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Kaia Health Partners with Chiesi Group to Commercialize Kaia COPD Rehab App in Europe

Kaia Health partners with Chiesi Group to market its COPD app in Europe, enhancing patient care.

Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health is partnering with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Group to commercialize its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation app in Europe.

Read more Hexoskin Smart Shirt Accurately Measures Breathing, Could be Useful for Monitoring COPD

The agreement marks one of the first times in respiratory care that a digital therapeutics company and pharmaceutical company are partnering to bring patients a digital therapeutic that supports COPD treatment outcomes through behavior change, rather than relying on pharmacology.

“Our strategic partnership with Chiesi, a growing global company with an established European commercial presence, brings a wealth of experience in navigating the respiratory health landscape in Europe, while expanding patient access to evidence-based, digital physical pulmonary rehabilitation,” said Konstantin Mehl, Founder and President, Kaia Health. “The entire Kaia Health team is excited to join forces with Chiesi to enhance COPD patient care and quality of life through digital therapeutics”.

COPD is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the lungs, damaged lung tissue and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. It is an enormous cost for healthcare systems in Europe.

Under the partnership arrangement, the evidence-backed Kaia Health COPD digital therapeutic, which delivers a personalized, physical pulmonary rehabilitation experience, will be highly focused on key markets in Europe., Chiesi Group said in a press release.

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The Kaia COPD solution consists of a mobile app-based software program, accessed via an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and an interface for motivational support that can be delivered by a provider such as health coaches or healthcare professionals. It digitizes and delivers affordable, accessible, physical Pulmonary Rehabilitation – an essential component of COPD treatment – directly to patients’ homes on their smartphone. The app also delivers comprehensive education and customized daily training sessions, along with mindfulness and stress relief exercises, augmented with human coaching support and individualized therapy. The Kaia COPD solution has been investigated in one pilot trial and is currently the subject of an ongoing RCT in Europe. The Kaia Health COPD app is CE Marked in Europe as a Class 1 medical device.

Kaia Health is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven advancement of digital therapeutics.

Read more Spry Health’s the Loop System Wearable Gets FDA Clearance for Monitoring COPD Patients

“We’re pleased to partner with Kaia Health to complement and further strengthen our portfolio in the respiratory therapeutic area, expanding our ability to address patient care through a non-pharmacological approach” said Ugo Di Francesco, Chief Executive Officer of the Chiesi Group. “This agreement embodies Chiesi’s commitment to providing the highest level of care and quality of life possible for people living with COPD and other respiratory diseases, going beyond merely those issues addressable through medication. We have been impressed with Kaia Health’s experience to date bringing impactful digital solutions to the European market and are looking forward to helping European COPD patients benefit from their expertise”.

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Kaia Health Partners With Chiesi Group to Commercialize Kaia COPD Rehabilitation App in Europe

Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health is partnering with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Group to...

Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health is partnering with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Group to commercialize its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation app in Europe.

Read more: Hexoskin Smart Shirt Accurately Measures Breathing, Could be Useful for Monitoring COPD

The agreement marks one of the first times in respiratory care that a digital therapeutics company and pharmaceutical company are partnering to bring patients a digital therapeutic that supports COPD treatment outcomes through behavior change, rather than relying on pharmacology.

“Our strategic partnership with Chiesi, a growing global company with an established European commercial presence, brings a wealth of experience in navigating the respiratory health landscape in Europe, while expanding patient access to evidence-based, digital physical pulmonary rehabilitation,” said Konstantin Mehl, Founder and President, Kaia Health. “The entire Kaia Health team is excited to join forces with Chiesi to enhance COPD patient care and quality of life through digital therapeutics”.

COPD is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the lungs, damaged lung tissue and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. It is an enormous cost for healthcare systems in Europe.

Under the partnership arrangement, the evidence-backed Kaia Health COPD digital therapeutic, which delivers a personalized, physical pulmonary rehabilitation experience, will be highly focused on key markets in Europe., Chiesi Group said in a press release.

The Kaia COPD solution consists of a mobile app-based software program, accessed via an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and an interface for motivational support that can be delivered by a provider such as health coaches or healthcare professionals. It digitizes and delivers affordable, accessible, physical Pulmonary Rehabilitation - an essential component of COPD treatment - directly to patients' homes on their smartphone. The app also delivers comprehensive education and customized daily training sessions, along with mindfulness and stress relief exercises, augmented with human coaching support and individualized therapy. The Kaia COPD solution has been investigated in one pilot trial and is currently the subject of an ongoing RCT in Europe. The Kaia Health COPD app is CE Marked in Europe as a Class 1 medical device.

