BREAKTHROUGH IN DIGITAL HEALTH: WITHINGS HEALTH SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES BODY PRO 2, REVOLUTIONIZING THE DETECTION OF EARLY DIABETES COMPLICATIONS WITH THE NEXT-GEN CELLULAR SCALE
On World Diabetes Day, Withings Health Solutions provides a leap forward for the digital health industry with the launch of Body Pro 2, a revolutionary device redefining the nature and use of cellular-connected smart scales. Body Pro 2 is the result of years of research and development, consultation with hundreds of digital health partners and clinicians, and embodies Withings’ vision that digital health needs to be a better experience for all stakeholders. It combines habit-forming user features with a pioneering modular approach to manage chronic conditions within one versatile device. 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.
Withings opens new ways to assess the risk of diabetic foot ulcers
Prevention of type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications is the focus of the final year of the World Diabetes Day 2021-23 theme, Access to Diabetes Care. 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. 1
With Body Pro 2, Withings Health Solutions reinforces its value proposition to the digital health industry. “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,” said Antoine Robiliard, VP 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”.
Redefining what a cellular scale should be: seamless, simple and powerful
Withings has 15 years of experience creating sleek designed medical-grade devices that fit seamlessly into consumer lifestyles. The Body Pro 2 scale could not be simpler for patients to use. It is a cellular-enabled scale that works straight out of the box, requires no setup, and automatically transmits accurate, secure data to care teams. Leveraging a recipe that has proven benefits to millions of consumers around the world, it deploys a host of features and strategies that have made the success of Withings such as: unparalleled ease of use, powerful weight tracking, body composition monitoring and an engaging user experience. To meet the evolving needs of the industry, Body Pro 2 goes to the next level with features further encouraging patient engagement and streamlining care team operations.
Patient-Engagement Features
● Personalized Health Nudges: Care teams can send personalized and tailored messages to patients through the dynamic color screen, enhancing engagement and involvement in their health journey.
● Eyes Closed Mode: To cater to patients who don’t want to see their weight but still want to engage with their care teams, the scale has the ability to hide weight readings. Instead patients can receive motivational messages that encourage positive progress and routine adherence.
● Vibrant Color Screen: With the addition of a new high-resolution, full color, LCD screen, patients will be able to engage with a more vibrant experience that includes weight trends, weather forecasting, air quality and more.
● Smart design:Equipped with 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.
Elevating the Partner Experience
● ProgramMemberID: 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.
● Engagement Score: A 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.
Beyond Weight Management – Reshaping the Future of Diabetes Care
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.2,3 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.4
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.5, 6, 7, 8, 9 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. 1, 10, 11, 12
“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.”
About Withings and Withings Health Solutions
Withings created the first smart scale in 2009 and has been the pioneer in connected health ever since. Its clinically validated and multi-award-winning range is used by millions worldwide and include smart scales, hybrid watches, blood pressure monitors, sleep analyzers, and more.
Withings Health Solutions is a dedicated division of global connected health leader Withings, serving healthcare professionals across chronic disease prevention and management, remote patient monitoring, clinical research and more. Its mission is to bridge the gap between patients and their care teams by continuously and effortlessly providing healthcare professionals with medical-grade data generated by patients from an ecosystem of connected devices. For more than a decade, Withings has built an expertise in user experience, engagement and retention. Withings Health Solutions extends this expertise to the healthcare industry to remove friction in the patient’s journey and allow for digital health to expand. For more information, visit www.withingshealthsolutions.com.
SCIENTIFIC SHEET
1. Kelley Newlin Lew et al., « Diabetes Distal Peripheral Neuropathy: Subtypes and Diagnostic and Screening Technologies », Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 16, no 2 (mars 2022): 295-320, https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968211035375
2. Raffaele Galiero et al., « Peripheral Neuropathy in Diabetes Mellitus: Pathogenetic Mechanisms and Diagnostic Options », International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24, no 4 (10 février 2023): 3554, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043554
3. Carolina M. Casellini et al., « Sudoscan, a Noninvasive Tool for Detecting Diabetic Small Fiber Neuropathy and Autonomic Dysfunction », Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics 15, no 11 (novembre 2013): 948-53, https://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2013.0129
4. Jesse Pocuis et al., « Exploring Diabetic Foot Exam Performance in a Specialty Clinic », Clinical Nursing Research 26, no 1 (1 février 2017): 82-92, https://doi.org/10.1177/1054773815596699
5. John R. Singleton et al., « Exercise Increases Cutaneous Nerve Density in Diabetic Patients without Neuropathy », Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology 1, no 10 (octobre 2014): 844-49, https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.125
6. Patricia M. Kluding et al., « The Effect of Exercise on Neuropathic Symptoms, Nerve Function, and Cutaneous Innervation in People with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy », Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications 26, no 5 (2012): 424-29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2012.05.007
7. A. Gordon Smith et al., « Lifestyle Intervention for Pre-Diabetic Neuropathy », Diabetes Care 29, no 6 (juin 2006): 1294-99, https://doi.org/10.2337/dc06-0224
8. Triantafyllos Didangelos et al., « Vitamin B12 Supplementation in Diabetic Neuropathy: A 1-Year, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial », Nutrients 13, no 2 (27 janvier 2021): 395, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020395
9. Deepak Menon et al., « Omega-3 Nutrition Therapy for the Treatment of Diabetic Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy », Current Diabetes Reviews 18, no 5 (2022): 3, https://doi.org/10.2174/1573399817666210901121111
10. Amit Goel et al., « Comparison of Electrochemical Skin Conductance and Vibration Perception Threshold Measurement in the Detection of Early Diabetic Neuropathy », PLOS ONE 12, no 9 (7 septembre 2017): e0183973, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183973
11. Angelica Carbajal-Ramírez et al., « Early Identification of Peripheral Neuropathy Based on Sudomotor Dysfunction in Mexican Patients with Type 2 Diabetes », BMC Neurology 19, no 1 (31 mai 2019): 109, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-019-1332-4
12. Jean-Pierre Riveline et al., « Validation of the Body Scan®, a new device to detect small fiber neuropathy by assessment of the sudomotor function: agreement with the Sudoscan® », Frontiers in Neurology 14 (2023), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1256984
