Shimmer, a Dublin based wearable technology company that produces wearable wireless sensors, received CE certification for its five-wire, four-lead holter monitor electrocardiograph (ECG).

Read more Shimmer Announces Launch of Open Source Initiative for Wearable Sensor Algorithm

“We are delighted to report that we can now deliver robust ECG data wirelessly from a CE-certified wearable medical device,” said Geoffrey Gill, president of Shimmer Americas.

“Shimmer has more than a decade of experience developing ECG sensors and it’s evident in this device. We developed a five-wire, four-lead ECG system to ensure that it would produce the very detailed, low noise signal required by healthcare professionals and medical researchers. Patients will also benefit from its lighter, low-profile form,” Mr. Gill added.

Shimmer’s ECGmd weighs only about 40% as much as an average holter monitor and it presents a slimmer format, measuring just 100 mm x 33 mm x 8 mm, says a press release.

The ECGmd was developed for Shimmer’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business as a small, high-quality ECG for system integrators to incorporate into their products. As a result, it is supplied in kit form with only the hardware and firmware included so that clients can develop their own display software. Shimmer is also prepared to submit a 510(k) application to the FDA for the ECGmd if needed by OEM customers.

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Shimmer’s ECGmd is not intended for use as an unattended critical care monitor.

Read more Shimmer Launches Verisense™ Wearable Sensor Platform for Clinical Trials

About Shimmer

Founded based on Intel technology in 2006, Shimmer Research is a well-established wearable technologies services and sensor manufacturing company based in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to standard products, Shimmer provides customized sensor development services, volume manufacturing, and complete wearable sensor solutions of any complexity. Shimmer’s technology and services have been employed by thousands of researchers at more than 900 leading companies, universities, and research institutes in more than 75 countries. Shimmer’s technology is incorporated in the products and services of more than 20 original equipment manufacturers. Shimmer has an ISO 13485:2016 certified medical devices quality management system.

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Wireless tech company Qualcomm announced the launch of the Qualcomm Ventures 5G Ecosystem Fund to invest up to an aggregate of $200 million in companies building the 5G ecosystem at its Annual CEO Summit.

Managed by Qualcomm Ventures, this fund is designed to invest in startups creating 5G use cases beyond smartphones, pushing next-gen network adoption, and tailoring services to enterprises.

Read more Qualcomm Helping to Accelerate IoT Ecosystem Growth, Reaches More Than 9,000 Customers

Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator. As 5G continues to roll out faster and more broadly than 4G, industry experts expect it to have a significantly greater impact than any previous generation of cellular technology and fuel a new era of innovation, reports Qualcomm in a press release.

“5G will transform industries and should be viewed as a business strategy for all,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “The intent of this fund is to fuel innovative 5G businesses that will be poised to take advantage of the $13.2T economic benefit that 5G will enable by 2035.”

The latest investment follows last year’s Qualcomm Ventures AI Fund, which focuses on investing in innovative startups using on-device AI. The 5G Ecosystem Fund announced today builds on this strategy of investing in technology areas that will drive the economy forward and where Qualcomm has a demonstrated expertise.

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“The 5G Ecosystem Fund will invest in startups developing 5G applications beyond smartphones and across the entire 5G value chain” said Quinn Li, Senior Vice President, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and global head of Qualcomm Ventures,  “from companies developing new use cases leveraging 5G’s unique capabilities to solutions that transform networks into an intelligent, software-defined connectivity fabric. We want to fuel the innovations in the 5G ecosystem and unlock the potential of 5G.”

Read more Qualcomm Announces Support for Next Generation Immersive Compute for XR Viewers for 5G Smartphones

Qualcomm Ventures has a strong track record of investing in leading global startups with over 350 investments made since the group started in 2000.  This includes notable companies like Zoom, Cloudflare, AMEC, Xiaomi, Cruise Automation, 99, Thundersoft, Fitbit and Waze.

This fund will continue to invest in those that share Qualcomm Ventures’ vision to transform yet-to-be seen innovations and technologies into reality by using the power of 5G. Qualcomm’s industry-leading research and pioneering development of 5G will allow Qualcomm Ventures to serve as an ideal investor in startups that can leverage 5G’s capabilities and bring forth the next wave of innovation.

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Cognoa, a Palo Alto, CA-based consumer healthcare company for pediatric behavioral health, announced the initiation of its Pivotal Study to demonstrate the effectiveness of its diagnostic aid for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The company anticipates submitting the results of this multi-site, prospective, blinded, active comparator study to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020. The Cognoa digital diagnostic has the potential to become the first cleared medical device to help diagnose autism.

Read more Cognoa Licenses Google Glass-based AI Technology for Children with Autism

“Cognoa believes digital therapeutics can fundamentally improve the standard of care for pediatric behavioral health. Our breakthrough products will empower both parents and their trusted family physicians so that every child can receive an earlier diagnosis and treatment when there is the greatest ability to impact the child’s development and improve lifelong outcomes,” said Brent Vaughan, CEO of Cognoa. “Building upon Cognoa’s previous successful clinical studies, this pivotal study is an important milestone for our company. In tandem, we have established our commercial model with our partner, EVERSANA, that will enable access to our digital therapeutics by physicians through existing prescription, distribution and reimbursement infrastructures for utmost efficiency.”

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Current method of autism diagnosis pinpoints autism when the child is of 4 years and 4 months of age, which is after the primary window of brain development when interventions can have the greatest impact. Cognoa’s AI-powered digital therapeutics is intended to enable pediatricians and physicians in primary care settings to make an autism diagnosis in children as young as 18 months, so that children can receive earlier treatment, says a press release.

