A team of engineers at the UC Berkeley and the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) of The Claremont Colleges have developed a device called CRISPR-Chip that can detect genetic mutations in minutes. The hand-held device was made by combining CRISPR with electronic graphene transistors.

The new CRISPR-Chip, which was described in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, could be used to rapidly diagnose genetic diseases or to evaluate the accuracy of gene-editing techniques. The team used the device to identify genetic mutations in DNA samples from Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, reports Berkley News.

“We have developed the first transistor that uses CRISPR to search your genome for potential mutations,” said senior author Kiana Aran, an assistant professor at KGI who conceived of the technology while a postdoctoral scholar in UC Berkeley bioengineering professor Irina Conboy’s lab. “You just put your purified DNA sample on the chip, allow CRISPR to do the search and the graphene transistor reports the result of this search in minutes.”

Read more AI Tool Accurately Detects Cancer Type and Genetic Changes in Patient’s Tumor

Graphene, built of a single atomic layer of carbon, is so electrically sensitive that it can detect a DNA sequence “hit” in a full-genome sample without PCR amplification.

“Graphene’s super-sensitivity enabled us to detect the DNA searching activities of CRISPR,” Aran said. “CRISPR brought the selectivity, graphene transistors brought the sensitivity and, together, we were able to do this PCR-free or amplification-free detection.” She hopes to soon “multiplex” the device, allowing doctors to plug in multiple guide RNAs at once to simultaneously detect a number of genetic mutations in minutes.

So far, the CRISPR-Chip’s sensitivity was tested by using blood samples from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients. It successfully detected two common genetic mutations associated with the disease. Point-of-care diagnosis of genetic diseases is an obvious use for the chip, but other applications include drug sensitivity testing.

Co-author of the paper Professor Irina Conboy said the new device could be especially helpful for screening DMD, as the severe muscle-wasting disease can be caused by mutations throughout the massive dystrophin gene – one of the longest in the human genome – and spotting mutations can be costly and time-consuming using PCR-based genetic testing.

“As a practice right now, boys who have DMD are typically not screened until we know that something is wrong, and then they undergo a genetic confirmation,” said Conboy, who is also working on CRISPR-based treatments for DMD.

Read more UC-Berkeley Researchers Develop Flexible Sensor to Map Blood-Oxygen Levels Across the Body

Co-author Niren Murthy, professor of bioengineering, concluded:

“If you have certain mutations or certain DNA sequences, that will very accurately predict how you will respond to certain drugs,”

New and proposed FDA regulations could create new opportunities for pharmaceutical companies looking to develop digital tools, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.

Within the last few years the FDA has made several changes in digital health regulations. Though many of these aren’t yet reinforced, a recent PwC report predicts that these changes could open new doors for pharma companies looking to jump into the digital arena.

Read more Aparito’s Wearable Aims to Save Big Pharmas Billions of Dollars in Clinical Trials

“Recent changes made by the FDA have made it easier for digital health products to be cleared and approved, offering life sciences companies – and pharmaceutical companies in particular – the opportunity to accelerate approvals and improve provider and patient satisfaction. Companies willing to invest in strengthening or building digital competencies may win market share, while those without sufficient investments may find themselves at a disadvantage,” the report said.

Here are four major regulatory changes to digital health are driving new opportunities for pharma, according to PwC:

1. Digital Health Precertification. Pharma companies with high degrees of regulatory quality are eligible for shorter reviews and ONC certification.

2. Companion Applications. The FDA will allow digital apps intended to supplement prescription drugs to be regulated as labeling, meaning they will not require FDA approval.

3. Multiple-Function Devices. The FDA will treat as separate the various functions of a digital health device, making it easier to have full-function products.

4. OTC Drug Digital Labeling. Over the Counter (OTC) drugs may be approved based on evidence that consumers can use digital labeling to select a drug for treatment.

These regulatory changes can make it easier for pharma to go digital, and at the same time it could be an indicator of the future of the healthcare industry, reports MobiHealthNews.

However, authors of the PwC report continued to advise companies to implement digital into its existing portfolios and expertise.

Read more New PwC Study Reveals Consumers Use Wearables to Stay Fit and Live longer

“New regulatory pathways will simplify market access and product development cycles, but companies will still need to take stock of how they can best leverage digital health with their new or existing product portfolios, and the data that will be necessary to support these products,” the report said.

A new study has found that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may find it easier to read facial expressions and navigate social interactions when they use Google Glass paired with a smartphone app.

Related Brain Power Ships Empowered Brain, World’s First Smartglasses to Help People with Autism

The small study found when children used the new AI system, dubbed “Superpower Glass” at home, it helped them decipher what’s happening with people around them, bringing significant improvements in their socialization skills, compared to their counterparts that received only the standard care, the researchers said.

For their study, the researchers recruited 71 children between the ages of six and 12 with ASD. The children were receiving standard treatment for ASD, which typically involves using structured exercises like flash cards depicting faces to help kids learn to recognize different emotions.

Forty children were randomly assigned to the study group and 31 were assigned to the control group.

The children in the “Superpower Glass” had a camera and speaker in their glasses which allowed them to send information on what they saw and heard to a smartphone app designed to help them decode and respond to social interactions, reports Reuters.

