AMSA and ŌURA collaborate to make Innovation Fest 2026 the best student-led health tech event yet. September 24, 2026, 17:57 GMT I was an AMSA member and leader during medical school, and I'm excited to collaborate with the organization again in my role at Oura." - Dr. Chris Curry MCCLEAN, VA, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ - The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and ŌURA, a leading health intelligence platform and maker of the world's smallest smart ring, today announced that Oura will serve as the Presenting Sponsor of Innovation Fest 2026, AMSA's second annual gathering that brings together medical students, health tech innovators, and industry leaders to drive innovation in the future of medicine, and that Oura's clinical director of women's health will serve as a judge at this year's event "Innovation Fest exists because medical students wanted a space to build, test, and share ideas that traditional curricula do not always make room for," said Sara Amini, National President of AMSA. "Oura understands that the next generation of physicians need better tools beyond just clinical tools for understanding human health and both personal and system levels. Healthcare and technology are not separate and are already evolving together. Medical students should have a seat at the table as that future is being built. That makes this collaboration incredibly important." The event is student-led. AMSA's Innovation Committee, comprised of medical students, drives every element of Innovation Fest. Committee members include: Avery Keesee, MD Candidate, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rockford Jyoti Pun Mehta, MD Candidate, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Naomi Rajput, Northeastern University, Founder of Eden AI and inaugural winner of Innovation Fest 2025 Innovation Fest was created to fill a critical gap: as digital health and health technologies increasingly shape how care is practiced, future physicians need a platform where they can individually and collectively influence the direction of those technologies. AMSA is committed to ensuring that new innovations do not exacerbate existing inequities and gaps in care, but instead actively address them. "When we talk to sponsors, we are not looking for transactional relationships," said Jennifer Salehi, Executive Director of the American Medical Student Association. "We are looking for organizations who want to build with us. Oura showed up as a builder from day one." Dr. Shuhan He, Faculty Advisor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, serves as the faculty lead for Innovation Fest 2026, mentoring student innovators as they develop solutions at the intersection of health and technology. A defining thread of the collaboration is the personal network that made it possible. Dr. Chris Curry, Oura's clinical director, women's health, is an AMSA alumnus and will serve as a judge at Innovation Fest 2026. "I was an AMSA member and leader during medical school, and I'm excited to collaborate with the organization again in my role at Oura," said Dr. Chris Curry, clinical director of women's health at Oura. "AMSA and Oura share a commitment to helping people better understand their health beyond the exam room and giving physicians greater insight into their patients' daily lives. I'm proud to work with AMSA and the next generation of physicians to advance that shared vision." Innovation Fest 2026 will take place December 10-12, 2026, at the Bethesda North Marriott in North Bethesda, MD (Washington, D.C. metro area), as part of AMSA's Future Physicians for Change convention. The call for submissions is open. Medical students and health tech innovators can apply at amsa.org/innofest. About Oura ŌURA is a health intelligence platform designed to transform how people understand and manage their health in everyday life. Oura's platform is anchored by Oura Ring, the world's leading smart ring that empowers you to live healthier, longer. Oura supports millions of members worldwide across sleep, activity, stress, Readiness, women's health, metabolic health, and heart health. Oura Ring is purpose-built to leverage the finger's unique physiological advantages for photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement, producing a stronger signal than wrist-based wearables. The core metrics of the lightweight Oura Ring are scientifically validated against gold standards and the ring tracks 50+ health metrics continuously, empowering both individuals and thousands of research teams, healthcare providers, sports teams, and organizations. Trusted by an ecosystem of more than 1,200 partners, Oura is advancing the future of preventative health with privacy and security at the forefront. Founded in Finland in 2013, Oura is headquartered inOulu, Finland. Oura Ring is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, monitor, or prevent medical conditions or illnesses. Angela Walseng American Medical Student Association [email protected] Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. You just read: September 24, 2026, 17:57 GMT EIN Presswire's priority is author transparency. We do our best to weed out false and misleading content. The content above is the sole responsibility of the author who makes it available. If you have any complaints, kindly contact the author above. Angela Walseng American Medical Student Association