Cognoa has received FDA Breakthrough Device designation for its two lead products, the first digital diagnostic for autism and a digital therapeutic to treat autism. This designation provides priority review for clearance by the FDA.

Read more Sweat Sensors to Predict Behavioral Issues in Autistic Children

“The current system does not serve children with autism or families who are concerned about their child’s development. Barriers to treatment will not change as long as access to diagnosis and treatment stays heavily reliant on specialty care, where we face a growing shortfall. We believe digital medicines can help address the limitations of our current system, making both primary and specialty care physicians more efficient and effective,” said Dr. Sharief Taraman, Chief Medical Officer of Cognoa, Division Chief at CHOC Children’s and Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics Orange County, California

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Google announced that it is buying Fitbit, the world's leading maker of wearable fitness activity trackers. The deal values Fitbit around $2.1 billion, making it one of Google’s largest acquisitions.

The news comes just days after a Reuters report claimed that Google was in talks to buy the wearable giant.

The market reacted favorably to the announcement. Fitbit’s stock surged 16%, while shares of Alphabet were up about 0.8%.

Read more Fitbit and Health2Synch Partner Up for Diabetes Management

“More than 12 years ago, we set an audacious company vision – to make everyone in the world healthier. Today, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved towards reaching that goal. We have built a trusted brand that supports more than 28 million active users around the globe who rely on our products to live a healthier, more active life,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. “Google is an ideal partner to advance our mission. With Google’s resources and global platform, Fitbit will be able to accelerate innovation in the wearables category, scale faster, and make health even more accessible to everyone. I could not be more excited for what lies ahead.”

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Fitbit pioneered the wearables category by delivering innovative, affordable and engaging devices and services. Being “on Fitbit” is not just about the device – it is an immersive experience from the wrist to the app, designed to help users understand and change their behavior to improve their health, reports Fitbit.

Fitbit takes consumer trust very seriously. Strong privacy and security guidelines have been part of Fitbit’s since its inception. The company never sells personal information, and Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads, the company said.

The transaction is expected to close in 2020, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Fitbit’s stockholders and regulatory approvals.

Read more Google’s Project Jacquard is Back with Yves Saint Laurent Backpack

“Fitbit has been a true pioneer in the industry and has created terrific products, experiences and a vibrant community of users,” said Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President, Devices & Services at Google. “We're looking forward to working with the incredible talent at Fitbit, and bringing together the best hardware, software and AI, to build wearables to help even more people around the world.”

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Validic, a provider of solutions for personal health data, announced the support of high-frequency data, enabling organizations to receive standardized activity, heart rate and blood glucose data at a rate up to one reading per minute. The availability of these data for use in healthcare and wellness programs indicates an important shift toward more real-time, individualized interventions and coaching services.

Read more New Startup Medical Ledger Offers Health Data Privacy with Blockchain-Powered EHR

“High-frequency data provides the detail needed to understand a person's daily habits and behaviors,” said Drew Schiller, Validic CEO.” With this advancement, our partners and clients can provide more timely and relevant interventions to help people live healthier lives.”

As research continues to demonstrate the value of being active throughout the day and raising one's heart rate regularly, data that better-illustrates an individual's lifestyle is paramount to driving healthier behaviors and personalized recommendations.

With high-frequency data – also known as time-series or intraday data – organizations can use a person's activities throughout the day to provide consistent, precise feedback that encourages behavior change. For instance, as part of a wellness program, high-frequency heart rate data can allow artificial intelligence or a coach to understand the level of effort throughout a workout and provide appropriate feedback, said Validic in a press release.

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Similarly, in diabetes management programs, high-frequency readings from continuous glucose meters can provide insight into an individual's glucose values throughout the day, not just the few times they may complete a finger-stick reading before or after meals. This granular data enables more individualized coaching or treatment adjustments. High-frequency activity and heart rate data can also be valuable for post-discharge monitoring. For instance, a clinician can view the duration and intensity of activity a patient performs after a surgery. With continuous access, an intervention can occur that day, educating the patient on the risks of strenuous exertion and preventing the person from repeating that action.

Read more Flexible Graphene Photodetectors Accurately Measure Health Data in Wearables

Validic offers connectivity to a variety of sources delivering high-frequency data, including steps, heart rate, distance, elevation and blood glucose data from Apple, Fitbit, Garmin and Dexcom devices.

High-frequency data is available via Validic's streaming and REST APIs. As more devices support the delivery of data at high-frequency intervals, Validic plans to expand its high-frequency data offerings.

Durham, NC-based Validic guides healthcare and wellness organizations through the technical complexities associated with accessing and operationalizing patient-generated health data for virtual engagement and remote patient monitoring.

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ConvergeHEALTH by Deloitte announced the launch of two digital healthcare platforms for the healthcare ecosystem: MyPATH for Health and MyPATH for Connected Care. The two platforms are meant to work together to connect and support patients and their care teams across the patient experience — from clinical trials to treatment and beyond.

Read more VitalConnect’s VitalPatch Biosensor and VistaTablet Provides Continuous Patient Monitoring Anywhere

The MyPATH digital healthcare platform helps health systems, biopharmaceutical, medical device, and health plan innovators deliver next-generation patient support services and therapy management across the patient journey, improving their overall experience while cultivating a rich, real-world data set, says a press release.