Children with ASD can struggle to recognize and respond to emotions, but the app reinforced these skills by providing them feedback in real time.

The children used the glasses in 20-minute sessions four times a week. After six weeks of using the glasses, the children scored better on tests of socialization, communication and behavior than the kids in the control group who received only standard care for autism.

“Children learn to seek out social interactions, learn that faces are interesting, and that they can learn what they’re saying or what the faces are telling them,” said senior study author Dennis Wall of Stanford University in California.

Read more This Therapy Robot Helps Children with Autism by Teaching Them Social Skills

“This is powerful since it encourages social initiations – a form of fostering social motivation – by the child and they’re learning that they can get these things – the emotions of their social partners- themselves,” Wall added.

The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was coined by a Stanford University scientist, while others at the university created some of the most significant applications of it. Now, the university wants to put humans and ethics at the center of this field.

Read more IBM Develops Fingernail Sensor That Uses Artificial Intelligence to Monitor Parkinson’s, Other Diseases

Stanford University just launched a new institute committed to studying, guiding and developing human-centered artificial intelligence technologies and applications. The mission of the new institute, known as the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), is to advance artificial intelligence (AI) research, education, policy and practice to improve the human condition, reports Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University.

Stanford HAI leverages the university’s strength across all disciplines, including: business, economics, education, genomics, law, literature, medicine, neuroscience, philosophy and more. These complement Stanford’s tradition of leadership in AI, computer science, engineering and robotics.

HAI will be led by John Etchemendy, professor of philosophy and former Stanford University provost, and Fei-Fei Li, professor of computer science and former director of the Stanford AI Lab.

Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said artificial intelligence has the potential to radically change how we live our lives. “Now is our opportunity to shape that future by putting humanists and social scientists alongside people who are developing artificial intelligence,” he said. “This approach aligns with Stanford’s founding purpose to produce knowledge for the betterment of humanity. I am deeply thankful to our supporters who are providing foundational funding for the institute, which is a critical element for our vision for the future of Stanford University.”

Stanford HAI was formally launched at a symposium on March 18 featuring speakers such as Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and California Governor Gavin Newsom, as well as leading experts Kate Crawford of NYU, Jeff Dean of Google, Demis Hassabis of DeepMind, Alison Gopnik of UC Berkeley, Reid Hoffman of Greylock Partners, and Eric Horvitz of Microsoft Research.

Read more Stanford Researchers Develop Wearable That Measures Stress Through Sweat

“I could not have envisioned that the discipline I was so interested in would, a decade and a half later, become one of the driving forces of the changes that humanity will undergo,” said Fei-Fei Li, an AI pioneer and former Google vice president who is one of two directors of the new Stanford institute. “That realization became a tremendous sense of responsibility.”

Stanford University will be part of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 9-10. Stay tuned for the agenda release!

Zinc, a consulting firm has collaborated with iBreve, a company that develops self-care solutions, to design a wearable system for tracking and improving breathing patterns. Both companies are former contributors of the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference Series and iBreve was an Innovation World Cup® finalist in 2018. Do not hesitate to join in the Innovation World Cup® Series ecosystem, extend your business horizon and compete to be the winner of the next 11th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®.

Today’s hectic lifestyle is making us very stressful, which in turn is affecting our physical health. “Stress doesn’t only make us feel awful emotionally, it can also exacerbate just about any health condition you can think of,” says Jay Winner, MD, author of Take the Stress Out of Your Life and director of the Stress Management Program for Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, California.

Studies have found stress worsens or increases the risk of conditions like obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and asthma.

Breathing is very important for managing stress. The proper breathing method can help you relieve stress. So, the companies designed a system – including a wearable device and mobile application – that could empower women to understand and adapt their breathing accordingly. A male version will be coming later.

Read more Bellabeat’s Time is a Hybrid Smartwatch that Also Predicts Your Stress

A key challenge was to design a device that would attach to any bra whilst still being comfortable, and able to provide real time feedback to the user, something no other product currently does.

The first generation of the App provides feedback on the speed and size of each breath, and at the same time it includes some gamification to make it more motivating and fun. The vision is to further develop the App into something more meaningful, integrating activities like yoga and exercise, with other links to relevant services and information, the companies said.

The word iBreve is a combination of “I breathe” and “Eve” – as it’s focused initially on women’s health & well-being.

Biosensors are devices that combine a biological component with a physiochemical detector to observe and analyze how a chemical substance reacts to the body. Despite great advancements, traditional biosensor still has limitations. Researchers at Binghamton University have now developed a skin-inspired, open-mesh electromechanical sensor that is capable of monitoring lactate and oxygen on the skin, allowing for long-term, high-performance, real-time wound monitoring in users.

Related Flexible self-powered biosensors for Precisely and Continuously Monitoring Biological Signals

“We eventually hope that these sensors and engineering accomplishments can help advance healthcare applications and provide a better quantitative understanding in disease progression, wound care, general health, fitness monitoring, and more,” says Matthew Brown, a Ph.D. student at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

The researchers hope to create a new mode of sensor that will merge seamlessly with the wearer’s body to maximize body analysis to help understand chemical and physiological information, reports CACM.

