Dexcom, a maker of continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management, received FDA clearance of its Dexcom G6 Pro Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System for healthcare professionals to use with their patients, ages two years and up.

Read more Senseonics Gets FDA Approval for Eversense Implantable CGM System

“Dexcom G6 Pro will enable healthcare providers to set up their patients with CGM in minutes,” said Davida Kruger, MSN, APN-BC, BC-ADM, diabetes specialist, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Bone and Mineral Disorders at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. “This new professional system will serve as a simple way to obtain data from CGM naïve patients who need glucose insight, but don’t need or want to be monitored around the clock. It will give all my patients a chance to try the Dexcom G6 Pro under a healthcare provider’s supervision before they commit to a personal system.”

Dexcom G6 Pro can gather real-time glucose data over a period of 10 days and has the ability to be switched to blinded mode or unblinded mode. In blinded mode, real-time glucose data is hidden from the patient and reviewed retrospectively with their healthcare professional at the end of the session. In unblinded mode, patients can see their glucose data throughout the 10-day sensor wear to gain insights and make treatment decisions in real time, reports Business Wire.

‍

‍

Regardless of mode, glucose data gathered by the Dexcom G6 Pro enables providers to adjust a patient’s diabetes therapy plan with precision and customization. Providers can also use the data to help patients modify their daily behavior after seeing the effects that variables such as food, exercise, stress and medication have on glucose levels.

The system includes a single-use, disposable sensor; auto-start transmitter, continuous glucose readings, alerts and alarms, and the Dexcom Clarity platform, which gives reports and patterns about glucose. There is no need of fingersticks for calibration or diabetes treatment decisions.

Read more Nemaura’s SugarBeat Non-Invasive CGM Gets CE Approval

“This new professional system will serve as a simple way to obtain data from CGM naïve patients who need glucose insight, but don’t need or want to be monitored around the clock,” Davida Kruger, a diabetes specialist, said in a Dexcom press release. “It will give all my patients a chance to try the Dexcom G6 Pro under a healthcare provider’s supervision before they commit to a personal system.”

‍

FeetMe, a medical device company based in Paris, France has raised € 9.4 million in Series A funding. The investment round was led by LBO France, with additional investment from existing investors Kurma Diagnostics, the fund Paris Saclay seed fund, Idinvest Partners, Seventure and SOSV. FeetMe is a leading provider of real-world wetting gait assessment and rehabilitation solutions.

Read more European Researchers Team Up with Pharma Companies to Develop Gait Detecting Sensor

The fundraising will enable acceleration of FeetMe commercial activities in clinical trials for pharmaceutical industry and healthcare services for hospitals and rehabilitation facilities worldwide, the company said in a press release.

FeetMe’s innovative technology combines a device with a series of pressure sensors, motion sensors, and learning algorithms that collect movement data, including gait and posture data, and send this information in real time to a paired mobile application called FeetMe Evaluation.

‍

100 million people worldwide suffer from gait disorders. Gait disorders are often a forerunner and indicator of evolutive diseases and health status: multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, fragility among elderly, peripheral neuropathies and diabetic foot problems, the press release said.

Besides analyzing gait and posture parameters, FeetMe also offers rehabilitation programs through its platform FeetMe Rehabilitation. A real-time smartphone-based biofeedback solution, FeetMe Rehabilitation gives patients access to personalized rehabilitation exercises selected by their healthcare providers that they can perform at home.

Read more Wearable Gait Analysis Protocol to Help Clinicians Select Ankle-Foot Orthoses Configuration in Cerebral Palsy Patients

“With its disruptive yet technically validated technology, FeetMe establishes itself as the global leader in long-term continuous mobility assessment, with the potential to improve diagnosis for the millions of patients each year who present with known and unknown walking difficulties. I believe that FeetMe, with its vast technology capabilities, has the ability to create the world's largest and highest quality gait pattern data set to create a variety of new digital biomarkers across disease areas,” said Philippe Chambon, Venture Partner at LBO France.

‍

A patent filed by Apple suggests the tech giant is investigating integrate health monitoring technology into clothing. Last year Apple filed a patent for a stretchable fabric band that could include sensors to measure blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG and respiration rate. Additional fitness-orientated measurements may include activity and step count.

Read more Apple Files Patent Application for Blood Pressure Monitoring Cuff

The patent application was published on October 3. It describes a soft, stretchable band potentially designed to be woven into fabric, and would be able to wirelessly communicate with external electronic equipment.

Since the patent indicates the band will connect wirelessly to another device, it could mean a future iPhone or Apple Watch.

Evidence also points to the band’s touch-sensitive sections for user control, and also the potential for voice control through a microphone.

It’s not clear what this band would look like, but the potential use cases include a hat, a headband, pants, undergarments, socks, shorts and belt, according to the patent. The band would also be washable, noted the authors of the patent.

