addition to its headquarters in Taiwan, ITRI has branch offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote international cooperation across the globe. For more information, please visit https://www.itri.org/eng.

SOURCE Industrial Technology Research Institute