Abu Dhabi Forges Key Health Tech Partnership for National Biological-Age Model
Abu Dhabi, UAE – A significant collaboration in health technology has been formalised in Abu Dhabi, as a Bengaluru-based health tech firm known for its smart rings has entered into a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC). The partnership aims to develop and validate a comprehensive biological-age model, with the ambitious goal of making it accessible to individuals across the entire United Arab Emirates.
The initiative signifies a strategic move by Abu Dhabi authorities to integrate advanced health algorithms and wearable technology data into public health frameworks. The biological-age model is designed to synthesise clinical biomarkers with data collected from wearable devices, providing insights into an individual’s aging process and identifying contributing factors such as sleep patterns, physical activity, cardiovascular health, and metabolic indicators.
This collaboration marks a notable expansion for the health tech company beyond its hardware sales, positioning it as a significant player in health data analytics. The firm views its smart rings as a mechanism for data acquisition, with a core focus on leveraging this data to underpin algorithms in longevity and other health domains.
A crucial aspect of this government partnership is the opportunity to apply advanced algorithms to a much broader population base than a private customer segment. The health age model is intended to be wearable-agnostic, capable of integrating data from various devices including rings, wrist devices, straps, and patches, alongside traditional clinical biomarkers. Upon its broader rollout, individuals are expected to access their health age insights through established government digital health platforms, such as TAMM and Sahatna.
The two-year MOU period will be dedicated to rigorous research and clinical validation of the model. Emphasising regulatory compliance and data privacy, the health tech firm has stated that while the model will be deployed using data from the UAE, it will not have access to personally identifiable information through the programme. The underlying biological-age model itself was developed using existing global data, combining users’ chronological ages with wearable signals and, in some instances, blood-test markers, to track health marker changes over time and identify deviations.
This development follows a trend within Abu Dhabi to leverage technological advancements for preventive health. The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi previously announced a separate partnership with another smart-ring manufacturer to combine wearable data with the emirate’s longitudinal health data, with an initial focus on women’s health and cardiometabolic risk. This underscores the government’s proactive approach in engaging with technology firms to enhance public health outcomes and regulatory frameworks related to health data.