‍

‍

As Apple is trying to establish foothold in the healthcare space, so far, the company’s biggest achievement in this arena has been receiving FDA clearance for detecting atrial fibrillation and ECG in Apple Watch Series 4. Now all eyes are on the company to see where it is looking next, reports MobiHealthNews.

A number of patents from Apple are continually emerging. In April, Apple filed a patent that indicated that the company might be working on smell sensors for a variety of uses within healthcare. One such patent points to a sensor that could monitor blood sugar levels by analyzing sweat particles in the air. According to that patent, two sensors would work together: One would use lights and photodetectors to see particles in the air and the other would be an array of ionic liquid sensors that could actually detect smells. The device could get help from machine learning algorithm to distinguish between different smells.

‍

Livongo Health, a leading healthcare company empowering people with chronic conditions to live healthier lives, was awarded a contract to provide the Livongo for Diabetes solution to eligible members covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) who are living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Read more Livongo Integrates Chronic Disease Management Service with Leading Smartwatches

Livongo said it expects the agreement to add about 25,000 Livongo for Diabetes members in 2020, growing to about 45,000 members in 2021, and up from an earlier expectation of 20,000 to 30,000 total members. As a result, the company anticipates this agreement will account for $20-25 million in revenue in 2020 and $30-35 million in revenue for 2021, or a total of $50-60 million including both years, reports Livongo Health.

“This is Livongo’s largest agreement to provide diabetes services in our history and is another great example of the market’s excitement about our Applied Health Signals platform and how our business is expanding from working primarily with self-insured employers, to broader and larger markets including government employees, labor unions, and the fully-insured populations of our health plan partners,” said Livongo Chief Executive Officer Zane Burke. “As we continue to show that Livongo creates a better Member experience that leads to improved clinical outcomes and lower costs, we are excited to work with more organizations that are bringing Livongo’s services into the fabric of the health benefits design for hundreds of thousands of people.”

‍

‍

Livongo’s Applied Health Signals platform leverages advanced technology and data science to understand people’s unique health needs and then provide clinically-based guidance, or Health Nudges, to drive positive behavior change. The Livongo for Diabetes solution leads to higher Member satisfaction1, improved clinical outcomes2, and lower overall healthcare spending.

“This win highlights two of our competitive advantages.  First, government entities and large plans want to see multi-year, clinically validated results at scale, and only Livongo has that independently validated data.  Second, our AI+AI engine, which aggregates information from our own devices, electronic health records, pharmacy records, smart watches, and continuous glucose monitors, interprets that information, applies it back to our Members to learn what works, and then iterates using Health Nudges™, is making us smarter and more Member focused every day,” said Dr. Jennifer Schneider, M.D., M.S., President of Livongo.

Read more Fitbit and Health2Synch Partner Up for Diabetes Management

A 2019 study demonstrated that 94 percent of Livongo for Diabetes program Members who completed a program survey achieved improved Diabetes Empowerment Scale – Short Form (DES-SF) or Diabetes Distress Scale 2 (DDS2) in year one of the Livongo for Diabetes Program; effectively improving confidence in diabetes self-management while decreasing burnout related to diabetes management.

‍

Flexible electronics are vital for monitoring various physiological parameters. At present, manufacturing flexible electronics requires chemical baths, hardening methods, and baking in high temperature to purify the material. Now, engineers at Duke University have devised a fully print-in-place technique for electronics that is gentle enough to work on delicate surfaces including paper and human skin. The advance could enable technologies such as high-adhesion, embedded electronic tattoos and bandages tricked out with patient-specific biosensors, Pratt School of Engineering at Duke.

The researchers described their methods in a series of papers published online in the journals Nanoscale and ACS Nano.

Read more Scientists Develop 3D interconnection Technology for Wearable Bioelectronics of the Future

“When people hear the term 'printed electronics,' the expectation is that a person loads a substrate and the designs for an electronic circuit into a printer and, some reasonable time later, removes a fully functional electronic circuit," said Aaron Franklin, the James L. and Elizabeth M. Vincent Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke.

“Over the years there have been a slew of research papers promising these kinds of 'fully printed electronics,' but the reality is that the process actually involves taking the sample out multiple times to bake it, wash it or spin-coat materials onto it,” Franklin said. “Ours is the first where the reality matches the public perception.”

‍

‍

In the first paper, Franklin’s lab and the laboratory of Benjamin Wiley, professor of chemistry at Duke, developed a novel ink containing silver nanowires that can be printed onto any substrate at low temperatures with an aerosol printer. It produces a thin film that maintains its conductivity and after being printed, the ink is dry in less than two minutes and retains its high electrical performance even after enduring a 50 percent bending strain more than a thousand times.