“We are focused on developing next-generation platforms that can integrate with biological tissue (e.g. skin, neural, and cardiac tissue),” says Brown.

Master’s students Brandon Ashley and Youjoong Park, and undergraduate student Sally Kuan, under the guidance of Brown and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Ahyeon Koh, designed a sensor that is structured similarly to that of the skin’s micro architecture. This wearable sensor is equipped with gold sensor cables capable of exhibiting similar mechanics to that of skin elasticity.

The researchers hope that in the future research can be conducted to utilize their skin-inspired sensor design to incorporate more biomarkers and create even more multifunctional sensors to help with wound healing. They hope to see these sensors being developed incorporated into internal organs to gain an increased understanding about the diseases that affect these organs and the human body.

Related Low-Cost Biosensor Can Detect HER-2 Breast Cancer Biomarker

“The bio-mimicry structured sensor platform allows free mass transfer between biological tissue and bio-interfaced electronics,” says Koh. “Therefore, this intimately bio-integrated sensing system is capable of determining critical biochemical events while being invisible to the biological system or not evoking an inflammatory response.”

Facebook announced its newest VR headset, the Oculus Rift S at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. But the social media platform, which acquired Oculus in 2016, also introduced the Oculus Quest, a totally new standalone, self-contained mobile VR system. Both the headsets are due to be launched this spring, which makes it clear that Oculus is using it as an opportunity to unify its PC-based VR headset and standalone VR headset.

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

Comparing the two, you can see they’re extremely similar. They share the same game platform that will play most, if not all, of the same titles, and a software experience that will look familiar to anyone who previously used an Oculus product. Perhaps the biggest difference between them is in maneuverability.

While Oculus Rift S isn’t Oculus Rift 2, it is a replacement for the original Rift CV1, and it too requires a connected PC to power it. Oculus Quest, on the other hand, doesn’t need to PC to be powered, instead it’s powered by a self-contained Snapdragon 835 processor (CPU) and has a higher resolution for its dual OLED displays.

“The Oculus Rift S works with the Oculus Touch controllers that also work with the Quest. These shared controllers have vibration, analog control sticks, buttons and dual triggers. They’re able to recognize when your fingers are on or off the buttons, allowing for grabbing-like motions,” reports CNet.

Oculus Rift S has access to existing Rift CV1 titles, but the Oculus Quest doesn’t use the existing Rift library.

Read more Qualcomm’s Next Generation Wireless VR Headsets Can Connect to Both PCs and Mobiles

Oculus Rift S has five insight sensors and a higher refresh rate, but the Oculus Quest has four insight sensors and a lower refresh rate.

Oculus Rift S has a lower-res LCD display, while Oculus Quest boasts high-res, dual OLED displays.

Both headsets have updated touch controllers.

Both Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest are priced at $399.  

So, which one should you buy?

If you want a wireless experience, the Quest is for you. But if you want the most advanced Oculus VR immersion, buy the Rift S, suggests Mashable.

Chinese tech giant Huawei is launching new smartglasses in collaboration with Korean sunglasses and optical glasses brand Gentle Monster. The company said this won’t be only a single model of smartglasses, but a collection of glasses with integrated electronics.

Related Bose Announces Frames – Revolutionary Smartglasses that Combine Sunglasses, Wireless Headphones and Audio Augmented Reality

Initially called the Huawei x Gentle Monster Eyewear, the glasses feature dual mics and speakers, and users can tap the temple of the glasses to answer calls and access the voice assistant.

Surprisingly, there are no cameras on the glasses, so it seems that Huawei wants you to use them mainly for making and receiving calls. This Bluetooth gadget can easily replace your earbuds.

The speakers are positioned right above your ears so you won’t disturb your neighbors while listening.

The glasses are IP67 dust and water resistant, and they can charge wirelessly via the carrying case for the glasses, which has a 2,200mAh battery, or via the USB-C port, reports The Verge. The glasses are also said to have NFC that may be used for other purposes.

Huawei announced the glasses at the P30 press conference in Paris, but the glasses won’t be available before July 2019. The company hasn’t said anything about the price of the glasses either. However, they will come in several models.

Related SOLOS Smartglasses Collaborates with CTS to Provide Cutting-Edge Technology to Coaches and Athletes

Gentle Monster is a luxury sunglasses and optical wear brand that’s popular across Asia. The company is known for its experimental design, and their showrooms look more like art galleries. Gentle Monster’s CEO Hankook Kim criticized the Snapchat Spectacles while he was introducing the new smartglasses on state. “How many people want to wear this as we meet our friends or lovers?” he said.

Aiming to participate at this year’s METRO Marathon in Düsseldorf on April 28, sixteen runners are in the midst of preparation. All of the runners are equipped with stick-on smart health patches using cutting edge printed electronics. These patches are worn 24/7 and do continuously measure and record motion (IMU), electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration (RES).

Preparing for a 42-km race is stretching the capabilities of the human body and the health patch makes the journey towards the marathon more safe, personalized and efficient.

Three companies have engaged to develop the smart health patch for this project: Henkel, a multinational bringing expertise in functional materials used in the patch, Quad Industries, a Belgian SME specialized in printed electronics and the manufacturing thereof and Byteflies, a Belgian wearable health startup with extensive experience in the design and production of high-quality and versatile wearable devices.

