In a potential breakthrough in wearable sensing technology, researchers from Cornell and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have designed a wrist-mounted device that uses thermal sensors to accurately predict hand positions.

Read more: Scientists From NTU Singapore Develop AI System For High Precision Recognition of Hand Gestures

The bracelet is called FingerTrak and it incorporates four miniature, low-resolution thermal cameras. The system uses machine learning to sense and translate into 3D the many positions of the human hand, including 20 finger joint positions. It has the potential for a variety of uses including automated sign-language translation, virtual reality, human-robot interaction and other areas, the researchers said.

“This was a major discovery by our team – that by looking at your wrist contours, the technology could reconstruct in 3D, with keen accuracy, where your fingers are,” said Cheng Zhang, assistant professor of information science and director of Cornell’s new SciFi Lab, where FingerTrak was developed. “It’s the first system to reconstruct your full hand posture based on the contours of the wrist.”

Yin Li, assistant professor of biostatistics and medical informatics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, contributed to the software behind FingerTrak.

The team said the system will need a bit more refining to make it useful in various fields. It could allow VR game players to track their own hand movements or it could make for remote-controlled robots that directly mimic a human operator’s motions.

FingerTrak could also have an impact on health care applications, specifically in monitoring disorders that affect fine-motor skills, Li said.

“How we move our hands and fingers often tells about our health condition,” Li said. "A device like this might be used to better understand how the elderly use their hands in daily life, helping to detect early signs of diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”

Read more: With Tap Strap 2 You Can Control Any Bluetooth-Enabled Device with Gesture

The research was published in Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies.

Hearables or Smart headphones are advanced, electronic in-ear-devices. They are designed for multiple purposes ranging from wireless transmission to communication, medical monitoring and fitness tracking. Due to the popularity of wearables, hearables with augmented reality (AR) features are becoming ubiquitous.

Read more: Audio Streaming and New Bluetooth Technology to Drive Hearables Market, Reaching $80 billion in 2025

While virtual reality takes to a completely different world than where you are now, augmented reality adds (augments) additional things to your reality. Now, Audio augmented reality (AuR) augments our reality by incorporating virtual add-ons. AuR also enhances our reality by curating or selectively manipulating what we hear. This technology offers an immersive experience by including an audio layer on top of real reality. As seeing takes up a lot of our focus, and hearing has a lower cognitive load, Aur is the safest way of layering on a combined sensory experience.

“Today, when people talk about augmented (audio) reality they’re usually referring to audio content customized for your location. One super simple, low-tech example that’s been around for years comes from the US Open Tennis Championship. When you go watch the US Open live, you can get American Express headphones that let you listen to John McEnroe’s commentary from the TV booth while you watch the match. That’s augmenting your reality of watching the tennis match with audio commentary,” says Katherine Prescott, who launched VoiceBrew as the first digital media company dedicated to helping people get the most out of Amazon Alexa.

Hearing aids have long been small earbud like devices worn in the ears of old people. They were boring. But now smart hearables are changing the landscape of hearing aids. Many hearables makers are integrating audio augmented reality into their devices to deliver immersive experience to the user.

Nuheara

Nuheara’s premium earbuds now offer noise cancellation. With Nuheara’s IQbuds you can hear nearby conversation while muting other sounds.

Olive Smart Ear

The Olive Smart Ear are small earbuds. All you have to do is set it up via an app-driven hearing test to tune the device to the quirks of your personal hearing. After that, the device equalizes the world to your ears while also offering variable amplification taken from the traditional hearing aid playbook.

Read more: Audio Augmented Reality (AuR) enhances our reality by curating or selectively manipulating what we hear

Sonion-Valencell Partner Up for Biometrics

Sonion and Valencell formed a strategic partnership that will increase the limits for the use of biometric sensors in the ear. Under the strategic partnership, Sonion will launch an extensive collection of sensor modules for various applications in the ear and Valencell will continue developing its innovative portfolio of advanced and accurate biometric sensor capabilities. Valencell's tech can measure heart rate via PPG (photoplethysmography), and measure blood pressure the same way. As part of the sensor modules, Sonion will integrate its world class balanced armature speakers.

Hearables or Smart headphones are advanced, electronic in-ear-devices. They are designed for multiple purposes ranging from wireless transmission to communication, medical monitoring and fitness tracking. Due to the popularity of wearables, hearables with augmented reality (AR) features are becoming ubiquitous.

Read more Audio Streaming and New Bluetooth Technology to Drive Hearables Market, Reaching $80 billion in 2025

While virtual reality takes to a completely different world than where you are now, augmented reality adds (augments) additional things to your reality. Now, Audio augmented reality (AuR) augments our reality by incorporating virtual add-ons. AuR also enhances our reality by curating or selectively manipulating what we hear. This technology offers an immersive experience by including an audio layer on top of real reality. As seeing takes up a lot of our focus, and hearing has a lower cognitive load, Aur is the safest way of layering on a combined sensory experience.

“Today, when people talk about augmented (audio) reality they’re usually referring to audio content customized for your location. One super simple, low-tech example that’s been around for years comes from the US Open Tennis Championship. When you go watch the US Open live, you can get American Express headphones that let you listen to John McEnroe’s commentary from the TV booth while you watch the match. That’s augmenting your reality of watching the tennis match with audio commentary,” says Katherine Prescott, who launched VoiceBrew as the first digital media company dedicated to helping people get the most out of Amazon Alexa.

Hearing aids have long been small earbud like devices worn in the ears of old people. They were boring. But now smart hearables are changing the landscape of hearing aids. Many hearables makers are integrating audio augmented reality into their devices to deliver immersive experience to the user.

Nuheara

Nuheara’s premium earbuds now offer noise cancellation. With Nuheara’s IQbuds you can hear nearby conversation while muting other sounds.

Olive Smart Ear

The Olive Smart Ear are small earbuds. All you have to do is set it up via an app-driven hearing test to tune the device to the quirks of your personal hearing. After that, the device equalizes the world to your ears while also offering variable amplification taken from the traditional hearing aid playbook.

