Wearable tracker uses key biomarkers
The Nnoxx One wearable device that tracks biomarkers in the body can be worn by professional athletes and casual gym-goers, said Nnoxx. It uses a range of sensors to measure nitric oxide (NO) and muscle oxygenation (SmO2) levels during exercise. (Nitric oxide increases blood flow oxygen delivery to the heart, brain and muscles.)
“Research has shown that [NO] is a key indicator in the overall health and fitness of an individual, and is a much more informative biomarker to monitor than tracking steps, heartrate or VO2 max [maximum oxygen volume],” said Justin Saul, CEO and co-founder of Nnoxx.
“With Nnoxx One, we have created an easy, non-invasive way to monitor this key biomarker, which in the past has required an invasive lab test to obtain. This is a gamechanger in fitness wearables and in helping people improve their health and performance,” he said.
Nnoxx One includes photodiodes, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer, which are all supervised by the nRF5340 by Nordic Semiconductor, This SoC features dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors with a high performance application processor and a fully programmable, low power network processor.
There is also Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF21540 RF front-end module (FEM), a range extender which offers enhanced link robustness with an integrated power amplifier and low noise amplifier. This enables up to +20dBm TX output power (110mA power consumption), with a power consumption of 2.9mA in RX and 45nA in power down mode. The RF FEM ensures, for example, that athletes exercising at one end of a sports field can reliably send their data to a smartphone at the other end.
There is a corresponding Nnoxx One app (available for iOS and Android) which allows users to view their data after completing a workout and access a ‘guided’ workout. By selecting the desired cyclical workout (for example, running, biking, or rowing) and a workout length, the ‘AI Coach’ can guide the user, based on their biomarkers, to increase the effectiveness of the workout.
The Nnoxx One Elite is designed for high performance athletes and allows them to access their data on a website, which provides more detailed charts and analytics, tracking workout intensity, volume, and recovery over time.
Nnoxx One uses a custom Li-ion battery that allows it to last for up to four hours between charges. The nRF5340 SoC’s radio helps extend battery life, with a TX current of 3.4mA (0dBm TX power, 3.0V, DC/DC), an RX current of 2.7mA (3.0V, DC/DC), and a sleep current that is as low as 0.9 microA.
“We developed our own application code using the nRF Connect SDK [Software Development Kit]. It was very helpful both when building a prototype, and throughout the rest of the development and production process,” added Saul.