The smart health patch consists of a peel-and-stick disposable part that is adhered to the skin on the chest, and a reusable part, the Byteflies Sensor Dot that snaps into the sticker. Battery, communication and data storage is all included into the Sensor Dot that can be used up to 24 hours, after which the dot must be put in a docking station to recharge and transmit the data to the cloud.

The disposable patch is designed and manufactured by Quad Industries using Henkel’s innovative printed electronic conductive inks. The patch is a two lead ECG device that can be worn up to 24 hours currently using standard electrolyte gel to capture the ECG signal from the heart. Moving forward the electrolyte gel will be replaced by Henkel’s new, self-adhering dry electrode technology allowing the patch can be worn continuously for a week before renewing the disposable sticker. Skin-friendly adhesives robustly stick the patch to the chest and cause no itching or irritation. Stretchable conductive silver inks transport the electrical signal to the Sensor Dot while allowing the sticker to stretch while breathing.

The complete device is built on an ultra-thin, breathable TPU substrate that is laminated against a high-end sport textile. Quad Industries has overcome many challenges to integrate printed circuits on skin-compatible materials, including automated screen printing and handling of these  stretchable substrates, skin adhesive and electrode integration, textile lamination and reliable interconnection technologies. These developments enable Quad to offer a full new range of printed electronic solutions and to serve new markets for wearable sensor and electronics applications.

The Sensor Dot, the software platform and the cloud storage with data analysis are performed by Byteflies. This health-tech company has built up a team of specialists in the field of wearable health, Machine Learning, and the development of digital biomarkers. With a proprietary platform to set up wearable health solutions instantly, Byteflies targets companies that want to push new wearable technology to the market, researchers that are looking for new ways to monitor patients, and pharmaceutical companies that are making the transition towards a value-based healthcare model. Byteflies’ goal is to revolutionize healthcare, and the Sensor Dot capabilities for 24/7 synchronized vital sign acquisition outside the hospital, and large and accurate data sets, will be a key player in achieving improved prevention, prediction, and personalized care.

The Sensor Dot snaps magnetically into an adhesive disposable health patch, which are used to affix the device to the user’s skin. The docking station is used to charge the Sensor Dots and transfer the recorded data to the cloud.

What insights does the smart health patch provide?

On top of the standard heart rate (HR), the athlete will get a clear overview of other vital signs that are hardly monitored by existing wearables (e.g. smart watches). Heart rate variability (HRV) for example is a very important parameter indicating general fitness and stress levels of the body. Also, a much more accurate determination of VO₂max (maximal oxygen consumption) is possible using the health patch. Next to that, the ECG and respiration waveforms can be analysed for more accurate insights into, for example, cardiac function, sleep apnea and sleep patterns. Overall, this makes the health patch a much more complete monitoring solution as it records continuously, and guides the runner towards optimal recuperation period based on individual vital signs.

If you want to learn more about smart patches and medical wearable devices or even showcase your own solution, join us at the WT | Wearable Technologies Show at MEDICA 2019 on Nov 18-21, the hotspot for innovation at the worldwide largest medical marketplace.

Senseonics, a company well-known for its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system announced a new program called Eversense Bridge for patients who carry a high-deductible insurance plans or patients whose insurance plans do not cover the full cost of CGM.

Patients are charged $99 for the Eversense CGM system through the new program on top of the cost of the sensor placement by their provider. Patients will be able to get their second sensor for the same price, although the price will increase afterward, reports MobiHealthNews.

“As with any new medical device or drug, we knew it would take some time for insurance companies to add Eversense CGM to their covered diabetes management options,” Mike Gill, VP and general manager for the US region at Senseonics, told MobiHealthNews in an email. “We were pleased to have many insurers cover Eversense from the beginning, but there are many other people that need this technology and are being denied coverage for this revolutionary long-term technology, and we wanted to help them while they await favorable policy decisions from their insurers.”

In the United States more than 30 million people are living with diabetes. Unlike some chronic diseases, managing diabetes is extremely complex. Successful diabetes management requires creating new habits around medication adherence and glucose monitoring, change diets dramatically, exercise, and more.

Several companies including Abbott, Dexcom and Medtronic are working on Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems.

The Eversense CGM system received FDA approval in July after waiting more than two-and-a-half years for the clearance.

“Eversense provides people with diabetes the freedom from self-insertions and has a removable transmitter can be taken off and on for those times they don’t want anything on their body,” Gill wrote. “All glucose readings are sent directly to a smartphone, so no additional receiver is required. The system also has on-body vibe alerts and audible alerts to warn if glucose levels are too high or about to go low, which is especially important during the night.”

Senseonics recently announced that Eversense would be integrating with Glooko’s diabetes management system.

A common complaint among workers in factories, construction sites and several other fields is back pain. While back injuries affect more than 1 million workers, it costs the nation billions of dollars each year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Related Hyundai Motor Deploys Industrial Exoskeletons in its North American Plants

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK and for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin have now developed ErgoJack – a soft-robotic wearable robotics system for the upper body. The smart soft orthosis relieves back strain and encourage workers to execute strenuous movements in a more ergonomic way, says a press release.