Read more Multek Printed Circuit Board Technology Delivering Powerful Interconnect Solutions

In the second paper, this technology is taken a step further. The ink is combined with two other printable components to create functional transistors. The printer first puts down a semiconducting strip of carbon nanotubes. Once it dries, and without removing the plastic or paper substrate from the printer, two silver nanowire leads that extend several centimeters from either side are printed. A non-conducting dielectric layer of a two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride, is then printed on top of the original semiconductor strip, followed by a final silver nanowire gate electrode, said the Duke University report.

‍

Verizon has bought Disney-backed XR company Jaunt for an undisclosed amount of money. This acquisition will give Verizon access to Jaunt's cutting-edge AR/VR software, technology. Additionally, Jaunt will be assisting Verizon with the transition of select portions of the company’s tech and software for a brief period.

Read more VRHealth Unveils VR and AI Therapist to Reduce Hot Flashes from Chemotherapy and Menopause

“Jaunt will be assisting Verizon with the transition of select portions of the software and technology for a brief period of time,” Jaunt said in the announcement Monday morning.

Jaunt originally worked on technology for capturing and displaying volumetric video of humans. Since its founding in 2013, the company has raised over $100 million from investors like Disney.

Jaunt was launched with a focus on VR technology, and then it went on to create content for VR headsets. At that time, it was one of the more visible independent companies working in VR technology. It also partnered with various consumer brands to help them create virtual reality content. Jaunt also had its own app on Oculus, Vive, PlayStation VR, as well as both iOS and Android. In 2018, Jaunt pivoted to augmented reality.

‍

‍

“We are thrilled with Verizon’s acquisition of Jaunt’s technology,” said Mitzi Reaugh, President & CEO of Jaunt XR. “The Jaunt team has built leading-edge software and we are excited for its next chapter with Verizon.”

Read more JARVISH Qualified by Taiwan’s NCSIST for its Augmented Reality Smart Combat Helmet System

This new deal comes at a time when recently Verizon Media Group laid off 7% of its workforce. The division, formerly known as Oath, encompasses media, advertising and technology properties, including popular sites like Yahoo, HuffPost and TechCrunch. Additionally, Verizon in 2018 was forced to take a $4.6 billion write-down on its media business, indicating it hadn’t been performing as well as the company hoped, reports CNBC.

Jaunt’s investors include Evolution Media Partners, CMC, Highland Capital Partners, Redpoint Ventures, SMG, Axel Springer, The Walt Disney Company, The Madison Square Garden Company, and Sky.

‍

After over three years on the market, HTC is finally upgrading its HTC Vive with a new model called the Vive Cosmos. Originally unveiled earlier this year at CES 2019, the $699 Vive Cosmos is the company’s latest bid at a mainstream VR headset. Unlike the original HTC Vive, the Vive Cosmos doesn’t require external sensors and uses fully tracked motion controllers.

Read more Oculus Rift S vs. Oculus Quest: Which VR Headset Should You Buy?

The Vive Cosmos has fantastic displays, with a combined 2,880 x 1,700 resolution - an 88% increase over the original VIVE. There’s a 110-degree field-of-view alongside a 90Hz refresh rate. It also has great speakers that produce clear, loud audio.

All-new LCD panels reduce the distance between pixels, minimizing the screen‑door effect.

The Vive Cosmos is probably the most comfortable headset manufactured by HTC so far. For those who wear glasses, the original Vive, Vive Pro, or Vive Pro Eye wouldn’t fit well on the face. It was cramped and uncomfortable. But the new halo head strap design completely eliminates that.

The main difference between the Vive Cosmos and the old Vive is that it can also be flipped up making it easy to check your phone, computer, talk to someone, or just generally access reality easily, reports Upload VR. Jump between reality and virtual reality in seconds with the innovative flip-up design—all without disrupting your immersive journey.

‍

‍

Read more HP’s Reverb High Resolution VR headset is Available in Consumer and Enterprise Versions

Here are the specs:

• Screen: Dual 3.4" LCD
• Resolution: 1400 X 1700 per eye
• Field of View: 110 degrees
• Refresh Rate: 90 Hz
• Subpixel Rendering: RGB sub-pixel
• Tracking: Accurate inside-out tracking via wide field of view (FOV) and six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) support
• Eye Adjustments: 61-73mm IPD
• Connections: Display Port 1.2, USB 3.0 (Type A & C), Proprietary port for mods
• Cameras: 6 built-in cameras, two front facing, two on the sides, one on top, on on the bottom
• VR: Immersive VR right out of the box
• Price: $699

‍

Willow, the maker of all-in-one wearable breast pump system, added a new reusable Milk Container to its pump, giving moms more freedom in how they pump. The hands-free and untethered pump will now allow women to pump and pour with the Container, or pump and store with spill-proof Milk Bags.