Read more Audio Augmented Reality (AuR) enhances our reality by curating or selectively manipulating what we hear

Sonion-Valencell Partner Up for Biometrics

Sonion and Valencell formed a strategic partnership that will increase the limits for the use of biometric sensors in the ear. Under the strategic partnership, Sonion will launch an extensive collection of sensor modules for various applications in the ear and Valencell will continue developing its innovative portfolio of advanced and accurate biometric sensor capabilities. Valencell's tech can measure heart rate via PPG (photoplethysmography), and measure blood pressure the same way. As part of the sensor modules, Sonion will integrate its world class balanced armature speakers.

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The rise in contactless payment as a result of the growing usage of contactless cards and Near-Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile payments is driving the wearable payments market.

Read more: Contactless Payment Systems On The Rise Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

In large part, this usage reflects a growing trend in changing consumer behavior regarding payment habits and trends, driven by maturing smartwatch technologies, evolving tokenization platforms, and the convergence with other end verticals such as ticketing and transport, and fitness and health applications. As a result of these trends, global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research forecasts US$7.2 billion in global revenue from the sale of payment-enabled wearables in 2024, says a news release.

A combination of technology maturity, consumer popularity, familiarity with contactless payments, and the unique external phenomena (and notably COVID-19, whereby contactless is being pushed as a safe and hygienic alternative to cash by the payment networks, merchants, government, and the World Health Organization) is accelerating today's market adoption of contactless technologies. Wearable devices are primed to take advantage of this trend, with increasing choice and flexibility in terms of form-factors and available payment methods.

Ecosystem players such as wearable OEMs, silicon and IP providers, payment enablers, and financial application developers are all working to develop wearable payment experiences that are EMV-compliant, lightweight, interoperable, and intuitive UI. But most importantly, wearable payment technology can easily converge with other applications, such as loyalty and rewards, fitness and health, ticketing and transport, access control, etc., offering up new revenue streams and business opportunities for the various stakeholders.

This can be seen primarily by the growing adoption of open-loop payment systems in active devices such as smartwatches, which are outstripping closed-loop passive devices (such as silicon wristbands) in terms of shipment numbers over the forecast period. Regardless of device type however, increased merchant acceptance and growing consumer adoption serve to highlight the ease and convenience of wearable-enabled payments.

Some of the top players in the market include Apple, CPI Card Group, G+D, Idemia, Infineon, MasterCard, NXP, Qualcomm, and Thales Gemalto, all of which are pushing through innovative solutions in the space. While wearable payments is a small market today, it is not niche. There are increasing and lucrative opportunities that will continue to push adoption and usage, and showcase new applications, including M2M payments, pay on demand, micropayments, 5G for instant B2B payments, and beyond, such as access control and transit.

Read more: Wearables Market Projected to Grow 137% By 2024

These findings are from ABI Research's Wearable Payments Ecosystem application analysis report. This report is part of the company's Digital Security research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Based on extensive primary interviews, Application Analysis reports present in-depth analysis on key market trends and factors for a specific application, which could focus on an individual market or geography.

Amazon has entered the health and fitness space with Halo, a subscription service and accompanying wristband that unlocks an array of health metrics, including activity, body fat, sleep, and tone of voice analysis, to determine how you sound to others. Customers in the U.S. can request early access to Amazon Halo with the Amazon Halo Band and 6 months of Halo membership available for a special price of $64.99.

Read more: Amazon Reportedly Working on an Emotion Tracking Wearable

“Despite the rise in digital health services and devices over the last decade, we have not seen a corresponding improvement in population health in the U.S. We are using Amazon’s deep expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer customers a new way to discover, adopt, and maintain personalized wellness habits,” said Dr. Maulik Majmudar, Principal Medical Officer, Amazon Halo. “Health is much more than just the number of steps you take in a day or how many hours you sleep. Amazon Halo combines the latest medical science, highly accurate data via the Halo Band sensors, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence to offer a more comprehensive approach to improving your health and wellness.”

Amazon Halo Band is purpose-built to focus on your health and wellness—unlike smartwatches and fitness trackers, it doesn’t have a screen or constant notifications. The small sensor capsule delivers highly accurate data, and includes an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphones on or off, among other functions. Amazon Halo Band is water-resistant for all-day wear and the comfortable fit means it won’t snag or irritate at night. Plus, the battery lasts up to seven days and fully charges in under 90 minutes. Customers can choose from three fabric band colors at purchase, with fabric and silicone sport accessory bands available in 15 additional colors, reports BusinessWire.

The Amazon Halo app has a suite of five core features to understand health and wellness:

Activity

Informed by American Heart Association physical activity guidelines and the latest medical research, Amazon Halo awards points based on the intensity and duration of movement, not just the number of steps taken. Amazon Halo deducts one activity point for every hour over eight hours of sedentary time in a day, outside of sleep. A baseline goal of 150 activity points is set and measured weekly.

Sleep

Amazon Halo uses motion, heart rate, and temperature to measure time asleep and time awake; time spent in the various phases of sleep including deep, light, and REM; and skin temperature while sleeping. In the morning, Amazon Halo delivers a sleep score out of 100, any deviation from baseline sleep temperature, and a hypnogram showing time spent in each sleep phase.

Body

Using new innovations in computer vision and machine learning, Amazon Halo lets customers measure their body fat percentage from the comfort and privacy of their own home, making this important information easily accessible. The Amazon Halo body fat measurement is as accurate as methods a doctor would use—and nearly twice as accurate as leading at-home smart scales, Amazon says.

Tone

The innovative Tone feature uses machine learning to analyze energy and positivity in a customer’s voice so they can better understand how they may sound to others, helping improve their communication and relationships. For example, Tone results may reveal that a difficult work call leads to less positivity in communication with a customer’s family, an indication of the impact of stress on emotional well-being.

