Garmin has entered into an exclusive agreement with King’s College London to supply smartwatches and fitness trackers for a major maternal health research initiative. The collaboration, announced at the Garmin Health Summit in New York, marks the company’s largest partnership with a research institution to date.
The Enhanced Maternal and Baby Results with AI-supported Care and Empowerment (EMBRACE) program will collect smartwatch data from up to 40,000 adults worldwide, including women and their partners. Data from an additional 20,000 infants will be incorporated, bringing the total number of participants to 60,000.
Garmin devices will record metrics such as heart rate, sleep patterns, physical activity, energy expenditure and beat-to-beat intervals. With user consent, this data will be combined with smartphone inputs and self-reported information to support AI-driven analysis. The research aims to identify digital biomarkers that could assist in addressing health issues such as gestational diabetes, pregnancy hypertension and perinatal depression, while also providing ongoing post-natal care recommendations.
The initiative is funded by Inkfish, a philanthropic research organization that earlier this year made the largest single donation in King’s College London’s history to advance maternal, child and lifelong health studies.
Garmin Health said the project underscores the growing role of wearables in clinical research, combining device integration with AI and machine learning to support personalized healthcare at scale.
Source: Garmin
