Oura’s first experimental feature can detect early health changes

Oura is no stranger to pushing boundaries and testing new features that may benefit its users. Now, the smart ring company has announced Oura Labs, a new in-app platform to provide even more resources for those who wear the Oura Ring.

With Oura Labs, you’ll be able to “opt-in to test experimental features, provide feedback, and contribute to discussions,” Oura said in its press release. As of now, the platform is essentially a way for Oura to test new features, and you can toggle on notifications for new features. Plus, Oura Members will have the option to participate in research studies conducted by internal Oura teams and those conducted in collaboration with partner organizations and academic institutions.

Source: Oura

Enter Symptom Radar

The first feature available for testing in Oura Labs is the Symptom Radar. While not a diagnostic tool, as that would require FDA approval, it can help you understand your body’s signals and what changes in your body may mean. The Symptom Radar relies on the ring’s sensors and your biometric signals, monitoring them for changes and trends that could be putting extra strain on your body. It monitors factors including body temperature range, respiratory rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability.

If the app detects a change, whether from an illness, an intense workout, or a few nights of bad sleep, you can choose to enter Rest Mode. Rest Mode pauses activity goals, scores, and related contributors, so you won’t be pestered to get up and be active or be disappointed you aren’t hitting goals. The Readiness Score then highlights recovery metrics while Rest Mode is on. Alternatively, you could also lower your daily activity goal if you still want to get some movement in.

The new feature follows a paper recently published by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, San Diego. The paper assessed whether consumer-grade wearables can detect the onset of infectious diseases, specifically those that result in a fever. Anecdotally, I had a high fever after a COVID booster last fall; the ring picked up on it and prompted me to turn on Rest Mode, and that was before Symptom Radar was announced.

Source: Oura

While Symptom Radar is the only feature in Oura Labs right now, we expect many exciting things to come. It could also mean that Symptom Radar disappears at some point, though, so don’t get too attached to this experimental feature. Oura Labs is “designed to accelerate innovation by bringing members into the research and development process,” says Oura. As I learned in a conversation with Dr. Gotlieb, Oura’s Women’s Health Product Manager, user feedback is crucial to what features Oura focuses on, and that seems very clear with this new rollout.

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“At Oura, our product roadmap is built on the valuable input and requests from our members, and we’re excited to integrate further with our community by offering a direct way to contribute to the research and development of new features,” said Holly Shelton, chief product officer at Oura. “Simultaneously, we’ll be leveraging the power of citizen science through recruitment opportunities for a variety of research studies powered by Oura to harness the full potential of wearable technology as a public health solution.”