Health tech company Withings showcased BeamO, its “thermometer of the future,” at CES 2024. As of Thursday, it’s now FDA-cleared and available for purchase in the US. In addition to taking your temperature, the thermometer’s sensors function as an electrocardiogram and a stethoscope, allowing you to monitor both your heart and lung health.
On its side, BeamO has two electrodes that, when gripped, perform a medically certified electrocardiogram in under one minute. This information is displayed on the device’s LED screen in real time. It’s intended for adults 22 and older.
Along with a Withings Plus subscription, people in Europe and the US can use the electrocardiogram feature for a Cardio Check-Up, a remote cardiac health assessment conducted by a cardiologist within 24 hours.
BeamO capturing heart sounds.
You can also perform an auscultation (aka listening to the sounds produced by the body’s organs), capturing the chest or back’s acoustic sound waves to hear the heart and lungs via headphones. During a telehealth consultation, audio streaming enables a doctor to help you determine the optimal placement of the device. This is similar to what a doctor does with a stethoscope. However, this feature isn’t intended for diagnosis or treatment, but rather for recording and sharing with a doctor.
Back to the basics, BeamO can also measure your body temperature through contactless analysis of the temporal artery on your temples.
The thermometer feature in action.
“These sensors record the heart’s electrical activity as well as measure infrared light to interpret body temperature,” said Xavier Debreuil, Withings product research director, in a news statement. “On the other hand, they capture acoustic waves to study the activity of the heart and lungs. All the data is analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms to identify anomalies.”
BeamO capturing lung sounds.
For the AI algorithms to identify anomalies or determine if these irregularities connect to any other Withings devices you have, you will need a Withings Plus subscription. However, you will not need this subscription for BeamO to tell you if your temperature or heartbeat is abnormal.
This data can be shared with your doctor through the secure HealthLink feature on the Withings app.
The BeamO interface
How much does BeamO cost?
BeamO is now available for $250 through the Withings website. It comes with a free one-month Withings Plus subscription and one free Cardio Check-up. In early 2026, you’ll also be able to buy the device through Amazon and other select retailers.
The Withings Plus subscription is currently priced at $10 per month or $100 per year. The app itself is free, but with the Plus subscription, you also get a long-term health assessment, weekly breakdown by health vertical, one ECG-powered cardiologist review every 90 days, an in-app chatbot, auto-trends detection, measurement insights and a daily vitality indicator that provides a breakdown of your body’s data.
Read the full article here