Read more: Amazon and Walmart Granted Patents for Novel Uses of Biometric Sensing

Labs

Amazon Halo Labs are science-backed challenges, experiments, and workouts that allow customers to discover what works best for them specifically, so they can build healthier habits. Customers can choose from labs created by Amazon Halo experts, as well as brands and personalities they already know, including 8fit, Aaptiv, American Heart Association, Exhale On-Demand, Harvard Health Publishing, Headspace, Julian Treasure, Lifesum, Mayo Clinic, Openfit, Orangetheory Fitness, P.volve, Russell Wilson, Relax Melodies, SWEAT, and WW.

Across the globe, as people slowly emerge from their COVID-19 quarantines, and wonder what the future holds, contactless payments start to make a whole lot more sense.

Contactless payment is a secure payment method that uses RFID technology or NFC (near-field communication). To use the system, a user taps their debit or credit card, smartcard, or another payment device near a point-of-sale terminal equipped with the technology. It doesn’t require the user to input a PIN.

Related Discover Cardmembers Can Now Make Contactless Payments Using Garmin Pay

“As customers increasingly demand expediency—and now, assurances that store clerks and bank tellers will stay physically distant—more brick-and-mortar businesses are turning to “tap-to-pay” systems,” reports Stephanie Walden in Forbes.

Recently, Fidesmo, a Swedish tech company announced joining forces with Mondaine to add wearable payment service, Fidesmo Pay to the Mondaine’s collection. This opens up for thousands of cardholders, from several European banks in multiple regions, to be able to make contactless payments with the Mondaine PayChip™. The Mondaine PayChip™ can be inserted into a specially developed strap with a pocket, or into a special strap loop, which can be added to many Mondaine watches. The patented system enables the consumer to swap the pay chip in sim card size from one watch to another one very quickly and easily – a world exclusivity. By holding the watch closely to any terminal that supports contactless payments, the payment is more convenient than ever before.

Fidesmo makes it possible to connect contactless services, such as payment, public transport tickets, office/hotel and car keys, to both passive and active devices.

In other news, Dawson Racing announced its association with Atlanta, Georgia-based Square 1 Flex for its new custom Visa payment-enabled e-wallet and Dawson Racing themed wearable device. As consumers increasingly look for touchless payment opportunities, the new offerings will allow fans to complete transactions more safely on or off the track, while earning points through the new loyalty rewards program.

Visa, the world’s second-largest card payment organization, partnered with Planeta Informatica, to launch a new technology that enables public transit operators worldwide to implement contactless payments faster and easier than ever, and for a much lower cost. Transit operators using the new Visa Secure Access Module (SAM) will find it easier to start offering riders the ability to tap to pay with a contactless card, phone or wearable device, without the need to replace current turnstiles or terminal hardware.

Related HID Global and Fidesmo Partner Up To Add Contactless Access Control To Smartwatches and Other Wearables

Despite the enticing features and advantages offered by contactless payments, there are some hurdles to overcome such as its high cost and limited battery life of the devices. However, a growing number of financial services are now offering contactless payment services, which has opened new avenues for market players.

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Smartwatches aren’t just for kids anymore. Various companies are offering smartwatches that cater to the needs for children. These smartwatches offer health tracking, games, learning development exercises, and safety. Here’s my list of the 6 best smartwatches for kids in 2020.

Fitbit Ace 2

Fitbit Ace 2 is designed to help kids build healthy habits and encourage them to spend more active time with family and friends. Fitbit Ace 2 helps parents and their children understand how physical activity impacts overall well-being and health. Kids see stats, goal celebrations, parent-approved friends, and call notifications. Ace 2 is water-resistant to 50M and the helpful bumper around the screen protects it during kid-related activities all day long. Fitbit Ace 2 comes in a selection of fun and bold kid-friendly colors. With colorful avatars, kids can personalize their profiles. Animated clock faces motivate challenges to keep children moving.

Read more Children are Becoming Major Driving Force Behind the Wearable Market Growth in China

Coolpad Dyno

The Coolpad Dyno smartwatch aims to bridge the gap between kids and tech in a safe and fun manner. Running on its own 4G LTE connection, the smartwatch allows kids to make calls, send messages, and transmit location. Other functionalities include step tracking and alarm clock. Coolpad has a companion app for the parent to add specific contacts that the child can both call and message. Phone calls can be made using the SIM card that connects to networks in the US and Canada. Coolpad Dyno has some fun watch faces that your child can swap between as well as two different colored straps in the box. The watch also has an excellent battery life which lasts for nearly 3 days between charges.

Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2

Garmin’s Vivofit Jr. 2 with Marvel’s Spider-Man themed bands and mobile app, is specifically designed for kids. Vivofit 2 is actually more than just a fitness tracker, it provides kids with an interactive experience where activity unlocks adventure, shaping habits for lifelong health and fitness. Using a comic-book style Spider-Verse app, kids can look forward to crushing activity minute goals to unlock new adventures, gems, games, and step icons. New York City comes to life with enhanced animations featuring fun fitness facts integrated into the story to further encourage building healthy habits. The vívofit jr. 2 bands come in 2 ultra-durable, etched Marvel Spider-Man designs. They are swim-friendly, feature a customizable color screen, and boasts a battery life of over one year.

Vtech KidiZoom

With lots of cool features, Vtech KidiZoom and Vtech KidiZoom DX2 smartwatches are especially designed for kids. The watches have a camera for taking photos and videos, a motion sensor for tracking activities, and has a range of games and apps to use. The KidiZoom DX 2 has two cameras that allow children to capture everything from action videos to selfies, reports GadgetsAndWearables. The voice recorder lets kids change their voice and give it cool effects. There’s a pedometer and there are games that can be played via the touch screen.

LeapFrog LeapBand

Aimed at kids 4 to 7, the LeapFrog LeapBand is a fitness tracker packed with many features. The LeapBand turns active physical play and healthy eating habits into a game with a bunch of appealing virtual rewards. This is more than just a fitness tracker. It offers a virtual pet that, which children can play with and nurture. To keep their pet happy, children must feed them healthy food and keep active. Children earn rewards by taking part in activities like muscle and bone-strengthening activities and cardiovascular activities. They spend these rewards on their virtual pet.