“Because of new interoperability standards and a growing ecosystem of connected devices, patients are increasingly in control of their health and wellness data,” said Brett Davis, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and general manager, ConvergeHEALTH by Deloitte. “But to transform the patient experience — whether supporting virtual health or virtual clinical trials — the patient must be connected to a platform that supports new workflows and paradigms of delivering care and supporting clinical research. The ConvergeHEALTH MyPATH platform helps life sciences and health care organizations do just that for the patients they serve.”

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MyPATH for Health

MyPATH for Health supports life science innovators for clinical trials and patient services by connecting patients, caregivers, providers and life sciences organizations. By connecting all stakeholders, MyPATH can transform patient engagement, create a connected care team, aim to improve outcomes, and cultivates a rich, real-world data set for analysis.

MyPATH for Health enables:

• Care coordination
• Medication and appointment reminders
• Remote health and risk monitoring
• 24/7 support network
• Novel approaches for improving research and development
• ePRO and consent management for clinical trials
• Community and family support

Read more Oracle mHealth Platform is Revolutionizing Clinical Trials with Remote Monitoring Devices

MyPATH for Connected Care

MyPATH for Connected Care platform connects patients and care teams to deliver virtual care services through an effective, data-driven experience.

MyPATH for Connected Care enables:

• A connected ecosystem to support patients and care teams at every stage and setting
• Continuous strategies for building capabilities that deploy patient-centered virtual home care
• A robust health data collection with a focus on care plan management
• A holistic, personalized approach to care plans
• The ability to empower patients, with user friendly devices and wearables

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Garmin Pay™ contactless payment feature is now available for Maestro cards issued by major European banks, including KBC Bank and Insurance (including CBC and KBC Brussels) in Belgium, Rabobank and ABN AMRO in Netherlands and BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas in Italy. There are 10 Garmin smartwatches that support contactless payment feature and digital, which people can use to make highly secure contactless payments at near-field communication-enabled (NFC) point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

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Related eftpos to Fast-Track Tap & Pay to Cash in on Public Transport Market

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“By adding Maestro, our issuers will be able to expand this innovative solution to their entire consumer base, which will result in more connected and digitally native customers than ever,” said Paolo Battiston, EVP Digital Payments & Labs Europe, Mastercard.

The 10 Garmin smartwatches that have Garmin Pay are: D2 Delta S, D2 Delta, D2 Delta PX, fenix 5S Plus, Fenix 5 Plus, Fenix 5X Plus, Forerunner 645, Forerunner 645 Music, Vivoactive 3 and Vivoactive 3 Music.

Joe Schrick, Garmin vice president of fitness, said his company is committed to expanding Garmin Pay to customers across the globe, and they are excited to offer that service to Maestro cardholders. “Now, athletes and adventurers throughout Europe can leave their wallet at home when they go to the gym or for a run, making it easier than ever to just get up and go,” he said.

A February 2018 study by Mastercard, found that 24% of European residents expect to start using "tap and go" contactless payments with a smartwatch, bracelet, keyring or other wearable. Between 2018 and 2017, contactless spending on Mastercard and Maestro grew by 145%, says a press release.

“Adding Maestro is a major step forward in expanding the global footprint of Garmin Pay, which is now available in 26 countries and through more than 200 issuers,” said Michael Orlando, COO of NXT-ID and President of Fit Pay, Inc. “Mastercard and Garmin have been tremendous partners as we have begun providing consumers worldwide with more convenient, secure and seamless ways to pay.”

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Related American Express to Launch New Contactless Payment Wristband for Members and Fans at the 2018 US Open

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Garmin Pay is powered by FitPay's Token Requester Management Platform, which enables cardholders to securely add their payment credentials to devices that are integrated with FitPay's token management solution. The platform uses tokenization, a payment security technology that replaces cardholders' account information with a unique digital identifier (a "token"), to transact highly secure contactless payments.

For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary markets: automotive, aviation, fitness, marine, and outdoor recreation. Garmin, Fenix, Forerunner and Vivoactive are registered trademarks and Garmin Pay, Garmin Connect and D2 are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

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Neuchâtel, November 1st, 2019 – Aktiia, a Swiss-US startup that develops optical blood pressure monitors at the wrist, has concluded the analysis of the data of a clinical trial comparing cuffless optical blood pressure measurements at the wrist against invasive references. The results have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Blood Pressure Monitoring, with the conclusion that Aktiia’s optical technology is capable of replacing more traditional methods of blood pressure measurement such as cuffs.

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Since its incorporation in 2018, Aktiia has focused on the development of a library of algorithms for the continuous 24/7 monitoring of blood pressure. The Aktiia algorithms only require input signals acquired from off-the-shelf optical sensors at the wrist: the same sensors that are today used in wearable devices to measure heart rate. This technology is expected to be a key element for the deployment of cuffless devices for the 24/7 monitoring of blood pressure.

The idea of an algorithm for cuffless blood pressure monitoring that processes signals from optical sensors has been explored in the past. However, the performance of existing solutions has only been partially assessed, or has been tested in very controlled conditions against dubious reference measurements. Aktiia believes that the development and further deployment of cuffless blood pressure technologies requires thorough experimental investigations involving measurement of ground-truth blood pressure values, including invasive measurements. Intensive care units represent an ethical and compelling environment for such investigations.