Apple's screenless fitness band: what Apple Scoop know so far. Published 23rd September, 2026 58% reliable * Apple has reportedly built prototypes of a screenless fitness band that tracks health data from a sensor module on a fabric strap * The project is part of a wider Apple Watch rethink that also includes smart rings and a round-display watch * Bloomberg says the band is still a technology investigation and should not be expected before 2028 Apple product comparisons Apple spent a decade teaching people to look at their wrists. Its next wearable idea might ask them to stop. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has built prototypes of a fitness band with no display at all: a fabric strap with a sensor module that quietly collects heart rate and other health data, then sends everything to the iPhone for you to read later. The report landed on September 23, only two weeks after Apple launched Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. That timing matters. Apple's newest watches are more capable than ever, but they are also louder than ever, with Siri Recap, Live Rewind and a growing stack of AI features. A band that does less may be exactly what a certain kind of buyer wants. What the prototype reportedly is. The device Gurman describes resembles Whoop's bands more than anything Apple sells today. There is no screen, no notifications, no watch face and no apps on the wrist. The value is entirely in continuous measurement: heart rate, sleep, recovery and activity data collected around the clock and interpreted in the Health app. Photo via Gizmodo // A Whoop band worn on the wrist, the screenless style of tracker Apple is reportedly studying. iPhone camera tutorials Bloomberg says Apple has been exploring the category for months as part of a broader reassessment of the Apple Watch lineup, and that the prototypes exist. It also says the work is still at the "technology investigation" stage. At Apple, that phrase covers projects that may become products, projects that donate ideas to other products, and projects that quietly die. It is not a launch plan. Gizmodo, following the Bloomberg report, noted that services chief Eddy Cue and executive chairman Tim Cook are said to be supporting the idea. Executive backing gives a project oxygen inside Apple, but it does not change the timeline Gurman gave: do not expect a screenless Apple band before 2028, if it ships at all. Why Apple would build less than a watch. The screenless-band market has grown fast. Whoop, Oura and Google have all released trackers that skip the display, and their pitch is consistent: lighter hardware, longer battery life and fewer interruptions. A device with no screen can run for days on a tiny battery, can be worn comfortably at night and does not tempt you to check email in the middle of a workout. Photo via Apple Inc. // Apple's woven Sport Loop bands, the kind of soft fabric strap a screenless sensor module could clip into. Apple product comparisons There is also a pricing argument. Apple Watch SE is Apple's cheapest watch, but it is still a full smartwatch with a display, cellular options and an app platform. A sensor band could reach people who want Apple's health analysis but not another screen, including buyers who find the modern watch too distracting or too expensive to replace every few years. Get the Apple Scoop. The latest Apple news, leaks, and wallpapers - once a month, no spam. Apple Scoop respect your privacy and won't share your email. The privacy angle is new this year. Series 12's Live Rewind and Siri Recap features can capture and summarize conversations, and even with Apple's on-device processing, some owners do not want a microphone-driven assistant on their wrist. A health-only band is an easy product to explain to that audience: it measures your body and nothing else. It is one piece of a much bigger Apple Watch rethink. Gurman first described the wider effort in August. Apple's design teams are testing multiple directions for the watch line, including new screen sizes and shapes, a round display, premium models above today's Ultra and Hermès tiers, and cheaper alternatives to the SE. The ceramic case option that returned with Series 12 came out of the same rethink. Smart rings are also being explored alongside the band. Gurman has said the overall revamp could be as significant as the iPhone's move from a slab to a foldable. That is a big claim for a product category that has changed gradually since 2015, and it is worth reading carefully. It describes the scale of the exploration, not a confirmed product roadmap. Apple has not chosen a single direction, and several of these ideas may never reach a store. Photo via Apple Inc. // Apple Watch Series 12 showing its new readiness score, the type of recovery insight a band would deliver without a screen. iPhone photography tips What a band would need to get right. Its analysis, not part of the report: a screenless Apple band would live or die in the Health app. Series 12 already calculates a readiness score from sleep, heart rate and training load, and iOS 27.2's redesigned Health app adds Health Age and a Longevity tab. A band would have to feed those features with data as reliable as the watch's sensors, while staying comfortable enough to forget about overnight. It would also force a subscription question. Whoop's business is a membership; Apple's health features are free with the hardware. Apple could keep it that way to undercut rivals, or fold premium analysis into a service. There is no reporting either way yet, so treat any price you see on social media as invention. For today's options, compare the models in Apple Watch Series 12 vs Ultra 4, catch up on everything Apple Scoop know about Ultra 4, and follow the rest of Apple's pipeline on its upcoming products page. Its take: this is a credible, early report about a product that makes strategic sense but has a long road ahead. Bloomberg's reporting establishes that prototypes exist and that senior leaders like the idea. Everything else, from price to sensors to launch year, is still open. If you want a screenless tracker now, buy one that exists. If you want Apple's version, check back in 2028. End of story iPhone camera tutorials Keep following what matters. Continue with reporting selected around this story, join the conversation, or share it with someone who should see it. Reported by Flynn Lo Faro Founder and Editor Flynn Lo Faro founded Apple Scoop and leads its reporting, editing and product coverage. He has covered Apple and consumer technology for more than a decade. Selected by the editors. More reporting around this story Apple Scoop Published 23rd September, 2026 at 4:00 pm · Independent Apple reporting since 2020. Apple product comparisons The conversation What's your take? A useful perspective, a question, a different point of view. Confirm by email to publish. No account. No marketing sign-up. A little quiet here. You can change that. Be the first to share something worth reading.