Read more Elvie’s Silent Wearable Breast Pump Makes Life Easier for Nursing Mothers

According to the CDC, 60 percent of mothers do not breastfeed for as long as they intend to. Additionally, stress about pumping at work is reported as the second most common reason why women do not return to their job following maternity leave, according to Ovia Health. Willow aims to change that by relieving the stress of many mothers have around pumping and balancing their everyday lives.

According to an August 2019 survey of Willow users, 93% of mothers said Willow reduced the stress of pumping and improved their overall breastfeeding experience. Among them, 86% said they were confident that willow would meet their pumping goals, the company said in a press release.

“We reimagined the breast pump to help women pump longer and with less stress, and the Container is our latest—and most highly requested— innovation to help moms do that,” said Vickie Bond Mrva, mom to two and Willow President and CMO. “At Willow, our core mission is to improve the lives of moms, and we're so proud of the real impact we are having.”

‍

‍

Over 45,000 women use the Willow Wearable Breast Pump. Developed by a female-led engineering team, both pumping options for the Willow Pump have just a few parts to assemble and clean, supporting Willow's commitment to design hassle-free products with the on-the-go mom in mind. The Milk Container comes in 24mm and 27mm, and a new 21mm size, based on requests from moms.

Read more Willow Adds New Features to its Breast Pump at CES 2019

Willow is a Mountain View, CA-based femtech company that designs solutions to make moms' lives easier and solve real-life problems. The Willow breast pump discreetly tucks into a bra, without cords, dangling bottles or loud sucking noises — freeing moms up to pump wherever life takes them.

The company said it has “many more innovative products to come in 2020, focused on improving the lives of women in early motherhood.”

‍

Koneksa Health, a New York-based healthcare company focused on making clinical trials safer for its participants, just published a peer-reviewed manuscript showing the benefits of wearable devices for monitoring clinical-trial participants for physiological changes and assessing their responses to the medicine.

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

The paper, authored by researchers from Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Koneksa Health, was published in the journal Clinical and Translational Sciences.

“This study demonstrated the importance of robust clinical assessment of wearable digital sensors so that their performance can be determined relative to the in-clinic 'gold standard' measures. Additionally, understanding the differing performance of sensors under a range of potential use conditions, such as were undertaken in this study, is equally as important,” said Anne Heatherington, Senior Vice President, Head of Data Sciences Institute at Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

‍

‍

This publication reported on an exploratory component of a Phase I study of an investigational drug. The results showed the usefulness of wearable devices for vital-sign data collection and interpretation, and the advantages of collecting dense continuous data over extended periods of time, said Koneksa Health in a press release.

“This was a collaboration in a true sense of the word: all team members involved share a belief in the important potential of digital technologies in drug development,” said Elena Izmailova, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Koneksa (formerly Senior Director of Data Science, Takeda). “Few published studies to date have investigated the use of wearable devices in clinical trials with detailed data analysis. Our research is contributing to building that body of evidence.”

Read more MC10 Collaborates with AbbVie for Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trials Using BioStamp nPoint system

Koneksa enables collection of real-world data from remote, wearable, and other technologies in order to speed up the time required to understand how a drug is working and helps clinicians understand how medicines can impact the daily lives of patients.

‍

Quantic Nanotech, a product division of Spanish DEMAC S.A. group, announced that it is starting free treatment sign-up registration for a new medical pre-launch pilot trial of its osteoarthritis treatment glove for patients in selected hospitals in Madrid. The company launched the home wearable osteoarthritis glove, dubbed “Qnano Glove,” at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.

Due to high demand, this offer will be available until October 15th, 2019, Quantic Nanotech said.

“This device attracted our attention because it allows home application in the affected hand of different therapies of evidence-based proven clinical efficacy, during rest or at night,” said Dr. Luis F. Villa, M.D., Rheumatology consultant at University Hospital Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda in Madrid.

“The treatment of hand osteoarthritis is cumbersome and resource consuming, relying on physical assisted therapy and topical and oral medications. We are interested in the results of the pilot studies, since a home-based device for multimodal physical therapy could make it easier and cheaper for the treatment of patients with this frequent condition.”

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It is a major cause of sick leave worldwide, with USD$ 304 Billion of total medical and earning losses just in the US alone.

‍

‍

The smart glove integrates new technologies like shape memory alloys (SMA) and state-of-the-art materials for applications such as dry heat therapy, vibration, massage as well as stretching and extension of the fingers both active and passively. The glove can also be used to administer topical medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), liniments and neuromodulators, Quantich Nanotech said in a press release.

The company hopes to report the first results of a clinical trial in patients with hand osteoarthritis by Q4 2019 and Q1 2020.

The Qnano Glove is simple and has been designed for use at home, controlled by smartphones or internet and it also allows remote control by health professionals.

