Samsung Electronics today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Xealth, a unique healthcare integration platform that brings diverse digital health tools and care programs that benefit patients and providers. Together with Samsung’s innovative leadership in wearable technology, the acquisition will help advance Samsung’s transformation into a connected care platform that bridges wellness and medical care bringing a seamless and holistic approach to preventative care to as many people as possible.

This acquisition will further Samsung’s push to unify fragmented health information and to empower individuals to take control of their own health. Often, customer health data measured on wellness tools, which keep track of one’s wellness journey every day, and clinical records at hospitals are managed separately, leading to missed insights and delayed care. The synergy between Samsung’s advanced wearable technology and Xealth’s digital health platform can create a link between home health monitoring and clinical decision-making through enhancements to Xealth’s platform, with the provider-patient relationship at the center of that effort.

Samsung is committed to making digital health tools accessible for all through relentless innovation in technology and a boundless device ecosystem, and has been heavily investing in sensor technologies on wearables – essential tools to follow one’s wellbeing throughout both day and night. With Samsung’s diverse product portfolio especially around home, Samsung helps connect these various devices to bring better context and personalization around healthcare. The acquisition of Xealth will reinforce this commitment by becoming the cornerstone to advancing Samsung’s care at home vision of connecting and bridging wellness and medical care.

Xealth, spun out of Providence health system, combines multiple digital health solutions into a single user interface and platform, giving healthcare providers a more complete picture of their patients, and enabling real-time monitoring, continuous engagement and smarter decision making. Xealth acts as an orchestration layer that gives health systems control over how they manage, filter, and use data. The company currently has a network of more than 500 U.S. hospitals, including Advocate Health and Banner Health, and more than 70 digital health solution partners, which will gain access to Samsung’s platform and enhance the connected care platform.

“Samsung aims to improve the health of everyone through our extensive platform combining Samsung’s innovative technologies and open collaboration with industry leaders,” said TM Roh, President and Acting Head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics. “We believe the acquisition of Xealth, with its accumulated expertise and extensive healthcare network, will be an anchor to accelerate Samsung’s efforts to support health systems and digital health partners through a truly connected care.”

“We are excited to join forces with Samsung,” added Mike McSherry, CEO, Xealth. “Xealth and Samsung share a common goal to advance the digital health space for truly connected care. Customer health data from wearables can fill in context that is missing to hospitals and bring more data analysis possibilities that were not available just with clinical records. Together with Samsung and our network of healthcare leaders, we will design a bridge between home health monitoring and clinical decision-making, with provider workflow considerations and patient engagement at the core of that effort.”

With Samsung’s capabilities and Xealth’s expertise, more hospitals and solution providers will be part of Samsung’s health ecosystem, which will provide a seamless experience across wellness and medical care and bring hyper-personalized, preventative care to people.

The acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of any required regulatory approvals, and is expected to close within 2025.

About Xealth
Xealth is a digital health company that enables health systems to efficiently deploy, integrate, and manage digital health tools for improved patient care. The platform allows providers to prescribe and monitor digital health content, apps, and services as easily as they would medications. Xealth spun out of the Providence health system in 2017, and investors include Advocate Health, Banner Health, Cleveland Clinic, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Cerner, McKesson Ventures, Novartis, Philips, and ResMed as well as Providence Ventures and the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network.

“At Samsung, we are committed to empowering users with the tools to manage their own health and well-being,” said Peter Koo, SVP and Head of the Health Service Team at Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “We’re proud to deliver a service that continues to redefine the health and fitness experience, with new features to help our users to achieve and exceed their health goals.”

More Interactive and Personalized Content Built Around You  

With an updated user experience, more user-friendly visual design and new features, Samsung Health 6.0 is more intuitive, interactive, personalized and easier to navigate. Taking user feedback and the latest design trends into consideration, the Samsung Health home screen is now simplified, categorized and prioritized according to the user’s personal needs and habits, so that users can quickly view and access preferred features.

The improved ‘Together’ tab now allows users to share photos and celebrate fitness milestones and achievements with friends all within the app. Users can also connect with Samsung’s community of users around the world to exchange texts and photos, compare achievements and encourage each other to do more to reach wellness goals together by participating in the monthly ‘Global Challenge’. The updated ‘Discover²’ tab provides a more tailored user experience, allowing users to easily find health-related content – including articles, programs and partner apps – based on their interests and level of fitness. Additionally, users can now purchase wearables, accessories, and health-related goods and services all within the platform³.