The IPK orthosis uses motion analysis to distinguish between ergonomic and unergonomic movements. The miniaturized motion sensors are located on the shoulders, back and thighs. An intelligent real-time motion analysis captures ergonomic and non-ergonomic movements and delivers a vibration alarm in case of malposition or overload. Inertial measurement units (IMU) built into the vest compare pre-learned movement patterns with the worker’s actual movement and assess it in real time. This takes just a few hundred milliseconds, says a press release.

“Our soft robotic upper-body orthosis’ unique selling point is its real-time motion analysis. Specially developed algorithms based on machine learning and AI enable the ergonomics to be analyzed. This sets this orthosis apart from commercially available exoskeletons. The latter are wearable robots that, inherently to their functional principles, amplify all types of movements – even unergonomic ones – and merely divert the load placed on the wearer from an overloaded part of the body to a less taxed area,” says Dipl.-Ing. Henning Schmidt, a scientist at Fraunhofer IPK.

Related Ford Unveils Exoskeleton Vests Worldwide to Help Lessen Worker Fatigue and Injury

The soft robotics vest also features robust, miniaturized electronics, including an embedded controller, a vibration module and a rechargeable battery. Fraunhofer IPK’s is to design the system layout, human-system-interface, mechanics, electronics and software including the machine learning/AI real-time algorithm.

“The real-time algorithm requires complex calculations and has to be very robust, but a very small data set suffices to train the system to a new worker’s movement pattern,” says Schmidt.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer announced Connected Modular 45 Golf Edition – a golf-focused version of its Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 Wear OS smartwatch at the Baselworld 2019. According to the company the new watch is “A special edition to improve your game on golf courses around the world. Discover a unique watch and application dedicated to golf, and enjoy a connected caddy on your wrist for all of your games.”

Related Garmin’s Approach S40 is a Stylish Smartwatch that’s Especially Designed for Golfers

The overall design of the watch is golf-centered, and its shock-resistant 45mm dial boasts a black ceramic bezel ring engraved with the numbers 1 through 18 for the 18 holes in a round of golf. As it is made from ceramic, the white lacquered numbers won’t fade, and a sheet of sapphire crystal covers the 400 x 400 pixel screen.

The titanium body is strong but feels light due to its lower 64-gram weight. It is suitable for wearing for hours on the golf course.

The fine-looking strap is made of white synthetic leather with green stitching making it perfect to wear on a sunny day.

The smartwatch is identical to other Connected Modular 45 watches. Powered by Atom processor, the watch has 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage space, GPS, NFC, microphone, tilt detection sensor, gyroscope, a 410-mAh battery, and runs on Google Wear OS.

The sapphire cover glass is 2.5 mm thick, and scratch resistant.

The free Golf app works on both iOS and Android smartphones. It has 3D renderings of more than 39,000 golf courses and also provides performance stats. But, you’ll need your smartphone to see the 3D course mapping and the watch will display interactive 2D course mapping, reports Android Headlines.

TAG Heuer says its databases are up-to-date and it routinely checks for new courses and adds them to the database to make sure its 3D maps are accurate.

Related GolfLogix Apple Watch App Provides Golfers with Yardages, Green Images, Hole Selection and More

The watch comes in an attractive collector’s box. Inside the box there is an extra black rubber strap and 3 Tag Heuer-branded Titleist golf balls.

The watch is available now for $1,850.

Pacemakers are designed to monitor and record the rate and rhythm of the heart and make sure the heart rate doesn’t get too slow. An ICD acts as a pacemaker, but it can also detect dangerously fast heart rates, called ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, and stop them. However, these devices don’t do anything to improve the heart’s innate ability to contract. Now, Impulse Dynamics’ Optimizer® Smart System for delivering cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) Therapy has received approval from FDA. The system is the first and only CCM device approved by the FDA to improve 6-minute hall walk distance, quality of life and functional status of NYHA Class III heart failure patients.

Read more BIOTRONIK Receives FDA Approval for Six Tachycardia Devices

“With the FDA’s approval of the Optimizer System for the delivery of CCM, we finally have available in the US an effective device-based therapy for advanced heart failure patients with mildly to moderately reduced left ventricular ejection fractions who are not eligible for CRT,” said Professor William T. Abraham, MD, Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Cell Biology, and College of Medicine Distinguished Professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “The Optimizer System, along with guideline-directed medical therapies, can improve the lives of many heart failure patients in the US who previously did not have access to this therapy. As such, it represents a real game-changer for these patients.”

CCM is a unique electrical pulse delivered during the absolute refractory period, which is just after the heart contracts. In contrast to a pacemaker or defibrillator, CCM works by modulating the strength of the heart muscle contraction rather than the rhythm, reports Impulse Dynamics.

“FDA approval is the culmination of many years of clinical development for this disruptive technology, addressing a significant unmet need in today’s heart failure treatment paradigm,” commented Dr. Daniel Burkhoff, Impulse Dynamics’ Medical Advisor. “We continue to develop the technology with ongoing clinical trials designed to evaluate CCM therapy in additional heart failure populations.”