Read more Children Could Be More Prone to Cyber Crime Because of Wearables

Octopus Joy

The Octopus by Joy is a smartwatch that teaches kids to follow routine. The smartwatch sends alerts to users when it’s time to brush their teeth, leave for school, do that homework, take a bath, and more using an Android or iOS app managed by parents. The watch connects to a parent’s phone via Bluetooth so they can program tasks and get notified when kids stay on schedule. In theory, this means parents won’t have to nag their kids so much, because it teaches them to manage their own time. For an extra $49 dollars kids can get a charging station that doubles as a night light. Octopus uses colorful icons to help kids tell time and keep kids on schedule with visual reminders. Once a task is completed, the kid can check it off.

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A fitness tracker can help you monitor your steps, heart rate, sleep, and more. The latest fitness trackers with their superb design, compatibility, convenient features, and functionality, are attracting more and more women. These trackers feature slim, lighter and well-rounded design, affordable price, and offers some female-friendly features. Below is a list of the 5 best fitness trackers and smartwatches for women in 2020.

Read more INNOVO: Non-Invasive Wearable to Treat Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women

Garmin Vivoactive 4

Vivoactive 4 is Garmin’s all-purpose smartwatch. It comes in two sizes: a 45mm stainless steel model and a 40mm model for small wrists (4S), reports GadgetsAndWearables. Features include fitness tracking essentials, as well as NFC for on-the-go payments, music storage and built-in GPS. The Pulse Ox sensor gauges your blood oxygen saturation during the day and as you sleep to show how well your body is absorbing oxygen. Find out if you’re having a calm, balanced or stressful day. Relax reminders will even prompt you to do a short breathing activity when you’re feeling stressed. For menstrual cycle tracking, use the Garmin Connect app to track your cycle, log physical and emotional symptoms and learn about training and nutrition during each phase of your cycle. Even get cycle tracking information on your wrist.

Bellabeat Leaf Chakra

Bellabeat, a wellness-oriented outfit dedicated to creating attractive connected wearables for women, has introduced a smart piece of jewelry is designed to track your health. The wearable, called Leaf Chakra, features the added power of healing crystals. Leaf Chakra was created to highlight the importance of personal wellness and to help reaffirm the user’s connection with the Earth and his or her chakra energy through the healing powers of gemstones and crystals. Chakras are the body’s specific energy centers. The concept is found in the early traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. There are seven chakras in the human body. Each energy center serves a specific purpose such as managing emotional well-being or building resistance to disease.

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G-SHOCK Women

Casio G-Shock unveiled its latest S Series collection of smartwatches for women’s fitness and lifestyle. Inspired by the pastel colors of spring, the watches come in pink and gold accents just in time for the season. The four new timepieces offer a new take on two of the most popular S Series silhouettes, the GMAS120 and GMAS130. The GMAS130 features step tracking, which provides an achievement indicator percentage, an activity graph of the last five hours, and a non-active alert, allowing users to easily assess their progress throughout the day. The GMAS120 lifestyle models also boast top-line features including magnetic resistance and a speed indicator. All of the models come equipped with G-SHOCK technology.

Withings Steel HR

With the repurchase of Nokia in 2018, Withings has reappeared with a new look, increased focus on connected health, and the first new product under its original brand name. The company’s Steel HR Sport is a multisport hybrid smartwatch with heart rate monitoring, connected GPS tracking and fitness level analysis – an estimate of maximum oxygen intake during running workouts. With an unprecedented battery life of 25 days, the device complements the Withings networked healthcare device portfolio, which includes activity trackers, sphygmomanometers, smart scales, thermometers, and sleep monitoring systems.

Read more J’adore Adorn Launches Luxury Swarovski Elements Crystal Earphones for Women

Fitbit Charge 4

Fitbit’s Charge 4 is the company’s most advanced health & fitness tracker with built-in GPS, heart rate tracker, SpO2, active zone minutes, Spotify, Sleep tools, Fitbit Pay and more. Paired with essential smart features and up to seven days of battery life in a sleek, swimproof design – the Charge 4 comes at an approachable price. The onboard GPS enables you to track your pace and distance during cycling, jogs and other outdoor activities without being tethered to a smartphone. After completing a GPS-enabled workout, sync your device for a GPS-powered heat map in the Fitbit app where you can see your workout intensity, based on your different heart rate zones along your route, to help you visualize and improve how you are performing against different terrain.

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Medtronic, a leading medical technology company, announced its plans to buy Companion Medical, a company best known for making the FDA-cleared InPen, an insulin pen that integrates a companion app. The addition of Companion Medical’s InPen to the Medtronic portfolio expands the company’s ability to serve people where they are in their diabetes journey and offer them a unique and expansive ecosystem of support — regardless of how insulin is delivered.

Read more Medtronic Buys Diabetes Management Startup Klue to Strengthen Personalized Closed Loop System

“This acquisition is an ideal strategic fit for Medtronic as we further simplify diabetes management and improve outcomes by optimizing dosing decisions for the large number of people using multiple daily injection (MDI). We look forward to building upon the success of the InPen by combining it with our intelligent algorithms to deliver proactive dosing advice personalized to each individual. This smart CGM system can help people think less about diabetes and be able to live life with more freedom, on their own terms,” said Sean Salmon, executive vice president and president of the Diabetes Group at Medtronic. “Our goal is to become a trusted partner that offers consistent support whether an individual wants to stay on MDI, transition to automated insulin delivery or take a break from their pump.”

The acquisition of Companion Medical builds upon prior Medtronic strategic acquisitions, including Nutrino and Klue, that form the building blocks to design powerful algorithms leveraging the company’s deep data science and AI capabilities. With this latest acquisition, Medtronic will work to further advance the automation of insights and dosing capabilities to help alleviate burden regardless of the technology that’s preferred for insulin delivery. In addition, Medtronic will look to expand the availability of InPen globally, reports GlobeNewswire.

