Wearables

  Smartphone ubiquity, sensor miniaturisation, and ease of integration have increased the number of wearable products on the market, to the point where such products are now achieving performance levels suitable for medical use-cases. But how will medical wearables make patients healthier - and why now?

Regulatory challenges exist across each of the market sectors where electronic skin patch products have been proposed and commercialised. As part of the research for the report, ‘Electronic Skin Patches 2019-2029’ IDTechEx Research has characterised some of the regulatory considerations in the context of each of the product sectors covered. 

The latest research report from IDTechEx, ‘Remote Patient Monitoring 2019-2029’, covers trends, opportunities and outlook for the use of wearables and connected medical devices in the monitoring of patients outside of traditional clinical settings.

IDTechEx Research have released a detailed update on their bestselling market research report 'Electronic Skin Patches 2019-2029'. Skin patches are arguably the most interesting, diverse and promising category within the entire wearable technology market. The nature of the products, adding the value from new electronic functionality directly onto the skin of the user, presents a series of challenges and opportunities to players in the space.

  From the company that introduced the internet-connected hearing aid, comes a new hearing aid to enable people with hearing loss to experience speech understanding at a level on par with people with normal hearing. The new Oticon Opn S helps people with hearing loss thrive in noisy venues, such as bars and restaurants.

Oticon Opn Play is a hearing aid designed to meet the developmental needs and day-to-day challenges for growing children with hearing loss. Representing a whole new way for children to hear, the Oticon Opn Play paediatric hearing aid opens up a whole world of sound to young ears while enabling them to differentiate between speech and noise with less effort in their chaotic world.

u-blox and TransSiP are announcing the PowerWatch 2, according to the companies it will be the world’s first GPS smartwatch that you never need to recharge. The smartwatch features the ultra-small, ultra-low power u‑blox ZOE-M8B GNSS receiver to track position, in addition to calories burned, activity level, and sleep, making it a suitable companion for runners, hikers, and swimmers. 

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2019), in Las Vegas, imec and TNO are presenting the latest version of their health patch. Developed in the framework of the Holst Centre in Eindhoven, the new health patch offers comfort and a long battery life. It can also be manufactured at a fraction of the cost of previous generations, making it a user-friendly, disposable solution for ambulant patient monitoring.

Provider of UC sound solutions, Jabra, has launched the Evolve 65t; true wireless earbuds specifically engineered for the mobile professional. The new edition to the Evolve range of professional headsets marks an engineering milestone for Jabra, with true wireless earbuds to attain Skype for Business certification.

Clothing embedded with tiny solar cells the size of a flea can allow wearers to generate electricity on the move and charge items like mobile phones and smartwatches.