Read more MANOVIVO: Wearable Smart Glove Offering Custom Support for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The glove won international awards at various shows and recently it received Technology Innovator Award in August 2019 from AI Global Media, UK, 2019 CV-MAGAZINE.

‍

Preventice Solutions, a healthcare company focused on mobile health solutions and remote monitoring services, received a tender from the UK Biobank to provide its BodyGuardian MINI remote cardiac monitor for a cardiovascular monitoring study. The study, which involves up to 30,000 participants, is designed to capture data on arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common arrhythmia that can lead to stroke and dementia.

Read more Wearable Tech Can Safely Detect Atrial Fibrillation, Says Apple Heart Study

The British Heart Foundation funded study is led by Professor Barbara Casadei, a BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, at the Cardiovascular Medicine Division of the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, said a press release.

“Atrial fibrillation is a common condition that can go unnoticed until it causes a stroke or cognitive decline.  We desperately need to know more about its causes and how it can be better treated,” said Professor Casadei.

“UK Biobank provides us with an ideal opportunity to integrate a large amount of health, genetics and lifestyle information with heart rhythm data on a huge number of people. Importantly these individuals will have also undergone an MRI heart, body and brain scan. It is not often that all these opportunities for discovery come together – because of this, we believe this study will provide important answers about the management and risk associated with asymptomatic AF and other clinically silent arrhythmias.”

‍

Image: Pixabay

‍

UK Biobank is a major national and international health resource, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses.

The BodyGuardian® MINI is the smallest, reusable Holter monitor available. It records important physiological data such as heart rate, ECG and related activity. Unlike many other remote monitors, the BodyGuardian has a wearable patch that can be moved and reapplied to optimize comfort and wearability, without jeopardizing data collection or requiring the participant to return to the clinic. In addition, the device is fully waterproof, allowing participants the freedom to go about their daily life while wearing it.

Read more Alphabet and iRhythm Partner Up to Develop Health Management Solutions for Atrial Fibrillation Patients

“The BodyGuardian MINI was designed to enhance compliance through ease-of-use and comfort based on its small size and waterproof design allowing participants to go about their daily activities without interruption.  We look forward to helping researchers pursue this important research and are pleased to partner with the UK Biobank, British Heart Foundation and the Radcliffe ‎Department of Medicine at Oxford as they collaborate on important research efforts to further understand AF and its impact on stroke and cognitive decline,” said Jon Otterstatter, CEO of Preventice Solutions.

‍

Disc pump micropump manufacturer TTP Ventus has started working on a project to use disc pump in ambulatory blood pressure systems. The tiny, quiet and highly efficient disc pump could change the way ambulatory blood pressure is measured, claims TTP Ventus, who’s a former exhibitor of the WT | Wearable Technologies Show at MEDICA.

Micropumps are devices that can control and manipulate small fluid volumes. Such pumps are of special interest in microfluidic research, and have become available for industrial product integration in recent years.

Read more This Wearable Stick-On Ultrasound Patch Can Measure Blood Pressure Deep Inside Body

To monitor blood pressure at regular intervals 24 hours a day, currently available blood pressure monitors typically use motor-driven diaphragm pumps to inflate a cuff on the upper arm. The downside to this approach is that the cuff needs to be inflated well above systolic pressure, applying significant forces to the arm. “It can also take a little while to inflate the cuff meaning the arm is compressed for longer than you’d like. Both issues affect user comfort,” Tom Harrison, Business Development Manager of TTP Ventus, told MedGadget’s Conn Hastings in an interview. On the other hand, these bulky and noisy pumps affect airflow pulsation within the blood pressure monitor, so manufacturers tend to design the pump to be worn on the belt or around the neck on a lanyard.

‍

‍

To solve these problems, TTP Ventus has proposed that the Disc Pump could be a better alternative to motor-drive diaphragm pumps. TTP Ventus’ Disc Pump platform is a silent micropump platform that delivers exceptional pressure and flow, millisecond-response time, precision controllability and pulsation-free flow. These features enable product designers to drive innovation, for example through the creation of discrete, wearable medical devices or through the miniaturization of measurement equipment.

Read more Deaths from Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure Slowing the Progress in Fight Against Heart Disease

Mr. Harrison told MedGadget that they have plans to integrate the disc pump into other applications such as from sleep apnea therapy to breath-based disease diagnostics, compression therapy, microfluidics for point-of-care diagnostics and elevated vacuum prosthetics. “Our plans for the pump are focused on continuing to build on its success in the market. We’re working hard to reach new OEM customers across the medical and life science sectors, whilst keeping an eye on the emerging applications of tomorrow where the Disc Pump often adds significant value over conventional pumps,” he said.

