Medical patents and approvals are an interesting miasma of red tape. Apparently the new Pixel 8’s have been having some hurdles with them. They contain a temperature sensor which can supposedly be used to check body temperature and monitor for disease. But merely checking body temperature makes it a Class II medical device which requires a ton of paperwork and red tape from the FDA, with disease tracking making it even more difficult. So that’s why the Pixel 8 was released with a temperature sensor which, for now, can only be used to measure external things and is prohibited from being accesed by third part developers.

Another good example is 23andme. When they first started, it wasn’t just genealogy information. They’d give a whole background of genetic diseases and conditions you might be at risk for. Then the FDA found out and shut it down since they didn’t go through the hoops required to give out medical advice. So even though they have the complete capability to gather that information accurately, they are no longer allowed to provide it to their customers, simply due to red tape.