Kaia Health is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven advancement of digital therapeutics.

Read more: Spry Health’s the Loop System Wearable Gets FDA Clearance for Monitoring COPD Patients

“We’re pleased to partner with Kaia Health to complement and further strengthen our portfolio in the respiratory therapeutic area, expanding our ability to address patient care through a non-pharmacological approach” said Ugo Di Francesco, Chief Executive Officer of the Chiesi Group. “This agreement embodies Chiesi’s commitment to providing the highest level of care and quality of life possible for people living with COPD and other respiratory diseases, going beyond merely those issues addressable through medication. We have been impressed with Kaia Health’s experience to date bringing impactful digital solutions to the European market and are looking forward to helping European COPD patients benefit from their expertise”.

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How Digital Technology Is Helping in the Fight Against COVID-19

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are transforming global socioeconomic structures. Experts...

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are transforming global socioeconomic structures. Experts are expecting an impact that is astronomical in terms of the number of lives lost and jobs disappeared. As the whole world is taking measures to contain the pandemic, digital technology is helping in the fight.

Read more: Oura Ring Detects Fever, A Common Symptom of COVID-19, Before It Occurs

Scientists are making efforts to develop diagnostic tests to detect the virus in order to correctly diagnose patients, enact measures such as isolation and quarantine, and manage their treatment accordingly. Companies are developing artificial intelligence solutions for the detection of respiratory diseases quickly tailored their software to differentiate COVID-19 from other respiratory infections, decreasing image analysis time to a matter of seconds.

According to Ahmad AbuSalah, health informatics and intelligence officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, the pandemic is highlighting the need to drive digital maturity with investment, while addressing data sharing models, reports MobiHealthNews. “One of the challenges that we face here in the Middle East are data collaboration and data sharing. As you know, data is the backbone of digital transformation. Using data discovery tools, I can tell in a secure way how many patients are available in the hospital in that region,” Mr. AbuSalah said.

Wearables have also been explored by countries as a means of contact tracing and safe reopening. British telecommunications firm Vodafone is deploying heat detection cameras at the entrance or reception area of workplaces. The cameras are made by surveillance tech maker Digital Barriers.

Canadian technology company Proxxi launched Halo, a wearable band to help employees maintain social distancing at work. Halo notifies wearers that another band is within 6 feet (2 meters), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

Read more: BlueCats Launches Fully Configurable Wearable Contact Tracing Solution

Rapid innovation and implementation of digital technology has allowed healthcare firms to navigate the challenges from the covid-19 pandemic and safely care for their patients. Willingness to rapidly adopt technology has truly helped healthcare professionals during this time of fear and uncertainty.

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Oura Ring Detects Fever, A Common Symptom of COVID-19 - Before It Occurs

Wearables predict illness early using temperature data, finds Scientific Reports study.

Wearables can predict the onset of illnesses using longitudinal temperature data even before symptoms appear, according to new research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study showed that temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Read more NBA Players To Wear Oura Smart Ring To Track COVID-19 Symptoms

The Scientific Reports paper is the first published result from TemPredict, a study of more than 65,000 people wearing a ring manufactured by Finnish startup Oura, that records temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and levels of activity. The goal of the study is to develop an algorithm that can predict the onset of symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue, which are characteristic of COVID-19. Researchers say they hope to reach that goal by the end of the year. They also hope the algorithms will allow public health officials to act faster to contain the virus’ spread, reports UC San Diego News Center.

“This isn’t just a science problem, it’s a social problem,” said Benjamin Smarr, the paper’s corresponding author and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Halicioglu Data Sciences Institute at UC San Diego. “With wearable devices that can measure temperature, we can begin to envision a public COVID early alert system.”

The 50 subjects in the study all owned Oura rings and had had COVID-19 before joining TemPredict. They provided symptom summaries for their illnesses and gave researchers access to the data their Oura rings had collected during the period when they were sick. The signal for fever onset was not subtle, Smarr said. “The chart tracking people who had a fever looked like it was on fire.”