Samsung Health is also committed to strengthening its collaboration with partners to expand its digital health ecosystem and provide the best experience to users. Samsung Health now supports a complete set of SDKs for app and web service integration. This enables strategic partners to expand their services and enhance user experience. With the latest user interface and updated ‘Discover’ feature, users can find services quickly and easily, giving partners enhanced visibility of their apps, products, and content⁴.

Samsung Health on Samsung Smartwatches – the Ultimate Fitness Companion

The newly enhanced Samsung Health interface on Samsung wearables and smartwatches features more at-a-glance information, a workout countdown, GPS and heart rate tracking information, all available with the tap of a button. With the latest update, users can now choose from 39 different exercises and track their fitness progress when they pair with a Samsung wearable device or smartwatch. The latest Samsung smartwatch, Galaxy Watch, also allows the application to detect one of the 39 different exercises, and record data even when users switch between activities – such as from running to cycling – tracking the entire workout from start to finish⁵.

Users can get more out of their Samsung smartwatch, even when the workout is over, with Samsung Health’s new wellness and stress management features. With ‘Sleep Stage Detection,’ users can track their sleep cycles to improve sleep habits. Users can also manage stress in real-time through heart rate and heart rate variability monitoring, as well as with a guided breathing exercise program.

Samsung Health’s Telehealth Offerings Put You in Control

Samsung Health strives to provide more intuitive and accessible healthcare options for consumers globally. Samsung Health includes ‘Symptom Checker’ and ‘Ask an Expert⁶,’ which allow users to access medical information, look up symptoms, manage prescriptions and even chat live with certified doctors, all within a single application.  Additionally, Samsung Health has built a partner ecosystem with well-known health brands, like Babylon (UK) and American Well (US), creating many more ways for users to improve their health and wellbeing.

Since its launch in 2012, “S Health”, a basic nutrition and fitness tracker available on select Galaxy smartphones, has grown to “Samsung Health,” a comprehensive digital health platform. It now includes interactive health features – such as telemedicine, competitions and personalized tips – across a broad range of Samsung and non-Samsung devices.

The latest Samsung Health app can be downloaded via the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Apps² . To find out more about Samsung Health, please go to: http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/samsung-health/.

About Samsung Health
Samsung Health is an all-in-one companion for your healthy lifestyle. With Samsung Health, you can track your everyday activities, get coaching to reach your goals, and even connect with healthcare professionals in real time, straight from your phone or wearable device. Samsung Health opens up a global health community by enabling users to compete in challenges or go head-to-head with friends to achieve milestones. Through new technologies, combined with a wide range of partners in fitness, wellness, and healthcare management, Samsung Health offers secure, easily accessible, highly personalized and continuous health management. This reflects Samsung Electronics’ commitment to empowering users and delivering innovations that help improve people’s lives. Please visit http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/samsung-health/ to learn more.

¹Samsung Health is intended for fitness and wellness purposes only and is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease. Tablets and some mobile devices may not be supported. Samsung Health requires Android OS 5.0 or above, iPhone 5 and above with iOS 9 and above installed. Available functions, features and addable applications may vary by region, service provider, and device specifications.

²Availability varies by region.

³Product listings may vary by market.

⁴Samsung Health continues to support all third-party applications using Samsung’s SDK. Data integration of some third-party vendors may not be compatible.

⁵Continuous tracking is currently available for Galaxy Watch.

⁶ Service currently available in U.S. and U.K. for Symptom Checker and in China, India, U.S. and U.K for Ask an Expert.

My BP Lab leverages an innovative optical sensor available on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, announced today, to provide users with richer, more accurate information about their health status. This optical sensor is built into the device, and allows blood pressure to be directly measured by the smartphone without any external hardware.

Users joining a program led by UCSF researchers will receive personalized, on-demand information regarding their stress and blood pressure levels throughout the day. One aim of the study is to optimize My BP Lab to provide contextualized and scientifically informed feedback, so users will be able to gain a better understanding of their stress and blood pressure levels and manage their health more effectively. The study also further improves the accuracy of the blood pressure readings, by gathering data from thousands of users in real-world settings.

“At Samsung, we have a firm commitment to the health and well-being of our users,” said Peter Koo, Senior VP and leader of the Health Service Team at Samsung Electronics. “That’s why we developed a revolutionary optical sensor in the Galaxy S9 and S9+. We are pleased to be partnering with UCSF to utilize this sensor and contribute to research that will provide our users with crucial and meaningful feedback about their health.”