‍

A smart shirt, developed by Canadian startup Hexoskin, can accurately measure lung function when compared to traditional testing equipment, according to a research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress. The smart shirt measures lung function by sensing movements in the chest and abdomen. The researchers at the Radboud University Medical Centre in Netherlands used this shirt together with a mobile app, to reliably measure breathing in healthy people while carrying out a range of everyday activities.

Read more FC Barcelona and Allianz SE Partner with Hexoskin for Sleep Study

“COPD is a growing problem with around 64 million people suffering with the condition worldwide. When patients suffer an increase in their symptoms, such as coughing and breathlessness, they need to be monitored more closely,” said lead researcher Denise Mannée, a technical physician and PhD candidate at Radboud University Medical Centre in The Netherlands.

For their study, the researchers recruited 15 healthy volunteers and had them wear the shirt while doing everyday activities including lying down, sitting, standing, climbing stairs and vacuuming, reports European Lung Foundation.

At the same time, the participants also wore the equipment traditionally used to measure breathing that includes a face mask and bulky backpack. They repeated the tasks again wearing both pieces of equipment, to generate a second set of data.

‍

‍

The team then compared the measurements recorded using the two techniques for each person doing each activity on the two occasions. In general, they found that the measurements were very similar.

“These results are important because they indicate that the smart shirt can be worn by patients while they go about their daily lives to accurately measure their lung function,” explained Mrs Mannee.

The participants found the smart shirts comfortable enough to be worn underneath their normal clothes.

Read more Astroskin Smart Shirt Will Monitor Astronauts’ Vital Signs in Space

The researchers now plan to repeat tests on the smart shirts with COPD patients, but they believe the technology might also help in other respiratory conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis or after transplantation.

‍

Current Health, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based wearable patient monitoring platform, partnered up with VivaLNK and MIR to add axillary temperature and spirometry measurement capabilities to its offering. VivaLNK provides medical wearable solutions for continuous patient monitoring and MIR (Medical International Research) makes spirometry devices, reports MobiHealthNews.

"We’re building out around our continuous wearable all [of] these other devices to capture other metrics, and that was what the FDA cleared,” Chris McCann, CEO and cofounder of Current Health, told MobiHealthNews. “In our view, both of those devices are best in class for monitoring of spirometry and axillary temperature.”

Current Health’s AI-powered remote patient monitoring device was cleared by the FDA in April. Patients using the platform are provided with a tracker and a tablet for taking part in a chatbot, medication reminders, educational content, and support for video or text conversations with a clinician. These clinicians, meanwhile, can follow their patients’ vitals through a provider-facing interface and intervene when necessary.

Current Health’s upper arm wearable device can continuously monitor skin temperature, pulse rate, oxygen saturation and movement, among other things. But the company’s ultimate goal is to provide clinical teams with a more detailed view of at-home patients, according to McCann.

‍

‍

Read more VivaLNK Partners with Emory University to Provide Wearable ECG Sensors for Study

“What we are really trying to do is build as wide a physical picture of the patient’s health as possible, and then we also get them an application they can use to report symptoms, so we’re also capturing the behavioral side of their health, and we’re trying to use both that broad physical picture and that broad behavioral picture to identify who is at risk earlier. So, we’re going to keep building more and more and more of these integrations to keep giving us a better understanding of human health,” said McCann.

McCann also said that his company is getting closer to wrapping up deals that would add continuous glucose monitoring and International Normalized Ratio or INT, a measurement of blood coagulation, to the platform. Their goal is to add more than 50 integrations by the end of 2020, he said.

‍

Fitbit and Taiwan-based Health2Sync are collaborating to provide diabetics with a more holistic view of their health and help them make healthy lifestyle choices to better manage their condition. Through this partnership, Fitbit health, sleep and fitness data will be integrated with the Health2Sync app. For now, this integration will be available to 360,000 users in Taiwan and Japan.

Read more Fitbit and Solera Health Expand Collaboration to Reduce Type 2 Diabetes Risk

“We are excited to integrate Fitbit’s expertise in using technology and data to empower people to make meaningful behavior change that can drive positive health outcomes with the Health2Sync platform, said Steve Morley, Fitbit’s vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific, in a statement. “The integration will help Health2Sync users in Taiwan and Japan better see the impact of things like activity level on blood sugar levels, and provide them with support to make healthy lifestyle choices, like increased activity, shown to help manage type 2 diabetes.”

‍

‍

Users with a Fitbit account can access an in-app dashboard that now includes data from their Fitbit devices, including heart rate, sleep and physical activity, alongside recent blood glucose readings depicting if levels fall within, above or below the healthy range, reports MobiHealthNews.

The Health2Sync Mobile App enables you to take full control of your health status by keeping a full record of your blood glucose data and daily activities. It gives reminders and tips based on your records, to assist you in making timely adjustments.

