The ‘Wellness’ Phone

NTT DoCoMo Inc. has prototyped and presented a “wellness mobile phone” that can measure body fat ratio, pulse, breath odor, how far the user has walked and give health advice.

This was a joint development with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and the company assumes that it will be commercialized in the future, although it has not determined a marketing schedule yet. The company’s booth was filled with many visitors who came to try the prototype.

Based on a mobile phone embedded with a touch panel type LCD, it has sensors to measure various types of biometric information. For example, an infrared sensor measures the pulse using via absorption of hemoglobin. For the measurement of breath odor, a gas sensor set at the bottom of the handset has been used (seems very Japanese to me, but sometimes we all need a reminder!).

A pedometer can sense whether a user is walking, running or climbing up or down stairs. Reflecting such situations, the mobile phone calculates the user’s energy consumption accurately, the company said. Along with an application that monitors and shows the user’s health data in chronological order, the company believes the mobile phone will be used in combination with dietary control services and applications related to fitness management, mental healthcare and the like.