“We are thrilled to be combining our strengths and differentiated product portfolios to work towards serving even more people around the world living with diabetes in the ways that matter most to them,” said Sean Saint, CEO and co-founder of Companion Medical. “Simplifying diabetes management to reduce burden and improve outcomes has always been our goal, and through a respected global leader like Medtronic, we’ll now be able to take InPen to this next phase of growth which is great news for people with diabetes who stand to benefit most.”

Read more Medtronic Wins FDA Clearance And CE Approval For LINQ II Insertable Cardiac Monitor

The acquisition is expected to close within one to two months - subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be neutral to Medtronic’s adjusted earnings per share in the current fiscal year, and accretive thereafter. In addition, it is expected to meet Medtronic’s long-term financial metrics for acquisitions. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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Did you ever face lower back pain? Where you afraid of surgery or taking drugs? Ever wondered if there is a wearable which could cure your pain? Look no further!
ENSO’s High Frequency Impulse Therapy is a non-invasive, opioid-free device that has been shown in double-blind, clinical trials to solve pain better than Vicodin. The device is used and covered by insurance nationally at pain and orthopedic centers in the US. Shaun and the team are now working to expand insurance coverage and access to the rest of the 1.5B people around the world that live with chronic pain.

Shaun Rahimi started ENSO after experiencing terrible back pain in college. Having worked as an engineer building medical devices for companies including Abbott Labs and Neuropace, he saw an opportunity to create an exceptionally effective solution to pain that does not require drugs or surgery.

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Do you have a question to the Speaker? Place your question here:

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Want to gain more insights? Check out these videos froM ENSO:
Walking Test (Before):

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RCT Pilot - Patient D.R. - Day 1 TUG test from Shaun Rahimi on Vimeo.

Walking Test (After 4 weeks of ENSO HFIT):

RCT Pilot - Patient DR - Week 4 TUG test from Shaun Rahimi on Vimeo.

Stephanie (ENSO user testimonial):

Stephanie - User Review from Shaun Rahimi on Vimeo.

A team of researchers at Tufts University’s School of Engineering have developed biomaterial-based inks that respond to chemicals released from the body in fluids like sweat as well as other environmental elements by changing color. The inks can be screen printed onto textiles such as clothes, shoes, or even face masks in complex patterns and at high resolution, providing a detailed map of human response or exposure. The advance in wearable sensing, reported in Advanced Materials, could simultaneously detect and quantify a wide range of biological conditions, molecules, and, possibly, pathogens over the surface of the body using conventional garments and uniforms.

Read more Smart Clothes to Contribute Over $11 Bn to Fitness Wearable Revenue by 2025, Says Juniper Research

“The use of novel bioactive inks with the very common method of screen printing opens up promising opportunities for the mass-production of soft, wearable fabrics with large numbers of sensors that could be applied to detect a range of conditions,” said Fiorenzo Omenetto, corresponding author and the Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering at Tufts’ School of Engineering. “The fabrics can end up in uniforms for the workplace, sports clothing, or even on furniture and architectural structures.”

Wearables incorporate electronics in patches, wristbands, and other devices to monitor the wearer’s health. Tufts researchers took a different approach – non-electronic, colorimetric detection of a theoretically very large number of analytes using sensing garments that can be distributed to cover very large areas: anything from a patch to the entire body, and beyond, reports Tufts University.

The components that make the sensing garments possible are biologically activated silk-based inks. The soluble silk substrate in these ink formulations can be modified by embedding various “reporter” molecules – such as pH-sensitive indicators, or enzymes like lactate oxidase to indicate levels of lactate in sweat. The former could be an indicator of skin health or dehydration, while the latter could indicate levels of fatigue of the wearer. Many other derivatives of the inks can be created due to the versatility of the silk fibroin protein by modifying it with active molecules such as chemically sensitive dyes, enzymes, antibodies, and more. While the reporter molecules could be unstable on their own, they can become shelf-stable when embedded within the silk fibroin in the ink formulation.

The inks are formulated for screen printing applications by combining with a thickener (sodium alginate) and a plasticizer (glycerol). The screen printable bio-inks can be used like any ink developed for screen printing, and so can be applied not just to clothing but also to various surfaces such as wood, plastics, and paper to generate patterns ranging from hundreds of microns to tens of meters. While the changes in color presented by the inks can provide a visual cue to the presence or absence of an analyte, use of camera imaging analysis scanning the garments or other material can gather more precise information on both quantity and high resolution, sub-millimeter mapping.

Read more From Pregnant Mothers To Pets, Japan Is Making Swift Progress In The Race For Smart Clothes

“The screen printing approach provides the equivalent of having a large, multiplexed arrangement of sensors covering extensive areas of the body if worn as a garment, or even on large surfaces such as room interiors,” said Giusy Matzeu, research assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts School of Engineering and first author of the paper. “Coupled with image analysis, we can obtain a high-resolution map of color reactions over a large area and gain more insight on the overall physiological or environmental state. In theory, we could extend this method to track air quality, or support environmental monitoring for epidemiology.”

5G is powering the future of wearables. When most of us think of wearables, we think of smartwatches or fitness trackers. These devices track our health, steps, fitness, and more, and send these data to our mobile phones wirelessly. The main advantage of wearables is that they provide us with freedom of movement.

Read more How 5G and Wearables Are Changing the Lives of People Living with Disabilities

So, how can 5G benefit these wearable devices?

5G’s super-fast mobile broadband can provide speed of up to 20Gbps, which is several dozens of times faster than the current 4G network. 5G networks will allow wearable devices to communicate in less than one millisecond. To put that in perspective, a phone with 4G connectivity can load a web page in about 50 milliseconds.

With 5G implementation on the horizon, experts believe functionality, capacity, and nature of wearables to improve drastically. These devices will not only track our fitness, 5G will open up unprecedented opportunities. In industrial applications, wearables will have new features that were previously never even imagined.

5G will enable wearables to be sleeker and smaller compared to today’s versions.