In February 2019, Aktiia SA joined efforts with Dr. Cyril Pellaton and his team in the Hôpital Neuchâtelois, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, to initiate a clinical trial. After approval from Swissmedic and the local Ethical Committee, the investigators enrolled 30 critical patients elected for radial arterial catherization at the intensive care unit. After inclusion, the team recorded ground-truth blood pressure measurements at the radial artery simultaneously to optical signals acquired at the contralateral wrist by a prototype of the Aktiia wearable device. Further details of the investigation protocol have already been disclosed at ClinicalTrials.gov, under the registration number NCT03837769.

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Today, Dr. Pellaton and Aktiia SA announce the conclusion of the analysis of the compiled data and its publication in the peer-reviewed journal Blood Pressure Monitoring. The obtained results provide clear and compelling evidence on the reliability and accuracy of the OBPM technology compared to currently accepted methods of blood pressure measurement. This is a major milestone in the clinical activities of company, contributing toward the company’s mission to bring easy, painless blood pressure monitoring to daily life.

About Aktiia

Aktiia was founded in Switzerland in May 2018 out of a passion to create the best tool for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Aktiia’s founders, Mattia Bertschi (CEO) and Josep Solà (CTO), previously contributed to research and development at CSEM, a prestigious Swiss research institute. For 15 years they worked day in and day out to understand the language of our heart signals and decode key markers to gain better insight into blood pressure. They built an incredible team of 15 employees and founded Aktiia to turn their years of pioneering work into a useful tool for people around the globe.

Aktiia’s technology combines common optical sensors and proprietary clinically tested algorithms to measure blood pressure at the wrist. Validated through extensive trials in acute and low-acute settings, its accuracy has received worldwide acknowledgement, enabling Aktiia to proudly offer the most complete and user-friendly blood pressure companion to date. With one third of adults globally suffering from hypertension, this mission is more urgent than ever.

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Digital ECG maker AliveCor is partnering up with Chinese wearable maker Huami to combine the technologies of each company to deliver a new generation of medical functionality to wearable devices.

“AliveCor's Intelligent, medical grade, heart care platform will be a key component of Huami smart watches and heart trackers going forward. Our new partnership is critical to building these as well as entirely new medical grade services,” said Wang Huang, CEO of Huami.

Read more AliveCor Raises $5.8 Million in New Funds, SEC Filing Reveals

This agreement encompasses the licensing of AliveCor technology and an agreement to work together to bring new devices and services to market. The companies expect that the alliance will deliver entirely new ECG form factors to global markets in 2020, said AliveCor in a press release.

“AliveCor's agreement with Huami achieves our corporate goal of delivering AliveCor's AI driven subscription services and solutions to enterprise customers and consumers worldwide at affordable price points. AliveCor technology allows partners to easily deliver clinically validated, peer-reviewed medical features to their own customers, at scale,” said AliveCor CEO Priya Abani.

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Read more Huami and Timex Group Announce Partnership to Develop Innovative Wearables

About Huami

Founded in Hefei, China in 2013, Huami is the largest wearable device company worldwide with over 50 million units sold today and 17.1% global market share. Huami is also the exclusive provider of wearable technology for Xiaomi and maker of the Mi Band. In 2018, Huami shipped 27.5 million units of smart wearable devices. Huami has one of the largest biometric and activity databases in the global smart wearables industry.

About AliveCor

Mountain View, CA-based Mobile ECG maker AliveCor focuses on single- and six-lead smartphone ECGs and AI-based reading interpretations. The company’s FDA-cleared KardiaMobile is the most clinically validated personal ECG solution in the world. KardiaMobile provides instant detection of Atrial Fibrillation, Bradycardia, Tachycardia, and Normal rhythm in an ECG. Kardia is the first AI enabled platform to aid patients and clinicians in the early detection of atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia and one associated with a five times greater risk of stroke. AliveCor was named the No.1 artificial intelligence company in Fast Company's Top 50 Most Innovative Companies.

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Back pain is the most common cause of disability worldwide, and it’s also the number two reason for doctor visits, and most common reason for missed work. One in four kids by age 15 will be affected by back pain. Australian company Posture360 wants to change all that. The first ever integrated posture and technology company launched their Expression of Interest campaign with Birchal, giving people the opportunity to invest in a portion of the company alongside their experienced angel investors, professionals, and venture capital firms like Samsung Ventures.

Read more LEX Wearable Chair Lets You Sit Wherever You Want and Also Enhances Your Posture

Birchal is an equity crowdfunding platform that gives everyday investors the opportunity to own a share in the future of Posture360 and take part of the company’s exciting upside potential.

“We are on a mission to change the way the world sits, sleeps, and moves to fight the war on backpain and become the authority on posture worldwide,” said Posture 360 in a press release.

Posture360 is a vertically integrated technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells connected posture products. Already generating over $2M in revenue, the release of PostureWear is set to expand globally.

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The company’s posture products are smart, providing function, comfort, and style. Their fully integrated PostureWear gets your back into natural alignment while providing real-time analytics to monitor your postural habits and patterns throughout the day.

Insurance companies, hospitals, and sports also benefit by way of the company’s SaaS platform helping clients, patients, and athletes prevent future injury and find relief.

As experienced sellers with existing relationships in the health and wellness space, Posture360 is also preparing to receive endorsements from professional athletes. In parallel, limited trials on our SaaS platform will be performed with industry partners providing a free service for a limited time, and then charging per user and access to advanced data features.

Read more French Gait Rehabilitation Provider FeetMe Raises €9.4M in Series A funding

Final development of the shirt now complete. The sensors and accuracy is ready for commercial rollout.

“We're raising funds to launch PostureWear and grow our sales and marketing team to capitalize on the significant market opportunities that are awaiting us,” the company said.

