Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal's 'Temple' health device faces serious questions from doctors

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal is currently in the news for his new health gadget, 'Temple'. This is not an ordinary smartwatch, but a device that is attached to the forehead, near the ear, at the temple. The English word for the side of the forehead is 'temple', which may be the reason behind this name. The price of this device is approximately ₹85,000, and its pre-orders began in India on 1 November. However, as soon as it hit the market, the device became embroiled in controversy over its scientific claims.

According to a report by Aaj Tak, the company claims that this device can track changes related to blood flow in the brain (brain flow). In addition, it also provides a score called 'Entropy' to understand the body's condition and signs of aging. The Temple device works on the photoplethysmography (PPG) technique, which is commonly found in smartwatches and other wearable devices. In this technique, a sensor emits light onto the skin and measures the changes in the reflected light. When the volume of blood in the small arteries under the skin changes, the sensor's signal also changes.

The device uses green, red, and infrared light, which reaches different depths in the skin and the tissues beneath it. According to the company, these signals are combined to prepare a 'brain flow' index. However, it is important to understand here that this index is not a direct measure of blood reaching the brain in milliliters per minute, but a special score prepared by the company's algorithm.

Neurologists and doctors have raised serious objections to this device. Many experts on social media have questioned whether a sensor placed on the scalp can really measure blood flow inside the brain. Doctors say they have performed hundreds of brain surgeries and can clarify that this type of device cannot provide real data. They believe that when even sophisticated medical scanning machines often find it difficult to measure accurate activities inside the brain, how can this small device do this job?

The biggest concern of doctors is the location of the sensor. Near the temple, there is a blood vessel called the 'superficial temporal artery', which is a branch of the external carotid artery and primarily supplies blood to the scalp and facial parts. On the other hand, the work of supplying blood inside the brain is mainly done by the internal carotid and vertebral arteries. That is, blood flow in the skin and blood flow inside the brain are two different things. Doctors argue that if the sensor is taking signals near the skin, how can it know whether the change occurred inside the brain or just due to increased blood circulation in the skin? For example, when body temperature rises while exercising or running, the body increases blood flow to the skin and head area to keep itself cool.

Amidst this controversy, Deepinder Goyal has defended it, stating that the company has done a lot of research on this technique and the results are being presented. He claimed that this device is not a scam. This entire matter has now become a topic of discussion regarding the difference between technology and medical science, where on one side are the company's claims and on the other are the scientific doubts of expert doctors.

He has also been in the news previously for various business ventures and technological experiments. This new venture is being seen as his entry into the health-tech sector, which is currently under scrutiny regarding its efficacy and scientific reliability.