Lumia 2 launches smart earrings that track blood flow
A new wearable has launched and it aims to stand out. Lumia 2 is something you can wear to a formal event. These smart earrings monitor blood flow to your brain in real time, aiming to help you better understand fatigue, focus and clarity.
This is not your usual wearable
Smart rings were just the beginning. Now, a startup out of Boston is pushing things even further, or smaller, with smart earrings. Lumia 2 is a health tracker that looks like fine jewelry and sits discreetly behind the ear. And unlike typical wearables, it tracks something few devices can: cerebral blood flow.
This sensor-backed earring was initially designed for people with serious circulatory issues. Now it’s available to anyone who wants to monitor how well blood is reaching their brain throughout the day. That includes how blood flow reacts to meals, posture, stress, hydration, and sleep. If you’ve ever felt drained or foggy with “normal” heart rate and blood pressure, this is exactly the gap Lumia wants to fill.
Designed with real wearability in mind
Lumia 2 doesn’t look like a health gadget. The earring back is where the technology sits, and it works with a variety of front-facing jewelry styles like hoops, studs, along with cuffs. You can even use it with your own earrings via Lumia’s patent-pending SwitchBack system. There’s a non-pierced version too, in the form of an ear cuff.
Essential reading: The best smart rings
The device is tiny, under 1 gram, yet still manages to fit in sensors, processing power and a battery. It’s been six years in development, and the company claims it is five times smaller than AirPods. A big part of this miniaturisation comes from the team’s background in making Bose sleepbuds and the original Lumia earring.
Battery life runs from five to eight days, and you can swap batteries without taking the earring off. The back locks securely in place, and everything is built from hypoallergenic materials like platinum and titanium. It’s sleep-friendly, shower-proof, and you only need to wear it on one ear.
What’s new beyond blood flow
Lumia 2 builds on its clinical roots by adding standard wearable features. This includes sleep tracking, temperature monitoring, menstrual cycle insights and a readiness score based on HRV and resting heart rate. But its placement behind the ear gives it an edge in accuracy compared to wrist or finger wearables.
The ear is close to major arteries and neural activity, which opens up sensing capabilities that just aren’t possible elsewhere. That’s a big part of the appeal here. It doesn’t try to replace your watch or your ring. Instead, it complements them, offering a continuous flow of new data from a completely different vantage point.
It started in hospitals, now it’s on the street
Originally, Lumia was developed with support from Johns Hopkins, Duke, Harvard, and Mass General to help patients with POTS and Long COVID. The idea was to help those with chronic fatigue understand when and why their circulation dropped off.
That research led to what is now Lumia 2. The company says the sensor correlates extremely well with clinical ultrasound readings. Their blood flow data has been published in cardiology and heart health journals, and they claim a strong Pearson correlation score of 0.91 in trials.
The team behind Lumia includes former Bose engineers and a network of advisors spanning researchers and patients. They’ve raised $17.2 million in funding so far, including fresh investment and government grants. Most of that money has gone into patents and miniaturisation. There are at least 11 patents tied to Lumia’s design, sensor system, earring back, and battery architecture.
When and where to get it
Lumia 2 is launching first in the US and Canada, with international markets coming later. It supports both iOS and Android, and preorders are now open through Lumia’s site. Early bird discounts are available for those who reserve their spot.
Pricing starts at $249 on the company’s website. Battery packs are swappable, and features like sleep tracking are exclusive to Lumia 2. Existing Lumia 1 users will be upgraded automatically as part of the company’s membership programme.
Whether this is a new category or just a novel form factor remains to be seen. But it’s clear Lumia is aiming beyond the wearable crowd. These earrings aren’t just trying to blend in, they want to belong in your jewellery box.
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