Read more Senseonics & Glooko Partner Up for Integrated Diabetes Management

Ed Deng, CEO at Health2Sync, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Fitbit as a leading wearables brand to extend the benefits of our health management app to users. We understand that the key to successfully controlling diabetes is to ensure proactive management and continuous monitoring. We’re confident our comprehensive integrated health platforms for both patients and healthcare professionals, coupled with Fitbit’s easy to use, innovative devices and software features will help users to achieve both aims.”

‍

Flow, a Malmo, Sweden-based medical therapy startup, released a chatbot therapist to treat people suffering from depression. In June, the company launched its brain stimulation headset for treating depression – a first ever medically approved at-home treatment of its kind in the UK and EU.

The new technology was designed to engage users with daily chat conversations and offer self-help techniques, mood tracking, curated videos, meditation and mental exercises, the company said. It also analyzes user’s data to give personalized behavioral therapy, reports MobiHealthNews. The chatbot therapist is based on the latest psychology and neuroscience research, and was developed by clinical psychologists and machine learning experts.

Read more Feel: A Digital Therapeutic Solution for Mental Health

In the UK, mental illness affects nearly one in four adults. Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales. One in four adults – approximately 57.7 million Americans – experience a mental health disorder in a given year.

“Accessibility and early intervention in depression is crucial. The ‘always-on’ source of therapy provided by Flow ensures people get the help they need as quickly as possible. Flow can provide anonymity without the fear of being judged by others. This is great as some people feel anxious when it comes to talking about their depression to another human,” said Daniel Mansson, Clinical Psychologist, CEO and Co-Founder of Flow.

‍

‍

Flow combines brain stimulation and behavior therapy to treat depression at home. Brain stimulation is delivered through a wireless headset, controlled by the app Flow – Depression. In addition, the free app includes a complete treatment program with focus on lifestyle changes that significantly reduce symptoms of depression.

Depression is associated with lowered activity in an area in the front of the brain. The Flow headset delivers gentle electrical signals to this area and rebalances the activity. As a result, your symptoms decrease, the company said.

Read more Wearable Devices and Mobile Apps Exploring Users’ States of Mind to Tackle Anxiety and Depression

Flow is suitable for people over 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with depression (major depressive disorder).

The chatbot therapist can be downloaded for free on iOS. An Android version will be available in October 2019.

Flow was founded in 2016 by Daniel Mansson and Erik Rehn.

‍

Abbott won FDA approval for its Proclaim XR recharge-free neurostimulation system for people living with chronic pain. The neurostimulator can treat chronic pain for up to ten years without requiring a recharge.

Read more Neurolief’s Relivion Provides Significant Pain Reduction in Migraine Patients, Clinical Trial Finds

The Proclaim XR platform offers a low dose of Abbott's proprietary BurstDR™ stimulation waveform, which was created based on scientific insights from doctors and research to mimic natural patterns found in the brain. It works by using low doses of mild electrical pulses to change pain signals as they travel from the spinal cord to the brain, reports Abbott.

The neurostimulation system was developed based on positive results from Abbott's BurstDR micrOdosing stimuLation in De-novo patients (BOLD) study. The study showed that all 24 enrolled patients on a low-energy BurstDR dosing program experienced pain relief with less than six hours of battery use per day, while approximately 50% of those patients achieved pain relief with the lowest effective dose (less than two hours of battery use per day).

‍

‍

An estimated 50 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain. Chronic pain affects more American than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined.

Read more Abbott to Ramp Up Production of its FreeStyle Libre Continuous Glucose Monitor

“For the 50 million people living with chronic pain in the United States this is a new and exciting treatment that is supported with evidence validated by the BOLD study, an established protocol for titrated intermittent dosing to give patients individualized pain relief while using therapy for 6 hours or less per day,” said Timothy Deer, M.D., DABPM, president and chief executive officer of The Spine and Nerve Center of the Virginias in Charleston, W.Va. “Proclaim XR is a major advancement in spinal cord stimulation, and is an evidence-based therapy that is mobile app-based and features upgradeable software. This means patients won't need surgery to benefit from future advances in this technology.”

‍

Scientists at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have created a soft artificial skin that can sense touch while providing real-time haptic feedback. Because of its sophisticated self-sensing mechanism, the new skin has the potential to instantaneously adapt to a wearer’s movements. Scientists believe the new technology can be applied to numerous fields such as from medical rehabilitation to virtual reality (VR).

Read more NUS Scientists Develop Electronic Skin with Exceptional Sense of Touch for Prosthetics

Our sense of touch, similar to our senses of hearing and vision, plays a crucial role in how we perceive and interact with the world around us. Haptic feedback – a technology capable of replicating our sense of touch – can greatly improve human-computer and human-robot interfaces for applications such as medical rehabilitation and virtual reality, reports EPFL.

