How LifeQ Biometrics Improves Your Health and Longevity

If we measured your body, what would we find? Biometrics refers to body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. An example of biometrics is voice recognition and fingerprint scanning. Now, this information is often used to guard our secrets. However, what if we could use the information to uncover the secret to longevity?

The Biometrics of Health and Longevity

In a series called The Business of Health, hosted on the Nielsen Network, Longevity Live spoke to Laurence Olivier, the CEO of LifeQ, the leading provider of biometrics and health information derived from wearable devices, helping people live healthier lives. LifeQ, recently secured a $47 million from top investors around the world.

Laurence Olivier

The company has assembled a valuable shareholder base to assist with business expansion.  The impressive list of institutions and strategic investors includes Invenfin, 4Di Capital, Allectus Capital, Mogul Capital, Tenhong Holdings, Analog Devices, Hannover Re, Convergence Partners, Stellar Capital Partners, Nedbank Corporate and Investment Bank, Delos, OneBio Seed Investment Fund, Virgin Group, Lireas, Allen & Co, and Acequia Capital.  LifeQ has also drawn the backing of experienced entrepreneurs and family offices such as Rachel Diamond, Halls Investments, Bremer Investments, Errol Damelin, Dietco, among others.

We discussed the importance of biometrics and how the health information derived from wearable devices can help us live healthier lives.

The information age

“What intrigued me was the fact that you could actually almost transcribe human physiology in the form of computer equations.”

According to Olivier, he had the idea of developing an electronic interface between human and digital programs and software. The purpose of this would be to take it to the next level in terms of efficiency in terms of power.

Wear your health

How easy would it be to live a healthy life if you could understand your health better? That’s exactly the purpose behind LifeQ’s technology. The company was founded in South Africa after Olivier met his two Ph.D. co-founders at a biotechnology business planning competition. Now while his co-founders didn’t win the competition, Olivier, who was a judge at the competition, was intrigued. What would follow is LifeQ, a fast growing global biometric business.

The business of biometrics and longevity

LifeQ has two key value propositions: enabling wearable devices to provide business-grade and near clinical-grade health information streams; and using this data to generate health and wellness solutions for consumer, business and clinical applications. LifeQ is rapidly becoming the preferred health enabler and benchmark for the world’s top consumer electronics companies.  This has already had significant, life-changing and even life-saving impact on real users’ lives.

Read more about the interview:

So, how can this information support your health?

Let’s look at sleep. We all understand that sleep is important for our health, but unfortunately, a lot of us aren’t getting enough of it.

“This technology provides insight. Sleep apnea is a sleep-breathing disorder which demonstrates itself by oxygen saturation in your body,” explains Olivier. He adds that thanks to the technology, you can monitor your sleep apnea and therefore try to change your behavior for the better. He added that if you are on any treatment, the information provided can also help your sleep clinician better monitor the success of the treatment.

A working system

It’s important to remember that your body is an interlinked system, and all the different elements involved can influence it. However, thanks to the technology provided by Olivier, one can look at the total system and find connections between different health issues,

“I think that’s one of the things that sets LifeQ apart is the fact that we look at the total system, we look at all the different elements,” explains Olivier,  “You actually have to give a person a total view on a lot of moving parts, because you have to think about the total system which needs to be solved.”

Pre-COVID tests

In another first, LifeQ, 1Life and Samsung South Africa recently launched a Covid-19 screening app which is only available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 device. The app uses unique models derived from the user’s biometric data to give them an indication of changes in their health. This enables consumers to take proactive precautions in the event of potential Covid-19 onset.

Olivier says the technology on your wrists can work as a small brain, helping to alert you to health issues before you even notice them. In fact, the technology could help alert you to one of the biggest health issues in recent months.

Using smart technology to predict health issues

“Solutions can actually help detect covid 19 infections earlier.” says Olivier, “Usually your brain detects the infection when you start to feel unwell, you have a temperature and you feel the symptoms. However, the COVID virus affects your body much earlier than that. In fact, there are already small immune responses in your body, your immune response, and you would not sense that yet as a symptom. Thankfully, being equipped with smart technology, we can pick it up much earlier“.

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

Olivier adds that this is a good example of the power of digital capability because, during those 48 hours of viral shedding, which is the most dangerous part of COVID, they can alert the person and say that they may have COVID, and thus need to get tested and self-isolate.

Protecting your health data

It’s great that LifeQ uses the information it collects to help support your health. However, it’s hard not to worry about what they could potentially be doing with the data. Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about them misusing the information it collects.

“LifeQ regards data, the same way as the organ of the body –  you own your organs, and you have all the rights and all the decisions. To us, your health data is just another organ of yours,” says Olivier.

Olivier adds that LifeQ’s data policies are extremely rigorous. Whatever has to be done to process the collected data is done with your consent, and for your benefit.