“What 5G does is make it easy to transport data to the cloud, to make decisions faster,” says Sanyogita Shamsunder, Verizon’s vice president of 5G Labs and Innovation.

“In a few years, you’ll be a walking connected app. When trying to find a friend’s house, you’ll feel a vibration in your right shirt sleeve to indicate that you should turn. A personal digital assistant embedded in your contact lens will show you your appointments on a miniature screen in your eye. Your shoes will measure how far you walk—while they recharge your wearable devices,” writes Jennifer Alsever in Fortune.

While looking at the 5G impact on wearables, we should keep in mind the privacy issues that we have to deal with. Privacy advocates are already worried about the huge amount of personal data being collected from wearables.

Read more With IoT Making an Impact on Healthcare, Hospitals Need to Be Prepared to Utilize 5G Properly

Hearables and smartglasses are becoming popular by the day. Next, smart clothes will be powered by 5G and then we might see 5G-enabled body implants.

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The smart glove market is expected to grow on a large scale during the forecast period, according to the new Allied Market Research report titled, “Smart Glove Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2019-2026”.

Read more Global Motion Sensor Market Size Projected To Reach USD 8.7 Billion By 2025

This market research study determines the increase in changes and the aspects which are likely to have an impact on the growth of the Global Smart Glove Market. Increased demand for technologies is also one of the factors, which are likely to boost the growth of this industry, says a press release.

Smart Glove Market Competitive Analysis

Top 10 Players in this Industry Profiled in the Report Include

• Apple Inc.
• HaptX
• Flint Rehab
• Maze Exclusive
• NEOFECT
• Vandrico Solutions Inc. (Oxstren)
• Workaround GmbH (ProGlove)
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Seekas Technology Co. Ltd. and
• Lab Brothers LLC.

These players have adopted various strategies including expansions, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, new product launches, and collaborations to gain a strong position in the industry.

Covid-19 Impact on the Global Smart Glove Market

Smart Glove Market Research Report provides an overview of the industry based on key parameters such as market size, sales, sales analysis and key drivers. The market size of the market is expected to grow on a large scale during the forecast period (2019-2026). This report covers the impact of the latest COVID-19 on the market.

COVID-19 Scenario

• Due to the global pandemic all over the world, the medical devices manufacturers are majorly focusing on research and development of new products.
• However, due to the precautionary measures taken by governments in various regions, the supply chain has been hampered. Which may result in a shortage of products in certain locations.

The report is also used in the analysis of the growth rates and the threats of new entrants, which are used for the determination of the growth of the market for the estimated forecast period.

This report focuses and highlights the strategies and the trends, in which the manufacturer and the company is likely to move. The research study is also provided in-depth analysis of the reports which is one of the key aspects for the growth of the global Smart Glove Market.

The study covers the production, sales, and revenue of various top players in the global Smart Glove Market, therefore enabling customers to achieve thorough information of the competition and henceforth plan accordingly to challenge them head-on and grasp the maximum market share. This report is filled with significant statistics and information for the consumers to attain in-depth data of the Smart Glove Market growth.

The research offers a detailed segmentation of the global Smart Glove Market. Key segments analyzed in the research include Applications, Types, and geography. Extensive analysis of sales, revenue, growth rate, and market share of each segment for the historic period and the forecast period is offered with the help of tables.

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Leading health and fitness technology company FitTrack has launched FitTrack Beebo, the most accurate and reliable smart scale designed for moms-to-be. FitTrack is continuing on its mission to make tracking health and wellness accessible to everyone — with incredibly affordable and easy-to-use products designed for every stage of your life.

Read more Nuvo Awarded FDA Clearance for its Remote Pregnancy Monitoring System INVU

“We are thrilled to offer a unique, accurate and truly reliable smart scale that’s tailored to pregnant women at a time when their health — and that of their baby — is more important than ever,” says Jeffrey Sawyer Lee, founder and CEO of FitTrack. "Beebo is made for moms, by moms, because we want to make sure we’re bringing them smart technology they can rely on, through every step of their pregnancy journey and beyond.”

Understanding that motherhood can be exciting, isolating and confusing all at once, FitTrack Beebo was designed to help women through the journey of motherhood, from pregnancy all the way through postpartum. With FitTrack Beebo, expecting mothers can connect to their bodies — and their baby — in a whole new way. The intelligent maternity smart scale features four modes: Infant, Pregnancy, Athlete and General Mode, allowing future moms to create goals and track their progress through every step of the pregnancy and motherhood process, reports BusinessWire.

With 17 comprehensive health metrics and four modes, FitTrack Beebo is a one-stop-shop for mothers to track numerous details about the health of their bodies, and babies, including:

• Baby’s Growth: Track baby or infant’s progress by stepping on the scale holding the baby, while Beebo automatically deducts the user’s weight to confirm the baby’s growth
• Mother’s Progress: Measuring only their weight and BMI with fat measures turned off, to allow for more accurate baby growth tracking
• More Accurate Insights: Understanding more about their bodies than ever, with deeper insights and more precise activity reports analyzing progress
• Deeper Analysis: Comprehensive reports to encourage them on their journeys to stay motivated and mindful

Since FitTrack’s launch in late 2018, the company’s focus remains on specializing in technology dedicated to users’ wellness, originally with the most accurate Wi-Fi smart scale Dara and fitness smartwatch Atria. At FitTrack, your health means more than just a number on the scale, and FitTrack Beebo rounds out the company’s suite of offerings to ensure anyone, anywhere can have access to the tools they need to monitor their health and wellbeing.

Read more How Health Technology Is Transforming The Lives Of Women Across The Globe

The FitTrack Beebo maternity scale is available for purchase starting today on the company’s website for $129. Users can easily connect with Bluetooth, track goals against 17 health metrics, enable multiple users at once and stay connected as it syncs with Fitbit, Apple Health and Google Fit.

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A team of researchers at the University of St Andrews in the UK developed a non-invasive wearable device that allows them to monitor what happens inside diving animals in unprecedented detail. Their device uses near-infrared spectroscopy to monitor blood volume and oxygenation of the animals.