Percentage of profits will go towards charity, specific to those in need of spinal surgeries.

Rollout is set for Australia and South Korea and once established, the USA, South East Asia, and then Europe and other parts of Asia.

The campaign will go live to the public on November 18^th.

French healthcare company known for developing elegantly designed, medical-grade health devices, launched two platforms for healthcare professionals. The two platforms – Withings MED PRO DATA and Withings MED PRO CARE – are designed to meet the needs of medical professionals, institutions, payers, disease management programs, coaching platforms and researchers, allowing Withings devices and data analytics to be brought into third-party ecosystems.

Read more Withings Launches Two New iPhone-Connected Blood Pressure Monitors

Withings’ devices capture 20 vital health parameters such as blood pressure, ECG, weight, heart rate, activity levels and sleep patterns.

Withings Med Pro Data is a customizable solution that allows third-party companies such as behavior change programs, and researchers to use Withings products to collect, analyze and display data for their users within their own software and app environments. This platform is tailored to fit the needs of partners ranging from disease/wellness coaching programs, clinical and academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies, corporate wellness programs and medical institutions.

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Withings Med Pro Care is a remote patient monitoring platform that allows health professionals, medical institutions and private organizations to easily access and manage physiological data of multiple patients. As well as saving time and money through reduced clinical visits, Withings Med Pro Care improves the efficiency of care teams while also streamlining communications with participating patients. Within tailored, partner-specific interactive dashboards, physicians are able to visualize aggregated and individual patient data in real-time and in one place. They are able to customize the health data parameters they wish to track as well as how and when they receive information and alerts. Health Mate, patients can receive direct messages from their caregivers, including reminders to take and share measurements, all within a secure, HIPAA compliant platform.

Read more Withings Move ECG Debuts at CES 2019

“Data is the key to improving nearly every aspect of our healthcare system, from better patient outcomes to improved efficiencies and reduced costs,” said Eric Carreel, founder of Withings. “With our decade of experience and work to create connected health devices that people can easily use daily to monitor and improve their health levels, we are in a unique position to be able to help the medical and health community better serve and understand their patients and customers. Withings MED PRO allows us to serve these individuals and organizations in a saleable, flexible way to bring the benefits of the health tech revolution to a broader spectrum of patients.”

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CareWear Corp is a privately held firm based in Nevada that has successfully led through innovation in printed light to advance wearable care for athletes, prosumers and consumers. CareWear has been awarded 66 global patents in addition to receiving international recognition in Optical Engineering (2018 SPIE Startup Challenge Winner), IoT/Wearable Technology (2019 IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® Finalist), and Sports Wearables (2019 WT ISPO Sports Disruptor).

CareWear has developed the first wearable, wireless printed light patches for athletes, prosumers and consumers. CareWear’s light patches are designed to relieve pain, decrease inflammation, accelerate recovery, and improve performance while reducing the likelihood of injury from overuse and muscle fatigue as demonstrated in published research.

CareWear’s medical grade products are FDA registered and available without a prescription, offering a safe, affordable, drug-free therapy solution. Rather than restricting treatments to a clinic or training room, injury and pain relief is now mobile and can be completed during training, at home, or on-the-go in as little as 30 minutes per day. The products are used by professional, collegiate and USA teams, military academies and special forces soldiers.

In the course of this year´s WT | Wearable Technologies Show at MEDICA on Nov 18-21, we have asked CareWear a few questions about their current process of getting CE marking and future steps and goals of the company.

How was the process of getting CE marking for CareWear?

• A CE mark certificate is required to legally market medical devices in the EU. This must comply with the European Medical Devices Regulation (MDR 2017/745).
• Obtaining CE marking has been significantly more challenging as a result of changes to the regulations based on updated requirements in the areas of biocompatibility and clinical performance. This has created a significant backlog and has extended the timelines for approval of new products.
• We have completed all of our audits with our notified body and expect a CE mark certificate by the end of 2019.

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What does it mean for you to be CE compliant?

• It means our products have undergone extensive safety testing to the appropriate IEC standards for our Class 2a over-the-counter (OTC) medical device under the MDR, and that the clinical, biocompatibility and safety data provided substantiates the indications for use and labeling and safety requirements.
• It provides the opportunity to commercially market quality medical devices in the EU for safe and effective use by medical practitioners, sports professionals and medical consumers.

What are your next steps and goals for 2020?

• Prosumer marketing in the USA
• Export our products to Canada and Australia where we have established distribution relationships
• Establish new distribution relationships in specific target markets that accept CE or FDA compliance in the professional and consumer OTC markets.

What do you expect from the WT | Wearable Technologies Show at MEDICA?

• CareWear expects to begin sales in the EU and selected global markets in the first quarter of 2020. We plan to establish distribution relationships through contacts we make at WT MEDICA in the professional rehabilitation, sports and consumer markets.

Curious to learn more? Visit CareWear at the WT | Wearable Technologies Show at MEDICA on November 18-21 in Hall 13 Booth D46.

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John Hancock has unveiled a new wearable program called Aspire, the first of its kind life insurance designed specifically for Americans living with diabetes. The program is a unique collaboration between John Hancock and Verily, the healthcare division of Google parent company Alphabet, and will leverage the capabilities of Onduo, a virtual diabetes clinic.

Read more Fitbit and Health2Synch Partner Up for Diabetes Management

An estimated 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year. Of the more than 30 million Americans living with diabetes, half either don't have enough life insurance or don't have any life insurance coverage at all. Many worry they won't qualify for a life insurance policy because they have diabetes, and if they can secure coverage they are worried it's too expensive, said a press release.