Read more Masimo SedLine in Combination with O3 Regional Oximetry Helps Surgeons Understand Cerebral Desaturations During Cardiac Surgery

Impulse Dynamics develops electrical therapies for the treatment of chronic heart failure. The company has operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Dr. Chris Castel is an expert in MedTech and the CEO of CareWear® Corp Wearable Therapeutics. CareWear® has developed an advanced wearable photobiomodulation therapy system that helps athletes to perform better and recover faster. We had a chance to chat with Chris, learn more about the success of CareWear® and their experiences in Innovation World Cup®.

1. WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND CAREWEAR®?
CareWear® applies photobiomodulation therapy (PBMt) using flexible micro-printed LEDs for pain management and tissue recovery. The light is evenly distributed on the skin and enhances blood flow, reduces muscle soreness, and treats pain from injuries. Additionally, CareWear® can assist in killing bacteria and reducing inflammation for the treatment of acne.

2. WHAT MAKES CAREWEAR® AN ADVANCE IN THE MARKET?
Conventional light treatment requires bulky equipment and clinical visits that take significant time and money. Patients are often confused regarding correct dosage and treatment time. With CareWear®, it simply becomes Stick, Click and Go! Because the CareWear® light patch is wearable, and its controller is pre-programmed for accurate dosage, it becomes a mobile, convenient, and effective treatment for patients.

3. HOW DO PATIENTS KNOW THE CORRECT DOSE?
Each patch has a memory that helps to determine what kind of patch it is, the treatment type, the light power and the necessary treatment time. CareWear® meets the safety requirement to be certified as a FDA class II over-the-counter medical device. It is thus available for both professional and non-professional use without a prescription.

4. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOUR COMPANY TO FULLY DEVELOP THIS PRODUCT?
Approximately 2 years – we have a very good team with a high level of expertise.

5. WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
We started selling the CareWear® Wearable Light system in September 2018. So far, we have sold a significant number of units in the US market and received positive responses from our users. The next step is to implement more marketing campaigns and establish more e-commerce channels to effectively penetrate the market.

6. WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE WT/IOT INNOVATION WORLD CUP® JOURNEY?
The IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® has done a good job in stimulating an interactive environment to meet and to talk. It provides a roadmap for start-ups and entrepreneurs, a useful platform for B2B and strategic partnership. The IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® is a vehicle for companies to come and see how the market is developing. It creates opportunities for start-ups that lack the experience level to learn and improve their business models and product offerings. CareWear® participates in wearable technologies events, but we are selective about the events we attend. The option for the IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® meets our objectives, as we can network and expose our image with professional partners from multiple countries.

7. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR OTHER COMPANIES BEFORE ENTERING THE WT/IOT World Cup®?
Companies should determine their reason for attendance, especially for networking and strategic partnership development. Entrepreneurs should be aware of the complexity in developing medical devices. The standard is high and so is the investment. A good piece of advice is to work with experienced partners, manufacturers, and R&D institutes. Proper preparation prior to the product launch is the key to success.

Explore further:

Visit CareWear® homepage for further insight into their reusable light patch, which is so useful in pre-training, post-training or post-injury. Anytime and anywhere, in the training room, while traveling or at home!

Dr. Chris Castel will be attending the next WT | Wearable Technologies conference USA as a speaker. Meet him and learn about Carewear® this summer in San Francisco.

Dharma Teja Nukarapu is the CEO & Founder of SharkDreams. SharkDreams has ambitious plans for bringing affordable healthcare available for everyone regardless of their background and environment. In the interview, Dharma shared with us his thoughts about helping lower-income communities with technology.

Tell us a little bit about your participation in the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in Munich.

Though SharkDreams has participated in a number of WT events over the past year, Munich’s showcase stood out because it was a culmination of insights we gathered from traveling the globe. Rather than demo one product or facet of LIVIT as we have in the past, we offered Munich’s crowd a peek into the many-armed solution that LIVIT’s ecosystem has become and will continue to augment into with our upcoming collaborations, releases, and appearances worldwide.

What is the one thing you want people to know about SharkDreams?

SharkDreams is mainly focused on bringing care to patients in different environments. We are unique because we are an end-to-end solution, providing the software and hardware, to various healthcare companies—business to business—to then supply advanced technology to their patients through our advanced ecosystem.

Talk to us a little about the major health concerns affecting the Indian population and how you plan to address them.

70% of the Indian population lives in rural areas, meaning they don’t even have access to basic care, and all of the specialty healthcare providers are at least 15 miles away from these rural communities. More often than not, the rural populations suffer from a lower quality of life, meaning they have a greater susceptibility to disease—especially if left untreated. Affordability is another huge problem; this means that if 70% of the population doesn’t have access to quality care, then they are not likely to have the funds necessary for basic care. It’s very important to take advanced technology at an affordable level to these communities—not just through basic care but through connecting these communities to our virtual care systems in a wider healthcare network.

How do you want to improve the Indian healthcare market, which is the largest in the world?

By starting from the ground up. We want to start with the basics of care and promote awareness and coaching to make advanced technology part of their routine. This is the first milestone for improving the market that can then be built upon later.

How can your software—and wearables in general—help lower-income communities and afford their residents more connection?

