Ultrahuman wants real-world health data, and is asking its users for it

Health trackers like smartwatches and smart rings rely heavily on algorithms and models to collect and analyze health data and provide helpful summaries and insights. Usually, these models are developed through research studies, but Ultrahuman wants to take things a step further.

Today, the company has launched “Pulsomics,” a new research program built directly into the Ultrahuman app. Users with an Ultrahuman smart ring can opt in to the program and take part in one of three research studies by simply wearing their rings to sleep.

At launch, the program includes three studies that users can contribute to:

• Sleep sufficiency study
• Glucose metabolism study
• VO2 Max study

More health studies under the Pulsomics program will follow, including studies for cardiovascular load and a longitudinal sleep journal.

Ultrahuman says the idea behind asking users to provide health data to tune its wellness models is to avoid the common pitfalls of traditional clinical studies, such as a lack of diversity and short test durations. Clinical studies are tightly controlled, but the company wants data from people with a wide variety of skin tones, body compositions, and wearing habits.

Since health data is highly sensitive, Ultrahuman says it will de-identify the data before use and will never sell or share it with advertisers, employers, or insurers. The program is opt-in, and users will be able to see their own contributions and opt out at any time.

Ultrahuman Pulsomics is available in the Ultrahuman app for users aged 18 and above who have an Ultrahuman Ring AIR or Ring PRO.