Users who open the My BP Lab app will be invited to join a three-week UCSF research study that will track stress and how emotions experienced throughout the day affect your wellbeing. Participants will report on their behavior, including sleep, exercise, and diet, and will use the smartphone’s sensor to make blood pressure measurements throughout the day. Participants could learn, for example, what day of the week their stress levels were the highest, or how their sleep quality affected their blood pressure levels in the morning.

“This study could provide the largest dataset yet on stress, daily emotional experiences, and blood pressure,” said Wendy Berry Mendes, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at UCSF and the Director of the Emotion, Health, and Psychophysiology Lab. “Our partnership with Samsung could help people all over the world improve their health by managing stress.”

My BP Lab will be available to download from the Google Play Store on March 15. The program is available for users in the United States who are eighteen years of age or older.

About University of California, San Francisco

UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland – and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area. Please visit www.ucsf.edu/news.

More Connected

To improve usability and enhance user engagement, S Health v.5.0 features a streamlined user interface. Now, in place of a main dashboard, the app’s supported health activities are neatly organized under three tabs – Me, Together and Discover – to help users more easily manage their fitness data.

Together is dedicated to social features. It’s where users can go to find extra motivation to achieve their goals. There, Challenges and Leaderboards encourage them to engage in healthy activities with friends to reach their fitness targets. Friendly one-on-one competitions like Step Challenges and the ability to share activity data on Facebook add further motivation, engaging users work out more actively together.

Whether a user walks, runs or cycles, S Health automatically detects the type of activity being engaged in and dutifully tracks the user’s progress. In all, 44 different activities are supported, including exercise bike and step machine sessions, as well as Pilates, lunges, crunches and squats.

Want a second opinion on a fitness program? Ask Experts is a new service that enables S Health users to connect and start Q&As with healthcare professionals anytime, anywhere via text, phone, or a simple search. With it, users will be able to ask questions, find answers and get helpful advice from professional health consultants local to their country. The service is currently available in Korea, and will expand to other countries in the near future*.

More Informative and Secure

Users will find dynamic content such as healthy living and workout tips, health information and relevant news under the Discover tab. Its content is geared to help users manage their health and stay motivated, covering major topics such as fitness, weight loss, sleep, nutrition, recipes, cardio health and other vital aspects of healthy living.

S Health has also been audited by an independent third-party firm for meeting requirements in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – U.S. federal regulations requiring stringent measures to keep protected health information (PHI) secure. Furthermore, the service is backed by Samsung’s defense-grade security platform, Samsung Knox, to provide a higher level of protection and encryption with hardware-backed credential storage.

The Knox-supported S Health app can detect malware, rooting binary and unauthorized changes on users’ phones with the Knox framework. Once such hazards are detected, S Health will be rendered inaccessible.

Samsung Knox S Health support is compatible with S Health v.5.0 or higher and enabled on Samsung Galaxy devices starting with the Galaxy Note7. S Health v.5.0 can also be used on smartphones running on Android OS 4.4 and higher.

*Availability may vary by each country and market conditions.

**All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced that it is addressing the growing trend of quantified health with an all-in-one advanced system logic chip for the health-oriented wearables market, the Bio-Processor. The Samsung Bio-Processor, now in mass production, is specifically designed to allow accelerated development of innovative wearable products for consumers who are increasingly monitoring their health and fitness on a daily basis.

“With improvements in smart, fitness devices and an increase in consumer health consciousness, more and more people are looking for ways to monitor various personal bio-data, or fitness data, to constantly manage their health” said Ben K. Hur, Vice President of marketing, System LSI business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung’s Bio-Processor, which can process five different biometric signals, is the most versatile health and fitness monitoring chip available on the market today and is expected to open up many new health-based service options for our customers.”

Samsung Bio-Processor: Small in size; Big on Versatility

Samsung’s Bio-Processor is the industry’s first all-in-one health solution chip. By integrating not only Analog Front Ends (AFE), but also microcontroller unit (MCU), power management integrated circuit (PMIC), digital signal processor (DSP), and eFlash memory, it is able to process the bio-signals it measures without the need of external processing parts. Even with its integrated design, the Bio-Processor is particularly innovative thanks to its incredibly small size. When compared to the total area of the discrete parts, the Bio-Processor is only about one fourth of the total combined size, which is ideal for small wearable devices, offering a bounty of options when designing new devices.