Our devices are made with affordability and accessibility in mind. The intent is to not just serve those of higher income communities, but to establish an ecosystem capable of addressing people from all backgrounds. In the market of highly depreciable electronics, building disposable, recyclable devices with the required accurate data was important to make the technology available for the mass market. This efficient combination of technology and implementation provides the meticulous tracking necessary for improving patient care outcomes.

What hurdles do you have to overcome to realize your vision—especially in terms of governmental regulations?

It’s always a challenge to convey the vision to decision-makers in different countries—whether due to technology exposure, budgets, priorities, or other governmental preferences. India has very solid regulations in place, which are world-standard, and these are comparable to the standards we’ve seen in European countries and within the US.

Will SharkDreams/LIVIT improve healthcare in Europe, as well?

SharkDreams/LIVIT have already started their global spread, so we are well on our way to implementing our advanced healthcare solutions in Europe and other areas across the globe. Our solutions are not region-specific; we focus on healthcare around the world and cater to providers regardless of location. Our universal approach makes us what we are—an ecosystem capable of being applied to any situation in any geographical area.

What’s next for SharkDreams? Where do you see SharkDreams in three years?

In three years, we want to be helping pharmaceutical companies develop DNA-based drug formulation. We’re constantly monitoring our patients so we can help them customize their drugs for better outcomes, better affordability, and better accessibility.

Dharma Teja Nukarapu will be speaking at WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco July 9-10. WT | Wearable Technologies events give excellent opportunities to network and connect with wearable tech professionals and to promote your products and projects. The conference in San Francisco will bring together experts of the industry for already the 34th time!

Semiconductor maker Semtech and innovative hearing care solutions provider Sonova Holding AG announced they jointly developed advanced radio system intended for use in Sonova’s hearing aids. This ultra-small integrated circuit (IC) is a main component for a new generation of hearing aids, enabling support for multiple radio protocols in the 2.4GHz band, as well as effective operation on very low power.

Read more Eargo Launches Eargo Neo Invisible Hearing Aids at CES 2019

“This chip allows Sonova to move in a new direction with our hearing aids,” said Marc Secall, Director Research & Development Wireless at Sonova, said in a press release. “The breakthrough radio technology and power management are the game changers for hearing aids. It allows them to support a number of applications that have previously not been possible in a hearing aid, all at low power consumption and low supply voltage. Possible applications span from connectivity to any Bluetooth® enabled audio device (e.g. a smartphone or television) to full duplex audio streaming between hearing aids and connectivity to wireless microphones.”

Jean-Paul Bardyn, Vice President of Research and Development of Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group said his company continues to create flexible and reliable solutions for the best radio frequency connectivity at the lowest power and 0.8V supply voltage. “Sonova has long been a leader for hearing devices. By implementing Semtech’s technology and enabling access to the Cloud, we believe that these devices will enrich the IoT-connected solutions which Semtech is serving with LoRa Technologt,” he said.

Read more Starkey’s New Livio AI Hearing Aid Doubles As a Fitness Tracker

Stafa, Switzerland-based Sonova is the leading provider of innovative hearing care solutions. The group operates through its core business brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton, Advanced Bionics, and AudioNova.

Semtech Corporation is a California-based leading supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms for high-end consumer, enterprise computing, communications, and industrial equipment.

Caesarea, Israel-based Itamar Medical launched WatchPAT 300, the next generation WatchPAT system for home sleep apnea testing.  New developments in the WatchPAT 300 are designed to enhance both patients’ experience as well as provide physicians with a trusted and cost-effective method for rapid, scalable and effective diagnosis of sleep apnea.

Read more Alphabet’s Verily Partners Up With ResMed to Study Sleep Apnea

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave clearance to WatchPAT 300 on August 17, 2018 and the system will gradually replace the current WatchPAT 200 platform, reports press release.

“Sleep apnea has reached epidemic levels and is estimated to affect 25 percent of adults worldwide,” said Gilad Glick, President and CEO of Itamar Medical. “This has significant health and economic implications, as half of all patients with cardiovascular disease are believed to suffer from sleep apnea and the total cost of unmanaged obstructive sleep apnea is $150 billion each year in the United States alone. Addressing the challenge of efficiently and cost-effectively diagnosing the millions of patients with undiagnosed sleep apnea requires a simple, accurate and scalable modality. We believe that WatchPAT 300 – which demonstrates Itamar Medical’s continued commitment to innovation focused on meeting the needs of patients, health systems, payers and physicians – can play a critical role in solving this challenge.”

The intuitively designed WatchPAT system is easy to use and removes the need for cumbersome nasal canula or chest belts. It is based on the peripheral arterial tone signal (PAT) and uses its advanced actigraphy to differentiate between wake and sleep periods to calculate true sleep time. PAT amplitude and pulse rate is used to differentiate between non-rapid eye movement (REM) and REM sleep. It also provides clinically validated sleep architecture, based on sleep stages, including sleep efficiency, sleep latency and REM latency. Its total sleep time reduces the risk of misdiagnosis and misclassification that has been reported to be 20 percent in studies using total recording time.

The WatchPAT 300 will be showcased at SLEEP 2019 on June 8-12 in San Antonio, Texas.