Smarr is TemPredict’s data analytics lead. Ashley Mason, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UC San Francisco, is the principal investigator of the study.

Researchers believe that the best algorithms to predict onset of COVID-19 will compare many variables, and won’t rely on just one signal. By looking at how temperature changes over time and comparing it to heart rate, heart rate variability and respiration rate at the same times, researchers determined that while most fever episodes correspond to changes in other variables too, it’s not a clean 1:1 match: sometimes the heart rate is up, but not the temperature, and vice versa. More variables gives a clearer picture, allowing detection to be precise across disease manifestations. (UC-San Diego)

“If wearables allow us to detect COVID-19 early, people can begin physical isolation practices and obtain testing so as to reduce the spread of the virus,” Mason said. In this way, an ounce of prevention may be worth even more than a pound of cure.”

Wearables such as the Oura ring can collect temperature data continuously throughout the day and night, allowing researchers to measure people’s true temperature baselines and identify fever peaks more accurately. “Temperature varies not only from person to person but also for the same person at different times of the day,” Smarr said.

The study, he explains, highlights the importance of collecting data continuously over long periods of time. Incidentally, the lack of continuous data is also why temperature spot checks are not effective for detecting COVID-19. These spot checks are the equivalent of catching a syllable per minute in a conversation, rather than whole sentences, Smarr said.

Read more Oura Ring’s New Feature ‘Moment’ Tracks Your Meditation

In the Scientific Reports paper, Smarr and colleagues noticed that fever onset often happened before subjects were reporting symptoms, and even to those who never reported other symptoms. “It supports the hypothesis that some fever-like events may go unreported or unnoticed without being truly asymptomatic,” the researchers write. “Wearables therefore may contribute to identifying rates of asymptomatic [illness] as opposed to unreported illness, [which is] of special importance in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Digital CBT Most Cost-Effective Intervention for Poor Sleep - Reveals New Study

Digital CBT is cost-effective for insomnia, improving access and reducing healthcare costs.

A new study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Big Health, a leading digital therapeutics provider, finds that digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (dCBT)—when compared to other care options such as sleep medication, group and individual CBT—is the most cost-effective intervention for helping people overcome poor sleep.

Read more Wearable Maker Zepp Reveals Sleep Study Results, Launches Personalized Digital Lullaby Generator

Published in the journal SLEEP, the study examined the cost-effectiveness of dCBT over a six-month period using a Markov model simulation of 100,000 individuals and measured the direct and indirect costs of insomnia, including health care expenditures, workplace accidents, and workplace productivity.

The results showed that, when compared to no insomnia treatment, dCBT—as represented by Big Health’s Sleepio—was the most cost-effective care option followed by group CBT, sleep medication, and then individual CBT. Sleepio had a positive net monetary benefit of $681.06 per individual over a six-month period. A positive result means that the total cost benefits associated with Sleepio were greater than its direct cost, reports BusinessWire.

Beyond cost, “digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help overcome significant barriers to insomnia treatment for millions of people, including limited access to clinicians in rural areas, the lack of trained clinicians and, for others, the lack of awareness of their treatment options,” said Dr. Andrew Krystal, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. “The near-universal availability of digital devices, including smartphones, gives dCBT the potential to reach many more people than traditional in-person group and individual CBT.”

“The results of this study demonstrate that dCBT can provide a significant return through lower healthcare expenditures, fewer workplace accidents, and better workplace productivity,” said Jenna Carl, Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Big Health. “In addition, its ability to provide a destigmatized and automated treatment option at scale makes it attractive for those suffering from poor sleep.”

Insomnia is a significant public health concern in the U.S. and it is estimated that 20-30% of the population experience symptoms each year. Costs related to insomnia have been estimated to be at least $1,400 per individual over six months (Ozminkowski et al., 2007; when costs are scaled to 2019 dollars). Insomnia is also associated with other costly mental health and chronic physical health conditions, such as depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Hertenstein E, et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2018; Javaheri et al., 2017).

Read more Huami Fitness Tracker Provides Clinical-Grade Accuracy, Says Stanford Sleep Study

Sleepio and Daylight are backed by world-leading clinical evidence with more than 56 papers including 13 randomized controlled trials. With offices in London and San Francisco, Big Health’s products are used by large multinational employers and major health plans to help improve sleep and mental health, covering millions of lives.

