Wearables

Wearable technology has become a part of many people’s everyday lives, with the latest, flashiest smart technology becoming increasingly sought after for both practical and fashionable purposes. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the number of connected wearable devices worldwide is expected to jump from 325 million in 2016 to over 830 million by 2020.  By Matt Pick, Director of Commercial Operations at Plastic Logic

It has been announced by CEVA, that BlueX Microelectronics (BlueX) has licensed and deployed CEVA’s RivieraWaves Bluetooth low energy technology in its new BX2400 Bluetooth five compliant wireless Integrated Circuit (IC).

Designers can extract vital signs and raw data for their wearable designs with the MAX-HEALTH-BAND, as well as monitor clinical grade electrocardiograph (ECG) and heart rate with the MAX-ECG-MONITOR from Maxim Integrated Products. 

The scenario is all too familiar for the majority of parents. The crying, the screaming and the tantrums as they try to coax their children into the doctor’s office for routine immunisations. After all, who can’t relate to being fearful and anxious about needles? Needle phobia is one of the most common fears among children who receive vaccines and they are exposed to needles on numerous occasions throughout their childhood.

Dementia is an age-related disease that is becoming ever more prevalent as demographics change. It affects primarily people over the age of 80, with this group accounting for more than 70 percent of all dementia sufferers. Caring for these patients is an enormous challenge for their families and caregivers, especially since, in most cases, key health data lacks any useful structure and is not available when it is needed.

Klue has announced two key partnerships, at Stanford University, and with Crossover Health. Klue also announced it will unveil the first two modules for its partner-driven operating system at the HLTH conference, 7th May, in Las Vegas. “Our work with Crossover Health and at Stanford University are key to further accelerating our discovery of the full potential of Klue,” said Klue’s CEO and co-founder Katelijn Vleugels.

When we talk about wearable technology being used in elite sport, it’s almost always in a positive light. Advancements in that sphere have proved an invaluable modern tool for coaches and athletes alike, from feedback on performance, to monitoring of physiological parameters in order to keep a check on an athlete’s physical condition. A startup has even come up with a head-up display (HUD), to go inside a swimmers goggles.

Engineers from the Italian Institute of Technology and Italy’s National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) have unveiled a prosthetic hand that they claim “gives the patient approximately 90% functionality of a natural hand.” The Hannes was designed to lower the price of advanced powered prostheses, while having a long battery life, a strong grip, and manipulation of individual fingers.

A new kind of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) component in the shape of a glove delivers the first clear images of bones, tendons, and ligaments moving together, a new study finds. Led by NYU School of Medicine and published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the study shows how a new MRI element design woven into garment-like detectors can capture high-quality images of moving joints for the first time.

Exoskeletons are making it possible for people with paraplegia to stand up, walk and even climb steps. Like their fabled science fiction counterparts, these exosuits also show promise for granting soldiers and workers superhuman strength. Despite their potential, exoskeletons remain a technology that hasn’t quite caught on. The reason may be that most exosystems today are designed without considering the way humans interact with them.