“It’s effectively like a Fitbit,” says lead researcher Chris McKnight. “It does not penetrate the skin.”

Read more Scientists Develop Marine Skin Wearable to Track Underwater Creatures

McKnight and his team decided to study harbor seals. They found that seals have conscious control of their dive reflex, pre-tuning their bodies both before dives and subsequent surfacing.

Nearly every mammal, including us, has a dive reflex. This reflex triggers various changes in the body that aids in swimming underwater, including the reduction of blood flow to the skin and a reduction in heart rate which lowers the rate of oxygen consumption.

Scientists previously believed this dive reflex was an automatic response, one which is triggered in humans, for example, by the holding of the breath and the sensation of cold water hitting the face.

Recently, however, studies have begun to show that some diving mammals have degrees of control over this process.

When the team attached their device to the harbor seals, they found that the peripheral blood vessels of seals started to contract well before they dived – typically around 15 seconds before and sometimes as much as 45 seconds, reports New Scientist.

McKnight believes seals must do it under control. “There’s no other stimulus,” he says.

Read more These Wearables for Animals Will Keep Your Pets Happy and Engaged in Social Media

The seals also restored normal blood flow to the blubber several seconds before surfacing, again showing conscious control.

The team also discovered that when seals are feeding, they don’t bother to stay at the surface long enough to restore normal blood oxygen levels.

Researchers are now planning to study other mammals, including humans.

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When wearable devices first emerged, it came in the form of smartwatches and fitness bands, helping people to increase their fitness level, drink more water, and get more sleep. But new and emerging wearables can do a lot more than monitor your heart rate or count steps. They can detect arrhythmias, warn before a seizure, and even detect the presence of cancer cells inside your body. Additionally, these devices send data directly to providers for remote monitoring.

Read more Breathable, Stretchable Electronics Pave the Way for New Medical Wearables

Designing a wearable that provides people with accurate health data is easier said than done. Here, we take a look at the benefits patients expect from their wearables.

Comfortable Feel

Patients expect their wearables to be comfortable when worn on their bodies. A user may refuse to wear the device if it’s not comfortable. The longer the device needs to stay adhered to, the more important comfort can become. Stretchy, breathable materials should be used so that it reduces moisture build-up. The device’s size is also important. As a medical wearable is intended to be worn for an extended period of time, it should not be big or bulky, reports MedTech Intelligence.

Durability

Patients expect their wearables to integrate into their lives with ease. For durability, it’s important to select a material that stops dampen and absorbs energy. The device should also be water-resistant.

Personalization

Some patients want their wearable to be discreet, while others may want to show off their device proudly. Therefore, it’s important to design in a way that satisfies both groups.

Long-Lasting Power

Wearable devices, especially medical wearables must have power that lasts a long time. A wearable that requires constant charging isn’t only frustrating, it poses serious safety risks. Energy harvesting is a new trend. Researchers are inventing various ways to power wearables, some even found ways to use sweat to recharge them.

Read more Noninvasive Wearable Sensors to Advance Chronic Respiratory Disease Management In Patients Around the World

Ease of Use

Wearables, no matter how advanced, aren’t valuable to the patient if they are not user-friendly. If a device has too many buttons or notifications, it can be confusing to operate. A medical wearable should provide instructions that are easy to follow and should have a simple design.

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Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer a range of benefits.  There are nutrition-tracking apps that help us count calories, sleep apps are meant to track our sleep patterns, and stress-management apps help us calm our mind. These apps make suggestions for us to follow. However, in these apps, reinforcement learning algorithms that adapt to one's context without learning personalized policies might fail to distinguish between the needs of individuals. Therefore, the effectiveness of any type of health app requires delivering recommendations at useful times, and at the same time avoid overtreatment.

Read more Soom Launches Mobile App That Alerts Patients, Providers of Medical Device Recalls

Researchers at three major U.S. universities – Harvard, Stanford and the University of Michigan – proposed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework they claim could deliver recommendations via smartphone that encourage healthier lifestyles. They named their new system IntelligentPooling, reports Kyle Wiggers on VentureBeat.

“We present IntelligentPooling, which learns personalized policies via an adaptive, principled use of other users' data,” the researchers wrote.

To bolster training, the recommendations can be personalized and data on other users made available. Researchers claim this approach reduces regret – i.e., the number of actions taken when there was a better choice in hindsight — by 26%.

“We show that IntelligentPooling achieves an average of 26% lower regret than state-of-the-art across all generative models. Additionally, we inspect the behavior of this approach in a live clinical trial, demonstrating its ability to learn from even a small group of users,” the researchers wrote.

The goal of IntelligentPooling is to learn an optimal policy for when and how to intrude for every individual and context. Over time, the system develops personalized treatment policies for each user, algorithmically learning from data pooled from the users’ devices.

Read more Cellnovo Launches New Mobile App that Connects Directly to CGM Data via HealthKit

The researchers conducted a study on 10 people with Stage 1 hypertension. Each individual was equipped with a Fitbit Versa smartwatch. Results showed that IntelligentPooling was able to determine whether to make an activity suggestion based on 107 data points from all users; autonomously, it could decide to send (or not send) a notification with a suggestion, the VentureBeat report said.

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Solos Health Analytics, an innovator in health and wellness, introduced FeverGuard — an intelligent wearable that gives users an early warning of a potential fever and provides opt-in contact tracing.

Read more Vitls Wins FDA Clearance For Its Remote Patient Monitoring Platform

“FeverGuard harnesses the ease and power of wearable technology to win the fight against COVID-19," says Mark Lewis, founder and CEO, Solos Health Analytics. "Our new wearable is a simple, low-cost solution to get people safely and quickly back to work, help government officials carefully reopen their economies, and stop the spread of an infectious virus. Early fever detection stops the spread, helps save lives and avoids business disruptions.”