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Digital CBT Most Cost-Effective Intervention for Poor Sleep, Reveals New Study

A new study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at...

A new study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Big Health, a leading digital therapeutics provider, finds that digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (dCBT)—when compared to other care options such as sleep medication, group and individual CBT—is the most cost-effective intervention for helping people overcome poor sleep.

Read more: Wearable Maker Zepp Reveals Sleep Study Results, Launches Personalized Digital Lullaby Generator

Published in the journal SLEEP, the study examined the cost-effectiveness of dCBT over a six-month period using a Markov model simulation of 100,000 individuals and measured the direct and indirect costs of insomnia, including health care expenditures, workplace accidents, and workplace productivity.

The results showed that, when compared to no insomnia treatment, dCBT—as represented by Big Health’s Sleepio—was the most cost-effective care option followed by group CBT, sleep medication, and then individual CBT. Sleepio had a positive net monetary benefit of $681.06 per individual over a six-month period. A positive result means that the total cost benefits associated with Sleepio were greater than its direct cost, reports BusinessWire.

Beyond cost, “digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help overcome significant barriers to insomnia treatment for millions of people, including limited access to clinicians in rural areas, the lack of trained clinicians and, for others, the lack of awareness of their treatment options,” said Dr. Andrew Krystal, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. “The near-universal availability of digital devices, including smartphones, gives dCBT the potential to reach many more people than traditional in-person group and individual CBT.”

“The results of this study demonstrate that dCBT can provide a significant return through lower healthcare expenditures, fewer workplace accidents, and better workplace productivity,” said Jenna Carl, Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Big Health. “In addition, its ability to provide a destigmatized and automated treatment option at scale makes it attractive for those suffering from poor sleep.”

Insomnia is a significant public health concern in the U.S. and it is estimated that 20-30% of the population experience symptoms each year. Costs related to insomnia have been estimated to be at least $1,400 per individual over six months (Ozminkowski et al., 2007; when costs are scaled to 2019 dollars). Insomnia is also associated with other costly mental health and chronic physical health conditions, such as depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Hertenstein E, et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2018; Javaheri et al., 2017).

Read more: Huami Fitness Tracker Provides Clinical-Grade Accuracy, Says Stanford Sleep Study

Sleepio and Daylight are backed by world-leading clinical evidence with more than 56 papers including 13 randomized controlled trials. With offices in London and San Francisco, Big Health’s products are used by large multinational employers and major health plans to help improve sleep and mental health, covering millions of lives.

Text Link

Oura Ring Detects Fever, A Common Symptom of COVID-19, Before It Occurs

Wearables can predict the onset of illnesses using longitudinal temperature data even before...

Wearables can predict the onset of illnesses using longitudinal temperature data even before symptoms appear, according to new research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study showed that temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Read more: NBA Players To Wear Oura Smart Ring To Track COVID-19 Symptoms

The Scientific Reports paper is the first published result from TemPredict, a study of more than 65,000 people wearing a ring manufactured by Finnish startup Oura, that records temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and levels of activity. The goal of the study is to develop an algorithm that can predict the onset of symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue, which are characteristic of COVID-19. Researchers say they hope to reach that goal by the end of the year. They also hope the algorithms will allow public health officials to act faster to contain the virus’ spread, reports UC San Diego News Center.

“This isn’t just a science problem, it’s a social problem,” said Benjamin Smarr, the paper’s corresponding author and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Halicioglu Data Sciences Institute at UC San Diego. “With wearable devices that can measure temperature, we can begin to envision a public COVID early alert system.”

The 50 subjects in the study all owned Oura rings and had had COVID-19 before joining TemPredict. They provided symptom summaries for their illnesses and gave researchers access to the data their Oura rings had collected during the period when they were sick. The signal for fever onset was not subtle, Smarr said. “The chart tracking people who had a fever looked like it was on fire.”

Smarr is TemPredict’s data analytics lead. Ashley Mason, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UC San Francisco, is the principal investigator of the study.

“If wearables allow us to detect COVID-19 early, people can begin physical isolation practices and obtain testing so as to reduce the spread of the virus,” Mason said. In this way, an ounce of prevention may be worth even more than a pound of cure.”