Read more The Improved Withings Sleep Now Offers Sleep Apnea Tracking

Itamar Medical develops, manufactures and markets non-invasive diagnostic medical devices for sleep apnea with a focus on the cardiology market. The company’s EndoPAT™ system is an FDA-approved device to test endothelial dysfunction and to evaluate the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

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It has been rumored for some time now that Apple is trying to get into Augmented Reality space. Now, reports have surfaced that Apple is working on a pair of augmented reality smartglasses, and it may rely on iPhone to work.

Read more Apple Watch Could Have Sleep Tracking by 2020, Say Rumors

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple patent for a “Method for representing points of interest in a view of a real environment on a mobile device and mobile device therefore” effectively describes how an AR system could point out important areas in a landscape for a user.

The headset could go into mass production as soon as the fourth quarter of 2019 and as late as the second quarter of 2020, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, whose projections about new Apple products have been accurate in the past, reports Business Insider.

The heavy lifting on the headsets will be handled by the iPhone which will perform the computing, rendering, and internet connectivity, while the headset itself will serve as a display for integrating digital imagery into the real world, according to the report.

The closest we can to when comparing Apple’s new project is probably Magic Leap’s first AR headset, which employs a similar setup. The wearable system created by Magic Leap consists of a circular computer and a battery pack meant to be worn on the body, while a cable connects those components to pair of smart goggles.

Apple reportedly started putting a team together to build virtual and augmented reality headsets shortly after the launch of the Apple Watch. Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed interest in augmented reality just before the company released ARKit in 2017.

Read more Google Glass Lives! It’s Back Now with Artificial Intelligence

“AR is going to take a while, because there are some really hard technology challenges there,” Cook said during a talk with former Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2016. “But it will happen, it will happen in a big way, and we will wonder when it does, how we ever lived without it. Like we wonder how we lived without our phone today.”

HP’s latest VR headset, the Reverb is intended for the commercial market, but it could find a place in the consumer space as well. According to report, Reverb, featuring an astonishingly sharp resolution of 2,160 by 2,160 pixels per eye, is ready to take on HTC Vive Pro and Samsung Odyssey, reports End Gadget.

“As the commercial VR segment is expected to grow to $34 billion by 2022, customers are seeking lifelike VR viewing to help open doors to new business opportunities in product design, training, and engineering,” said Spike Huang, vice president and global lead of VR of HP Inc, in press release. “The time for commercial VR is now and adding HP Reverb to our broader virtual reality portfolio is an important step in addressing this growing market.”

Read more HP’s New Gaming Headset Cools You Down

The new headset was revealed on March 19 during the company’s global partner conference, HP Reinvent. It delivers the most powerful Windows Mixed Reality experience yet. A horde of upgrades puts it face to face with not only enterprise devices but consumer-focused headsets as well.

The head mounted display (HMD) comes with a built-in inside-out 6-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) positional tracking, eliminating the need for any external sensors. It also has its own spatial audio headset. There are two front-facing cameras for augmented reality applications. The device also comes with Bluetooth connected motion controllers that’s simple to setup.

The ultra-light (1.1 pounds), ultra-immersive HP Reverb VR Headset features redesigned optics to increase the visual “sweet spot.” HP Reverb also features smart assistant compatible dual microphones for a greater immersive experience and collaboration in multi-user VR environments.

“With more than 2,500 VR experiences available and counting, Windows Mixed Reality continues to serve as the home for cutting-edge innovations that are fundamentally changing the way we work and play,” said Alex Kipman, Technical Fellow, Microsoft. “The HP Reverb headset is an amazing example of the type of innovation we are seeing take place as we push forward and bring the next era of computing – the era of mixed reality – to the masses.”

Read more Acer Introduces OJO 500 Detachable Windows Mixed Reality Headset

The consumer version of the Reverb will cost $599, when it lands in late April. There’s also a $649 professional version coming.

The long-awaited second-generation Airpods are finally here, and Apple promises faster connect with more talk time and hands-free Siri in the new wireless earbuds.

The “Hey Siri” functionality allows users to control volume and swap songs through voice commands. There’s no longer a need to tap on the AirPods to activate Siri in this version.

Read more Apple Watch Could Have Sleep Tracking by 2020, Say Rumors

“AirPods delivered a magical wireless experience and have become one of the most beloved products we’ve ever made. They connect easily with all of your devices, and provide crystal clear sound and intuitive, innovative control of your music and audio,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The world’s best wireless headphones just got even better with the new AirPods. They are powered by the new Apple-designed H1 chip which brings an extra hour of talk time, faster connections, hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ and the convenience of a new wireless battery case.”

The updated Airpods are powered by Apple’s new chip, the H1. The Airpods will have better battery life and include the option of a new wireless charging case, Apple said in a statement.

The new chip features custom audio architecture to create a revolutionary audio experience and improved synchronization. H1 allows AirPods to deliver up to 50 percent more talk time compared to first generation AirPods. The two times faster connect times makes it more seamless to switch between devices while listening to music on iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad.

The new AirPods come with either the standard charging case or the new Wireless Charging Case.

Read more Nanusens Technology Can Increase Battery Life of Earbuds by up to 20 Percent

Price and Availability

The new AirPods with a standard charging case are priced at $159, while those with wireless charging case run you $199.

The second generation Airpods will be available in Apple Stores next week, between March 25 and March 30.