With John Hancock Aspire people living with diabetes get the protection of life insurance paired with a technology-enabled program that provides coaching, clinical support, education, and rewards designed to help manage and improve their health. All John Hancock Aspire customers will also have access to an enhanced version of John Hancock Vitality, which is designed to reward steps customers take toward living longer, healthier lives, like exercise and buying healthy food, and now offers opportunities specific to the diabetes journey. Members have the potential to save up to 25% on their premiums, the company said.

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Qualifying John Hancock Aspire customers with type 2 diabetes will be eligible to access Onduo's virtual clinic and receive a blood glucose monitoring device which, when used in conjunction with the Onduo app, provide insights into the user's diabetes management.

Read more Vitality and New Strategic Partners Focus on Diabetes Prevention and Management and Financial Wellness

“This dynamic partnership with John Hancock unlocks the full potential for the Onduo platform, empowering people living with Type 2 diabetes to co-produce their own health at home and in mobile environments and rewards them for doing so,” Verily CEO Andy Condrad said during an event in Manhattan to announce the new partnership. “Through this initiative, Verily and John Hancock are pushing the envelope on the role life insurance can play in both providing financial security and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”

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Engineers at the ASE, a Chinese semiconductor company, have drastically improved their IC semiconductor packaging and development and create state-of-the-art microchips with the help of ANSYS Customization Toolkit (ACT) solution. ACT enables engineers to create more accurate models, enhance structural reliability and slash design time to enable customers to receive products faster than ever.

Read more Mendix Named a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Multiexperience Development Platforms

“ASE is committed to constructing a complete solution for developing IC packaging technology, strengthening design and high-yield manufacturing,” said C.P. Hung, vice president, corporate R&D, ASE Group. “We are very pleased to have a long-term collaboration with ANSYS. The automated analysis technology developed by ACT is the first step in developing future intelligent analysis and design, converting converse complex manual analysis into an automatic search process for potentially critical areas such as cracking, interface delamination and more. ACT will bring more opportunities for advanced packaging and system-level design to the market and accelerate customer product launches.”

With the process of IC manufacturing becoming more complex, companies have shifted focus to product design and dedicate less development time to simulation. To improve the IC packaging and development process, engineers must quickly create models that span countless scenarios to identify design problems and boost product performance, says a press release.

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ASE has developed ANSYS ACT workflow, a streamlined sub-modeling automation solution that enhances the IC packaging and development process. This workflow drastically reduces human error by converting complex manual analyses into an automatic search process to identify critical reliability issues such as cracking and interface delamination. This enables ASE engineers to swiftly create highly precise models, rapidly determine the optimal solution, identify problematic parts and reduce overall development time by 30%.

“ASE's ACT solution provides a simple and highly intuitive development environment, enabling engineers to effectively use existing simulation tools to radically increase their productivity and take their IC packaging and development process to the next level,” said John Lee, vice president and general manager, ANSYS. “Spanning a product's entire lifecycle, ASE's ACT automated workflow creates game-changing breakthroughs in semiconductor packaging processes to deliver unparalleled customer support.”

Read more Eccrine Systems Will Expand R&D Capabilities to Accelerate Development of Wearable Sweat Sensors

Ansys Inc. is an American public company based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. It develops and markets engineering simulation software. If you've ever seen a rocket launch, flown on an airplane, driven a car, used a computer, touched a mobile device, crossed a bridge or put on wearable technology, chances are you've used a product where ANSYS software played a critical role in its creation.

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According to the latest report by Fortune Business Insights, the hearing aids market was valued at USD 8.38 Billion in 2018 and is anticipated to reach USD 14.45 Billion by the end of 2026. The market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.2%.

In 2018, Starkey Hearing Technologies changed the way hearing aids are manufactured when it introduced Livio AI. The updated hearing aid uses artificial intelligence (AI) and integrated sensors, and it was the first device to trace cognitive health and physical activity as measured by hearing aid for utilizing in social situations. Innovations like helped boost the hearing aids market, according to the report.

The report is based on primary and secondary research methods and provides an in-depth global hearing aids market analysis. The report covers all important aspects of the market such as growth drivers, restraints, trends, and opportunities, says a press release.

As per the report, the hearing devices segment is currently dominating the market because of its numerous advantages. These include flexibility for patients with both mild and moderate hearing loss, easily removable, cost-effective, and can be used during sports activities as well.

The rising prevalence of hearing disorders is a major factor behind the growth of hearing aids market. An estimated 900 million people worldwide are likely to suffer from hearing loss by the end of 2050, according to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019.

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Another factor promoting the market growth is the rise in the geriatric population. Besides this, governments are taking initiatives such as health benefit programs, awareness programs, setting up more ENT clinics, and others and this is also anticipated to boost the global market in the coming years.

However, term use of hearing aids may cause moisture in the ears or ear wax, and feedback problems. Moreover, the wrong size hearing aid may also result in handling problems. Therefore, manufacturers are focusing on production of a cleaning kit in order to maintain the cleanliness of these hearing devices. This may create lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the forecast period.

The report states North America to emerge as one of the dominant regions in the global hearing aids market.