While heart rate monitoring alone may have been compelling in the past, the ability to measure a variety of fitness data is expected in today’s wearable products. To meet such demands, Samsung has designed its Bio-Processor to integrate five AFEs including bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), photoplethysmogram (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG), skin temperature, and galvanic skin response (GSR) into a single chip solution that measures body fat, and skeletal muscle mass, heart rate, heart rhythm, skin temperature and stress level, respectively. In addition, combinations of these fitness inputs can be considered for a variety of new use cases.

To speed product development and better understand Samsung’s new Bio-Processor, several wearable reference platforms are now available to demonstrate various uses cases. For example, wrist band, board and patch type reference devices exhibit the Bio-Processor’s potential by demonstrating its ability to measure multiple fitness variables on an extremely small device.

Samsung Bio-Processor is currently in mass production and will be available in fitness/health devices within the first half of 2016.

The alliance, to be announced today at the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Scientific Session in Las Vegas, will leverage Samsung’s deep understanding of consumer technology and mobility to develop advanced tools, based on the Android operating system, aimed at improving how patients and physicians interact with and receive data from Medtronic’s clinically-proven neuromodulation systems. By integrating neuromodulation therapies with Samsung technology, Medtronic seeks to deliver real-time health data to physicians and patients so they can more effectively manage the therapy, track symptoms and wirelessly monitor data received from Medtronic devices.

“Medtronic is committed to solving healthcare challenges, and through this alliance we intend to create efficiencies by developing digital solutions that connect patients and healthcare providers in real time,” said Tom Tefft, senior vice president and president of Neuromodulation, which is part of the Restorative Therapies Group at Medtronic. “Medtronic has a track record of developing meaningful patient innovations, and this collaboration is the first step to providing more personalized patient care and arming patients and physicians with the best consumer-relevant technologies.”

In the future, this alliance between Medtronic and Samsung is intended to focus on enabling patients implanted with neuromodulation therapies to use consumer electronics, such as smartphones, wearables or tablets, to securely and wirelessly transmit real-time data from their device to their physicians. Connecting patients and physicians in this manner could provide many potential benefits, including allowing physicians to more quickly make informed, data-driven treatment decisions.

“Samsung is applying its deep understanding of how people use technology to bring new innovations to healthcare,” said Dave Rhew, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Healthcare and Fitness for Samsung Electronics America. “These future solutions will help better manage the health of patients by providing them with advanced, easy-to-use tools that securely deliver real-time data to their physicians”.

In June 2015, Medtronic and Samsung announced a similar collaboration to enable solutions to improve diabetes management for the millions of people at risk and currently living with the disease.  The first project focuses on delivering more discreet and convenient access to personal diabetes data by developing mobile applications optimized for Samsung mobile devices that will enable the viewing of insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor information.

About Medtronic Neuromodulation Solutions

Medtronic developed and leads the field of neuromodulation, the targeted and regulated delivery of electrical pulses and pharmaceuticals to specific sites in the nervous system. The company’s Neuromodulation business includes medical systems for the management of chronic pain, movement disorders, severe spasticity and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

Now, with the release of the Gear S2, which is earning widespread praise for its elegant design and innovative rotating bezel UX, Samsung is introducing the Gear S2 Experience app. Available in three languages—English, Chinese and Korean—the Gear S2 Experience app lets anyone, anywhere, check out the wearable device’s unique design and UX. It’s a hands-on feel, even when you cannot get your hands on a Gear S2 in real life.

Here’s a look at the five main features of the Gear S2 Experience app, and how they can help you get to feel for the Gear S2 and its special features.

Aesthetic and Elegant Design

If you’re going to wear a wearable, you need the device to look stylish. Calling up this option brings up a Stylish Smart Gear screen, which provides more details about the Gear S2’s sleek, fashionable design—a durable, stainless steel body that fits your wrist just right. Clicking “Experience” then brings up a Gear S2 that you can check out in 360 degrees. Get an immersive, complete view of the Gear S2 in three style, dark gray and silver for the Gear S2, and the black of the Gear S2 classic. It’s a convenient way of getting to know the Gear S2’s harmonious combination of technology and design.

Intuitive Experience

One of the most defining parts of the Gear S2 is its rotating bezel UX that controls many of the device’s functions. It’s a unique and intuitive way of using a smartwatch, and the Gear S2 Experience app gives you a good taste for what that experience is really like.

Once again, after you select this feature, select “Experience” to bring up the simulator. There, the app guides you in how to rotate the bezel to achieve various effects. First it guides you in moving the bezel to the left and right, followed by rotating to scroll vertically, select options or to control volume.

