The latest smart scale in the Withings line is the Withings Body Pro 2, which is designed to be able to detect early signs of diabetes complications. Available exclusively through professionals, its focus is to help those with diabetes better manage the disease.
Launched in tandem with World Diabetes Day, the Body Pro 2 is the result of years of research and development and consultation with hundreds of digital health partners and clinicians. It combines habit-forming user features with a modular approach to manage chronic conditions. Its core capabilities allow care teams to capture advanced health metrics such as weight and body composition while additional and optional health modules unlock the ability to track advanced and clinically validated biomarkers typically only available in a professional setting.
Body Pro 2’s first module is prescription-only (Rx) and aims to improve the way patients with diabetes are taken care of. With this module, care teams can monitor one of the biggest challenges in diabetes, diabetic foot health, which is often overlooked. By monitoring patients’ Electrochemical Skin Conductance (ESC), the scale may help to detect early signs of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathies (DPN) and assess the risk for diabetic foot ulcers.
Body Pro 2’s introductory module presents Electrochemical Skin Conductance (ESC) which is intended for the measurement of galvanic skin response to aid in the assessment of the sudomotor function. Various studies have demonstrated the link between sudomotor function and the risk for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which is the most common diabetes complication in the world, impacting up to 70% of patients with diabetes over their lifetime. The current standard for early detection and prevention of diabetic peripheral neuropathies relies on an annual in-person foot exam that only 16% of patients attend, often performed with outdated and unreliable methods.
Early and consistent detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathies is a daunting challenge in the management of patients with diabetes. Yet, when caught early enough, it can be life-changing, as evidence shows that simple lifestyle interventions may limit its progression. Body Pro 2 enables ESC measurements to be taken at home and monitored over time, making early detection of diabetic peripheral neuropathies and assessment of diabetic foot ulcer risk not only possible, but easy for both patients and their care teams on a daily basis.
“This is a turning point for the healthcare industry as we are bringing a breakthrough measurement, backed by a decade of developments and hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications, to the at-home setting,” says Eric Carreel, Withings Founder and President. “Not only will this allow for early detection of a largely underdiagnosed condition and therefore a better management of the diabetic foot but I also believe that providing access to longitudinal ESC data has the potential to help the industry rethink how we should care for patients with diabetes. I look forward to working with the medical and scientific communities to uncover all the potential of this at-home measurement.”
As a cellular-enabled scale that works straight out of the box, the Withings Body Pro 2 does not require a complex setup process. It automatically transmits accurate, secure data to care teams. It includes all the usual features you’d expect from a smart scale, including weight tracking and body composition monitoring. But there are also additional patient-engagement features.
With Personalized Health Nudges, care teams can send personalized and tailored messages to patients through the dynamic colour screen, enhancing engagement and involvement in their health journey. The Eyes Closed Mode, available in other recently launched Withings scales like the Body Smart scale I reviewed earlier this year, caters to patients who don’t want to see their weight but still want to engage with their care teams. When turned on, the scale hides weight readings and instead shows motivational messages that encourage positive progress and routine adherence.
With a high-resolution, full colour LCD, patients can engage with a more vibrant experience that includes weight trends, weather forecasting, air quality, and more. The scale also has grip feet and a non-slip surface to improve the experience of stepping on the scale, helping patients keep their balance. A gentle vibration assures patients who may have trouble seeing the screen that their measurement is complete, notifying them that they can confidently step off the scale.
In a major advancement towards improving data validation and integrity, Body Pro 2 is also the first and only cellular scale designed with the patient recognition feature ProgramMemberID. The cellular scale provides care teams assurance, based on a score (0-100%), of the likelihood that the measurement reading came from their patients, rather than from one of their family members. Now, care teams are empowered to collect and analyze patient data with greater confidence for faster and better decision-making and improve program efficiency.
Finally, there’s an Engagement Score that helps care teams understand the level of engagement of their patients, based on learnings derived from billions of measurements on Withings scales, to assess their motivation and customize their coaching accordingly.
“On one hand Body Pro 2 is a product that is fully personalizable at the patient level and sets new standards in terms of experience – for both care teams and their patients – in order to drive higher engagement and retention,” says Antoine Robiliard, Vice President of Withings Health Solutions. “And on the other hand, it is a product that introduces a breakthrough measurement that has the potential to reshape the way the medical community cares for patients with diabetes. Thanks to its modularity, it is a product that answers to the current challenges of the digital health industry, while opening up a new way to care for patients in the future.”