Read more Lifestyles of Baby Boomers are Transforming the Way Tech Companies Upgrade Hearing Aids

In Europe, the number of aging populations in countries like Germany, France, and UK are expected to promote the market in Europe and help this region grow significantly in the forecast period. On the other side, the surge in disposable incomes of people across Asia Pacific is estimated to boost the hearing aids market in China and India. The rise in awareness about hearing disorders and the availability of cures and devices for improving hearing ability will help the market in the region grow rapidly

Key Companies Covered in Hearing Aids Market Research Report are Sivantos Pte. Ltd., Cochlear Ltd., Sonova, Starkey, MED-EL, Medtronic, GN Store Nord A/S, Widex A/S, among others

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Leading research and advisory firm Gartner highlighted the top strategic technology trends that organizations need to explore in 2020. Findings were presented during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, which took place last week.

According to Gartner, a strategic technology trend is one with substantial disruptive potential that is beginning to break out of an emerging state into broader impact and use, or which is rapidly growing with a high degree of volatility reaching tipping points over the next five years, reports Business Wire.

“People-centric smart spaces are the structure used to organize and evaluate the primary impact of the Gartner top strategic technology trends for 2020,” said David Cearley, vice president and Gartner Fellow.

The top 10 strategic technology trends as Gartner predicts for 2020 are:

Hyperautomation

Hyperautomation is the combination of multiple machine learning (ML), packaged software and automation tools to deliver work. Understanding the range of automation mechanisms, how they relate to one another and how they can be combined and coordinated is a major focus for hyperautomation.

Multiexperience

Through 2028, the user experience will undergo a significant shift in how users perceive the digital world and how they interact with it. Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are changing the way in which people perceive the digital world. This combined shift in both perception and interaction models leads to the future multisensory and multimodal experience.

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Democratization of Expertise

Democratization is focused on providing people with access to technical expertise (e.g. ML, application development) or business domain expertise (e.g. sales process, economic analysis) via a radically simplified experience and without requiring extensive and costly training. Through 2023, Gartner expects four key aspects of the democratization trend to accelerate, including democratization of data and analytics, democratization of development, democratization of design and democratization of knowledge (non-IT professionals gaining access to tools and expert).

Human Augmentation

Human augmentation explores how technology can be used to deliver cognitive and physical improvements as an integral part of the human experience. Over the next 10 years increasing levels of physical and cognitive human augmentation will become prevalent as individuals seek personal enhancements.

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Transparency and Traceability

Consumers are increasingly demanding control of their valuable information. Organizations recognize the increasing risk of securing and managing personal data, and governments are implementing strict legislation to ensure they do. Transparency and traceability are critical elements to support these digital ethics and privacy needs.

The Empowered Edge

Edge computing is a computing topology in which information processing and content collection and delivery are placed closer to the sources, repositories and consumers of this information. It tries to keep the traffic and processing local to reduce latency, exploit the capabilities of the edge and enable greater autonomy at the edge.

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Distributed Cloud

A distributed cloud is the distribution of public cloud services to different locations while the originating public cloud provider assumes responsibility for the operation, governance, updates to and evolution of the services.

Autonomous Things

Autonomous things are physical devices that use AI to automate functions previously performed by humans. The most recognizable forms of autonomous things are robots, drones, autonomous vehicles/ships and appliances.

Practical Blockchain

Blockchain has the potential to reshape industries by enabling trust, providing transparency and enabling value exchange across business ecosystems, potentially lowering costs, reducing transaction settlement times and improving cash flow.

AI Security

AI and ML will continue to be applied to augment human decision making across a broad set of use cases. While this creates great opportunities to enable hyperautomation and leverage autonomous things to deliver business transformation, it creates significant new challenges for the security team and risk leaders with a massive increase in potential points of attack with IoT, cloud computing, microservices and highly connected systems in smart spaces. Security and risk leaders should focus on three key areas — protecting AI-powered systems, leveraging AI to enhance security defense, and anticipating nefarious use of AI by attackers.

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Integrated Device Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation, introduced a fully integrated all-in-one biosensor module for mobile and wearable devices. The smallest sensor of its kind, OB1203 Sensor module integrates a multi-channel light sensor (LS), a proximity sensor (PS) and a photoplethysmography sensor (PPG). This module comes in a tiny, optically-enhanced package at only 4.2 mm x 2 mm x 1.2 mm, and includes two LEDs, drivers, the sensors and a signal conditioning chip.

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A key feature of the OB1203 is its antiallergenic glass cover, which allows it to be used in applications requiring direct skin contact. An additional advantage of the OB1203 is the ability to operate when covered with IR-inked glass, allowing product designers to almost entirely conceal the OB1203 for a cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing product design, says a press release.

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A major application of the device is in smart phones or other mobile devices to enable brightness control of display panels. OB1203 can also determine proximity of nearby objects in order to support the deactivation of touch screen displays during phone calls.

The OB1203 comes with clinical-grade heart rate (HR) and SP02 algorithms, an easily customized Android app, and only requires power and three data lines to operate.

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“Our OB1203 is the most advanced biosensor for front and upward facing applications, such as in mobile and wearable devices,” said Rudi Hechfellner, director of sensing technology at IDT. “Unlike other sensor technologies, the OB1203 can operate behind IR cover ink so that the sensor components are virtually invisible. This allows for a more pleasing industrial design and improved ergonomics for a better user experience. The tiny, fully integrated and calibrated all-in-one biosensor comes with a complete design toolkit and doesn't require subject matter design expertise.”