Healthier Lifestyle

The Gear S2 Experience app also shows how health-related features are integrated into the device. You can try out how the Gear S2’s Auto Tracking detects your movements, exercise and heart rate automatically. Or pretend to go for a run on the treadmill, selecting the jogging feature and then taking several strides in a mini-run.

You can also try out the various Healthy Clock faces, like Activity sparkles (they shine as your move more), Activity bubbles (the circles grow as you exercise), Pixel Heart (a heart shape changes color depending on your heart rate) and Heart Wave (measures maximum, minimum and average heart rates).

Convenience & More

This field lets you explore a wide range of the Gear S2’s other functions, like notifications, Samsung Pay and accessories. Notifications lets you try out checking your messages and sending preset replies, leaving voice messages and more. Samsung Pay lets you try out the tap & pay system that makes Samsung Pay so convenient. And Additional Features gives you a rundown of the Gear S2’s many other functions, like 3G connectivity, wireless charging and compatibility with other Android devices (running 4.4O/S or higher, with at least 1.5GB of RAM).

Try On

Throughout your use of the Gear S2 Experience app, you are given many opportunities to wear a Gear S2 virtually, using Try On. Once again, you begin by pressing “Experience.” Then you choose a watch face (dark gray or silver for the Gear S2 or black for the Gear S2 classic), followed by one of 16 watch faces. Once you’ve picked your combination, you select “Try On”, where you can use your camera to take a picture of your customized Gear S2 on your arm, and share the photo with friends using your choice of email, social media or other apps.

All told, the Gear S2 Experience app is a great way to get a deeper sense of what Samsung’s latest wearable is all about. Nothing compares to the real thing, but the Gear S2 Experience app comes pretty close. You can download the English version of the Gear S2 Experience app at the Galaxy Apps store or Google Play.

Samsung Medison is showcasing its latest imaging and diagnostic solutions at ISUOG (International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology)’s 25th World Congress on Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, being held at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Canada from October 11 to 14. Samsung Medison, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, is a manufacturer of diagnostic ultrasound machinery. Samsung is displaying the upgraded packages of premium ultrasound system WS80A with Elite, featuring various research functions and new visualization technology along with academic seminars on clinical values of key features.

“At this congress, the WS80A with Elite is presenting a new level of imaging and diagnostic solutions in OB/GYN, which bring users a step closer to see and diagnose the fetus with clarity and confidence,” said Soo-in Cho, CEO of Samsung Medison, adding, “Samsung continues to develop technologies that enhance user’s experience in women’s health and collaborate with professionals at the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology for academic breakthroughs.”

The key upgrades of the WS80A with Elite include:

Semi-automated Diagnosis for Research

• 5D Heart Color — Generates nine standard fetal echocardiography views simultaneously in a single template with blood flow dynamics of fetal heart by using STIC (Spatio-Temporal Image Correlation) volume datasets.
• 5D Limb Vol. — Semi-automatically provides volume measurements of upper arm or thigh of a fetus which can be used to calculate an accurate estimation of fetal weight and nutritional status.
• 5D CNS+ — Provides axial, sagittal, and coronal views of fetal brain in nine planes by automatic measurement of biometry, following the international screening guidelines by ISUOG for fetal brain.

More Clarity in Assessing Fetus

• Crystal Vue — An advanced volume rendering technology which enables users to assess detailed information of internal and external structures of fetus by an intuitive 3D/4D visualization, providing increased diagnostic confidence.

“We have been impressed by the images we have obtained both in early pregnancy and when we have examined ovarian masses with Crystal Vue. We seem to be getting novel information,” said Professor Tom Bourne, research team leader in the Department of Surgery & Cancer within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College in the U.K. “We are currently carrying out clinical trials to see how this new technique impacts on diagnostic performance.”

About Samsung Medison

Samsung Medison, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, is a global medical equipment company founded in 1985. With a mission to bring health and well-being to people’s lives, the company manufactures diagnostic ultrasound systems around the world across various medical fields. Samsung Medison has commercialized the Live 3D technology in 2001 and since being part of Samsung Electronics in 2011, it is integrating IT, image processing, semiconductor and communication technologies into ultrasound devices for efficient and confidence diagnosis.

For more information, please visit www.samsungmedison.com.

To learn more about Samsung’s global medical equipment business, please visit samsung.com/global/business/healthcare/.