Steven LeBoeuf
President & Co-Founder
Inventor of more than 100 granted patents in the field of wearable biomedical sensing, Dr. Steven LeBoeuf is one of the foundational innovators in wearable PPG sensors that are now embedded in millions of wearables on the market today. Before founding Valencell in 2006, Dr. LeBoeuf pioneered innovations in solid state materials, multiwavelength optoelectronic devices, high-power electronics, nanostructured materials and devices, and biochemical sensor systems while serving as a Senior Scientist and Biosensor Project Lead for General Electric. LeBoeuf has developed dozens of strategic partnerships with industry leading consumer technology brands, medical professionals, research institutions, medical device manufacturers, health and fitness companies, and start-ups. One of the most broadly quoted scientists and entrepreneurs in the field of wearable PPG sensing, LeBoeuf has served as a speaker in 50+ events around the world and is routinely interviewed by journalists, industry analysts, venture capitalists, and academic researchers. As a founding pioneer in modern wearables, LeBoeuf has managed Valencell’s foundational patent portfolio, which has been licensed to dozens of companies around the world and implemented in 40+ wearable devices, ranging from earbuds, hearing aids, wristbands, legbands, smartwatches, virtual reality systems, headbands and more. LeBoeuf holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University, where he has been inducted into the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Hall of Fame, and BS degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics at Louisiana Tech University.
Raleigh, United States
Healthcare
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Valencell, the company whose optical heart rate technology enabled the ability of wearables to accurately measure cardiovascular vitals during exercise, plans to launch its own branded product line in the digital health sector under the name Valencell Health™ as it concentrates efforts to bring solutions to market to manage chronic diseases. The company’s first product candidate is the Fingertip™ Blood Pressure Monitor*, focused on helping people spot-check measure BP and manage hypertension by combining an intuitive app with an innovative over-the-counter device to accurately measure blood pressure (BP) from the finger without a cuff or calibration.
Founded in 2006 with a vision to help people live longer, healthier lives, Valencell’s proven inventions, sensor technology, and algorithms can be found in tens of millions of wearable and hearable devices, in over 90 products, for companies such as Samsung, Suunto, Bose, Jabra, Huawei, and Sony. While Valencell was established as a technology provider in consumer sports and fitness wearables, its foundational technology has the potential to realize the dream of seamless chronic disease management through easy-to-use, high-compliance digital health solutions.
The launch of the Valencell Health Fingertip™ BPM device will further the company’s vision of bringing life-changing digital health solutions to consumers and is a strategic evolution for the company. Having developed solutions for some of the world’s leading wearable companies, Valencell is now driven to bring its own portfolio of digital therapeutics to market. Powered by its patented biometric sensor technology, over 150 patents, proprietary AI models, and analytics that have been clinically validated using thousands of datasets over many years, it begins with a focus on hypertension.
Meeting Demands Under Pressure
Valencell Health’s first chronic disease management solution aims to help those with hypertension better and more regularly measure blood pressure and adhere to treatment.
The device has been engineered to measure blood pressure in less than a minute using a small probe on the middle finger without the need for bulky or painful cuffs. Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors within the device use reflected light to measure blood flow patterns. Proprietary AI algorithms, developed from more than 20,000 PPG datasets comprising more than 10,000 patients, are used to process this information with physical characteristics (age, weight, height and biological sex) to calculate a blood pressure measurement. Diastolic and systolic results are then displayed on the device’s built-in screen and transmitted via Bluetooth® to the app.
Unlike other technologies, the Fingertip™ Blood Pressure Monitor does not need to be calibrated to a BP cuff, a capability that has so far eluded the industry. Valencell’s solution is expected to be the world’s first over-the-counter, cuffless and truly calibration-free blood pressure monitor in a fingertip form factor, with the company targeting FDA Clearance in late 2024. Altogether, this has the potential to enable the world’s first OTC cuffless BP monitoring solution.
Although the device has been designed as a stand-alone blood pressure monitor, it has the potential to become a powerful tool to help manage hypertension when paired with its connected app. The easy-to-use mobile app has been designed to track and store readings and allow users to set reminders to take their blood pressure. Users will also have the ability to view trends over time, track the frequency of their measurements, and download and share data.
Valencell, the company whose optical heart rate technology enabled the ability of wearables to accurately measure cardiovascular vitals during exercise, plans to launch its own branded product line in the digital health sector under the name Valencell Health™ as it concentrates efforts to bring solutions to market to manage chronic diseases. The company’s first product candidate is the Fingertip™ Blood Pressure Monitor*, focused on helping people spot-check measure BP and manage hypertension by combining an intuitive app with an innovative over-the-counter device to accurately measure blood pressure (BP) from the finger without a cuff or calibration.
Founded in 2006 with a vision to help people live longer, healthier lives, Valencell’s proven inventions, sensor technology, and algorithms can be found in tens of millions of wearable and hearable devices, in over 90 products, for companies such as Samsung, Suunto, Bose, Jabra, Huawei, and Sony. While Valencell was established as a technology provider in consumer sports and fitness wearables, its foundational technology has the potential to realize the dream of seamless chronic disease management through easy-to-use, high-compliance digital health solutions.
The launch of the Valencell Health Fingertip™ BPM device will further the company’s vision of bringing life-changing digital health solutions to consumers and is a strategic evolution for the company. Having developed solutions for some of the world’s leading wearable companies, Valencell is now driven to bring its own portfolio of digital therapeutics to market. Powered by its patented biometric sensor technology, over 150 patents, proprietary AI models, and analytics that have been clinically validated using thousands of datasets over many years, it begins with a focus on hypertension.
Meeting Demands Under Pressure
Valencell Health’s first chronic disease management solution aims to help those with hypertension better and more regularly measure blood pressure and adhere to treatment.
The device has been engineered to measure blood pressure in less than a minute using a small probe on the middle finger without the need for bulky or painful cuffs. Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors within the device use reflected light to measure blood flow patterns. Proprietary AI algorithms, developed from more than 20,000 PPG datasets comprising more than 10,000 patients, are used to process this information with physical characteristics (age, weight, height and biological sex) to calculate a blood pressure measurement. Diastolic and systolic results are then displayed on the device’s built-in screen and transmitted via Bluetooth® to the app.
Unlike other technologies, the Fingertip™ Blood Pressure Monitor does not need to be calibrated to a BP cuff, a capability that has so far eluded the industry. Valencell’s solution is expected to be the world’s first over-the-counter, cuffless and truly calibration-free blood pressure monitor in a fingertip form factor, with the company targeting FDA Clearance in late 2024. Altogether, this has the potential to enable the world’s first OTC cuffless BP monitoring solution.
Although the device has been designed as a stand-alone blood pressure monitor, it has the potential to become a powerful tool to help manage hypertension when paired with its connected app. The easy-to-use mobile app has been designed to track and store readings and allow users to set reminders to take their blood pressure. Users will also have the ability to view trends over time, track the frequency of their measurements, and download and share data.