"FeverGuard is the first solution of its kind that can learn a person's unique temperature pattern and recognize any irregularity from each person's baseline. No other method offers continuous monitoring and instant alerts. By giving immediate, continuous feedback on health status, FeverGuard is a game-changer," continues Lewis.

Each year, even with targeted vaccines, thousands of people still suffer from viral infections such as the seasonal flu — as well as ordinary colds. Fever is the most common early symptom of a virus or infection, says a press release.

“FeverGuard monitors temperature continuously, and through patent-pending machine learning technology and predictive analytics, alerts at the first sign of a fever, enabling employers, individuals, and other authorized entities, such as caregivers and healthcare professionals, to take immediate action to contain the spread of infectious viruses like COVID-19,” states Lewis.

The wearable health aid is an ideal solution for essential workers, U.S. military, healthcare and educational institutions, sports and entertainment venues, first responders, food service, hospitality and travel industries, retail settings, warehouse workers and delivery drivers, and quarantined groups.

Jim Martin, Fire Captain/Paramedic at San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Alamo, California, said: “I’m excited about FeverGuard and its potential to save lives. As a participant in the initial research study I saw first-hand how early fever detection works, enabling people to act at the first sign of illness. The widespread use of FeverGuard, especially for those of us on the front lines of this pandemic, will help save lives,” states Martin.

Read more TempTraq Single-Use Disposable Patch Ideal for Remote Monitoring of Coronavirus Patients

Explaining the significance of temperature data, Lewis says, “People are different; body temperature is not fixed as it rises and falls throughout the day, and not everyone has a "normal" temperature of 98.6 °F. FeverGuard's continuous monitoring technology learns each person's unique temperature pattern without the need for manual readings. FeverGuard issues an alert when an abnormal temperature is detected, indicating the onset of a fever, despite the medical standard of 98.6 °F and before most people develop symptoms.”

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As the world is trying to reopen after a lengthy lockdown due to COVID-19, tech companies are using gadgets and apps to make the process smooth.

Temperature screening

British telecommunications firm Vodafone is deploying heat detection cameras at entrance or reception area of workplaces. The cameras are made by surveillance tech maker Digital Barriers, reports CNBC.

“The device uses both thermal and HD cameras to deliver reliable, real-time body temperature screening accurate to within +/- 0.3 degrees Celsius and can screen up to 100 people every minute,” said Anne Sheehan, director of Vodafone Business U.K.

Read more Thinklabs One Electronic Stethoscope Keeping Healthcare Professionals Safe During COVID-19 Pandemic

Responding to concerns over whether the cameras could infringe workers’ privacy, Vodafone said its cameras are a “temperature screening solution only.”

“The data it gathers is only relevant at that particular point in time,” said Sheehan. “The device doesn’t include technologies such as facial recognition and it cannot be used as a tracking device.”

Social Distancing

Tharsus. UK-based robotics group Tharsus developed wearables for workers to wear around their necks to help with distancing themselves from colleagues. The wearable smart necklace sends out alerts to wearers every time they come into close proximity with another worker. Tharsus is looking to roll the technology out in a number of workplace environments, including offices, warehouses and canteens.

Proxxi, a Vancouver, Canada-based safety technology company for industrial workforces, announced the launch of Halo, a wearable band to help employees maintain social distancing at work. Halo notifies wearers that another band is within 6 feet (2 meters), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

Safe Spacer. Modena, Italy-based technology company IK Multimedia has developed a wearable device that will do just that. Safe Spacer is a lightweight wearable device that helps workers and visitors to maintain safe social distancing, enabling workplaces and public spaces to re-open and operate with peace of mind.

Read more Healthcare Organizations Using Technology To Address Health Disparities During COVID-19 Pandemic

Social Distancing While Commuting

Besides social distancing at work, employees need to keep social distance while commuting to work as well. New York City has approved the private use of e-scooters and bikes, and will allow e-scooter operators to apply for permits in the city, with the exception of Manhattan. It is hoped the devices will offer a safer and more environmentally-friendly alternative for people commuting to the office. “This is about getting the public back to work moving again in a safe way,” Richard Corbett, the U.K. general manager at Swedish e-scooter firm Voi, told CNBC.

Electronic textiles, or Smart textiles are fabrics that enable digital components such as a battery and a light (including small computers), and electronics to be embedded in them. Clothes made from smart textiles provide added value to the wearer.

Read more Smart Clothes to Contribute Over $11 Bn to Fitness Wearable Revenue by 2025, Says Juniper Research

With so many nations vying to develop smart clothes, Japan is forging ahead in the race. Some of the products emerging in Japan's fast-growing market for smart clothing are a virtual-reality jacket that replicates the sense of touch, a belt that predicts when a pregnant mother will go into labor, and a vest that monitors the health of your pet, reports Nikkei Asian Review.

Smart Jacket

A smart jacket, developed by Teijin, can simulate the sense of touch in virtual reality. Its Synesthesia Wear tracks a user's movements, and attached modules vibrate in different ways depending on how the user interacts with the VR space, adding another layer of realism to the experience. The technology can be used not only in gaming but also for physical therapy, where the jacket could collect data on the user while stimulating motor function, according to Teijin.

Smart Belt

Nisshinbo Textile, a subsidiary of Nisshinbo Holdings, is working on a smart belt for pregnant mothers. The belt has a small microphone, which can monitor the baby’s heartbeat and predict a few days in advance when the mother is likely to go into labor. This belt will encourage the user to seek medical care if any abnormalities are detected. The company plans to sell the belt as regular apparel rather than a medical equipment.

Read more Smart Textiles Boost Wearable Tech Connectivity by 1,000 Times

Smart Clothing for Pets

Toyobo, one of Japan's top makers of fibers and textiles, has developed a stretchable conductive film for smart clothing. Dubbed Cocomi, the smart fabric can be used for humans and animals alike. Toyobo has already used the smart fabric to develop a product that can measure the heartbeat of racehorses. The company plans to offer similar wearables for pets and farm animals.

"Animals don't communicate with words, so bioinformation will be useful in deducing health and emotions," said a Toyobo manager.

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