A range of soft sensors and actuators in the artificial skin enable it to conform to the exact shape of a wearer’s wrist, for example, and provide haptic feedback in the form of pressure and vibration. Strain sensors continuously measure the skin’s deformation so that the haptic feedback can be adjusted in real time to produce a sense of touch that’s as realistic as possible.

“This is the first time we have developed an entirely soft artificial skin where both sensors and actuators are integrated,” says Harshal Sonar, the study’s lead author. “This gives us closed-loop control, which means we can accurately and reliably modulate the vibratory stimulation felt by the user. This is ideal for wearable applications, such as for testing a patient’s proprioception in medical applications.”

‍

‍

Soft pneumatic actuators in the artificial skin form a membrane that can be inflated by pumping air into it. A chamber, created by the membrane, can be inflated and deflated using a tiny pump up to 100 times per second, generating vibrations that will feel different to the user.

The artificial skin can be stretched up to four times its original length for up to a million cycles. That makes it particularly attractive for a number of real-world applications. For now the scientists have tested it on users’ fingers and are still making improvements to the technology.

Read more Scientists Develop Flexible Artificial Tactile Nerve Using Flexible Organic Materials

“The next step will be to develop a fully wearable prototype for applications in rehabilitation and virtual and augmented reality,” says Sonar. “The prototype will also be tested in neuroscientific studies, where it can be used to stimulate the human body while researchers study dynamic brain activity in magnetic resonance experiments.”

This work was published in Soft Robotics.

‍

Google’s touch-sensitive fabric technology Project Jacquard is back with a new product – the Cit-E smart backpack – a touch-sensitive shoulder strap for controlling a connected smartphone. Built in collaboration with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, the Cit-E backpack allows the user to control things using four gestures on the touch-sensitive area on the front of the left shoulder strap: swipe up, swipe down, double tap, and covering it up.

Read more Artificial Intelligence and Google’s Radar Technologies to Noninvasively Measure Glucose Levels

Google first debuted Project Jacquard, a smart fabric initiative to create gesture and tap-connected wearables without screens, back in 2015, reports CNet.

In 2017, Commuter X jacket debuted. It’s a Google-powered smart denim jacket that lets users control music and phone functions just by touching the fabric.

Now, the search engine giant is planning to build a bigger wave of Jacquard products, starting with this smart backpack. The discreet Jacquard Tag connects your physical things to digital services and information. It’s connected via Bluetooth and communicates with the Jacquard app.

‍

‍

You can personalize your things by selecting the Abilities you want to use. The more Jacquard services are added, the more your things become uniquely yours.

“Our ambition is simple: to make life easier. By staying connected to your digital world, your things can do so much more. Skip a song by swiping your sleeve. Take a picture by tapping on a shoulder strap. Get reminded about the phone you left behind with a blink of light or a haptic buzz on your cuff,” says Google.

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

Google’s Soli – a new sensing technology that uses miniature radar to detect touchless gesture interactions – hasn't debuted in any product yet. But the two platforms could eventually fit together down the road. “It's in the realm of possibilities, we're thinking about it all the time,” Ivan Poupyrev, Google’s technical projects lead told CNet’s Scott Stein. “I don't know how much speculation I'm allowed.”

The Cit-E backpack is available to preorder from Yves Saint Laurent’s website for US $877.

‍

Charging your smartwatch can be a headache. With a feature-packed smartwatch, you may need to recharge it every few hours. But when you’re away and don’t have your charger with you, what do you do? Now, a new project funded by the European Union has announced it is working on a solution that it calls an “autonomous energy supply platform.” If it succeeds, the project dubbed Smart2Go, has the potential to kick-start the development of a new generation of wearable devices that never need charging, reports Digital Trends.

German company Fraunhofer FEP is leading the project, which will involve the development of a flexible power supply for wearable devices under the EU’s Horizon 2020 program. The company envisions the platform being using in everything from smartwatches, fitness tracking devices, and personal safety trackers, to exciting future tech including skin patches and smart labels.

Read more Innovative Charging Solutions for Your Cellphone and Other Electronics

‍

‍

“The aim of the project is the creation of an autonomous energy-supply platform. Based on the results of the project it will be possible to use a wearable without caring about recharging over its entire lifetime. This aim will be achieved by the combination of a powerful battery with appropriate energy harvesting technologies. The performance of the energy supply platform will be demonstrated in two application cases,” said CORDIS European Commission.

Smart2Go’s special feature is the standardization of the interfaces within the platform. This will enable manufacturers to easily adapt it to various different application after the end of the project.

Read more Matrix PowerWatch: A Smartwatch Powered Only by Your Body Heat

The project has already started in January with the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Center working with eight other EU innovation partners. But it’s worth noting that Smart2Go is a research project, and any resulting technology will not be ready for mainstream use for some time, if at all. However, projects like this can prompt development of new technology that will go on to transform our lives.

‍