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Spark Biomedical, a neurostimulation device company based in Dallas, received an SBIR grant totaling $217,690 from the National Institutes of Health HEAL initiative. Spark develop wearables to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms. The company said the money will be used to validate the use of transcutaneous auricular neurostimulation to relieve withdrawal symptoms in infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

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According to the latest statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 32,000 babies were born with NAS in the United States in 2014, a more than 5-fold increase since 2004. That equates to a baby born every 15 minutes in opioid withdrawal. NAS is a condition where a fetus is exposed to opioids or other substances in the womb and experiences withdrawal symptoms hours after birth.

“These are the most innocent and often overlooked victims of the opioid epidemic, whose first days on earth include experiencing the painful process of withdrawal,” said Daniel Powell, CEO of Spark Biomedical. “The current NAS treatment is to administer either morphine or methadone every few hours to titrate these infants down over a couple of weeks, simply because there are no other options. That, to us, is just not acceptable. If our technology can reduce or prevent the pain as well as the need to use opioids on a newborn, we believe it could give these infants a significantly better start in life and set them on a better path from the beginning.”

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Spark Biomedical's battery-powered wearable device delivers mild electrical stimulation through the skin around the ear, targeting cranial nerve branches. The battery lasts the entire 10-day treatment period, said the company in a press release.

A clinical study, hosted by the Medical University of South Carolina, is set to start in November. The study will be overseen by Principal Investigator Dr. Navid Khodaparast, Spark Biomedical's Chief Science Officer.

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“The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome continues to reach new highs and is too debilitating for us to accept current treatment,” said Dr. Khodaparast. “We have designed a study that will test a safe, therapeutic option to restore quality of life for infants and ultimately, families. In addition to our adult clinical trial beginning in October, we look to quickly follow with this study and extend the indication into the neonatal segment.”

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Portland, OR-based performance wearables maker MIO has launched mioPOD, an advanced heart rate monitor that provides accurate heart rate tracking for performance training. mioPOD uses optical sensors by Valencell, a company that is an exhibitor of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series.

Aimed at elite athletes, trainers and fitness enthusiasts, the wristband-type wearable device is meant to be worn on the upper arm or forearm. It delivers reliable heart rate monitoring, haptic alerts and glanceable color zones for real-time heart rate intensity.

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mioPOD was designed to capture accurate heart rate during intense exercises, such as cycling, high intensity interval training, gym and personal trainer workouts, body resistance, weight training, TRX, resistance training and for any athlete serious about performance training, said the company in a press release.

Since it is worn on your arm rather than your wrist, mioPOD is more resilient to blood flow, generating a more consistent signal with less noise and allows for reliable heart rate tracking. While wrist-based devices perform well on flat roads or during even-paced exercises, they are often susceptible to inaccuracies during irregular exercises and training.

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"We set out to create a performance training tracker for those serious about personal training, delivering EKG-accurate heart rate data at performance-level speeds without the need for an uncomfortable chest strap," said MIO Vice President of Sales, Marcelo Aller. "Our mission for the last two decades has been to empower everyone to reach his or her goals using our innovative technology, to achieve personal records, better themselves, and – most importantly – to train with heart."

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Some of the features include:

Cardio Pilot. A glanceable technology with color zones that delivers real-time heart rate intensity, helping to keep the user in their cardio zone, according to their personal training goals.

Haptic Alerts. Warns the user if the signal is on, low battery status or when they simply traversed into a new selected cardio training zone.

Recovery Time Advisor. Predicts the amount of time required to be in a ready state for the next challenging effort

Training Load. Delivers report on how hard the athlete has been working over the past week, calculating the accumulated impact of all heart rate recorded training.

Valencell Optical Sensor. mioPOD uses Valencell Optical technology, an ultra-low-power tech that provides more accurate signal process of heart beat.

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Baby boomers make up the largest portion of healthcare service consumer group. Their expectations and lifestyles are therefore making an impact on how technology companies upgrade their devices, including hearing aids.

“They are the largest consumer of healthcare services, and they are very avid consumers of healthcare information and seek out information themselves,” Daniel Shen, founder of hearing aid company Eargo, said at the Connected Health Conference last week in Boston. “They approach the healthcare providers with greater initiative than older generations. What that means is from a medical device or solution standpoint, they are a very important generation and they may be able to seek out their own sources of information and not just from their doctors.”

Read more Signia Styletto: High-tech Hearing Aids with Stylish Design

Approximately 30 million Americans are affected by hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and older people are most affected by hearing loss. But many seniors still find it difficult to get hearing aids, reports MobiHealthNews. A single hearing aid costs around $2,300. Since these devices are not covered by Medicare, many senior citizens find it very hard to buy one.

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The baby boomer population is mostly tech savvy. Around 68% of this population uses smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. Their familiarity with technology and their particular needs is driving tech companies to develop hearing aids that fit their needs.

“Designing for the baby boomer population isn’t about designing for millennials with grey hair. There are certain things designers have to keep in mind,” Charlotte Yeh, chief medical officer at AARP, told MobiHealthNews. “First of all, the common trends of consumer electronics which use small text or unlabeled or nearly invisible buttons or unintuitive interfaces may not cut it. Designers have to keep in mind there may be limitations in terms of the hearing, vision and dexterity of this population.”

Read more Eargo Launches Eargo Neo Invisible Hearing Aids

Tech companies like Apple, Eargo and Google are getting involved in the hearing aid space. While Eargo team narrowed in on comfort, affordability, natural sound and a discrete look, Apple partnered with several hearing aid companies to stream the technology. Google teamed up with Cochlear and GN Hearing to launch a new service that uses Bluetooth Low Energy to stream content from Android devices directly to hearing aids.

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