Wearables such as the Oura ring can collect temperature data continuously throughout the day and night, allowing researchers to measure people’s true temperature baselines and identify fever peaks more accurately. “Temperature varies not only from person to person but also for the same person at different times of the day,” Smarr said.

The study, he explains, highlights the importance of collecting data continuously over long periods of time. Incidentally, the lack of continuous data is also why temperature spot checks are not effective for detecting COVID-19. These spot checks are the equivalent of catching a syllable per minute in a conversation, rather than whole sentences, Smarr said.

Read more: Oura Ring’s New Feature ‘Moment’ Tracks Your Meditation

In the Scientific Reports paper, Smarr and colleagues noticed that fever onset often happened before subjects were reporting symptoms, and even to those who never reported other symptoms. “It supports the hypothesis that some fever-like events may go unreported or unnoticed without being truly asymptomatic,” the researchers write. “Wearables therefore may contribute to identifying rates of asymptomatic [illness] as opposed to unreported illness, [which is] of special importance in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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BlueCats Introduces a Customizable Wearable Contact Tracing Solution

BlueCats launches a wearable solution for effective contact tracing and social distancing.

BlueCats, a leading provider of comprehensive Real-Time Location Solutions based in Austin, Texas, announced the launch of BlueCats Contact Tracing Solution (CTS). BlueCats CTS is a fully configurable wearable solution that provides the most accurate contact tracing and enables employees to adhere to social distancing guidelines with its distinct visual, physical and audible notifications so they know precisely when they are in close or nearby proximity to other employees without compromising privacy.

Related Arjo Partners with Vitalacy to Provide Hand Hygiene Monitoring and Contact Tracing Solutions

“Our goal has always been to provide solutions that create a safer working environment for our customers and their employees,” said Nathan Dunn, BlueCats CEO. “We are IoT and RTLS experts, and we applied our expertise to accelerate the development of the BlueCats CTS to address the urgent need for an accurate, real-time proximity solution that could be relied upon amidst the pandemic.”

BlueCats CTS is easy to use, can be set up within a few hours, and scales to enable businesses to make effective decisions based on accurate metrics and insights. The solution ensures privacy is paramount by requiring no access to employee personal or cell phone data. Using individual Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wearable devices, called SafetyTags, provides a layer of accuracy and anonymity. Data is digitally collected and assessed, increasing accuracy and speed and eliminating the opportunity for manual errors, reports BusinessWire.

Once the BlueCats CTS SafetyTag is associated with a person, it records all interactions with other SafetyTags. No location data is stored. Any contact events between SafetyTags is stored within Loop Cloud, BlueCats’ privacy protected database. In the event an employee becomes symptomatic or tests positive for COVID-19, the employer can instantly produce a contact report via BlueCats’ Loop Cloud platform. Within minutes, specific employees that were in close contact with the infected employee can be appropriately notified, quarantined, and tested anonymously instead of having to shut down an entire facility or sideline an entire shift, quelling concerns in the workplace and ensuring seamless operations.

“While vaccines are being distributed across the world, the harsh reality is not every employee is willing or able to be vaccinated,” Dunn continued. “Accurate and reliable contact tracing is a business necessity for many companies to create a safe workplace capable of accommodating vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.”

Related Coolpad Partners With M2MD To Develop Innovative Social Distancing and Contact Tracing Solutions For Workplace

While the urgent need for contact tracing is most impactful during a pandemic, BlueCats’ UWB-based solution provides additional value when used for asset and personnel tracking, man-down, time on tool, and much more.

BlueCats CTS is currently being used by innovative food processors, major construction companies, and manufacturers globally as well as in major U.S. municipalities.

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Vuzix Smart Glasses and Topcon’s MAGNET Software Enhance Efficiency on Construction Sites.

Vuzix Smart Glasses now work with Topcon MAGNET software to improve construction efficiency.

Vuzix Corporation that its Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group’s MAGNET software suite, which brings new efficiencies and hands-free usage to those working on-site and embraces the very latest developments in AR technology.

Read more Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses Being Used By Istanbul University To Support Remote Student Learning

“Vuzix Smart Glasses are being used worldwide in a variety of industries and use cases. Topcon’s recognition that our Smart Glasses can provide measurable benefits to the construction and surveying markets is great. We’re delighted that the Vuzix Smart Glasses combined with Topcon’s MAGNET software are aiding onsite productivity and keeping projects on schedule and within budget. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership,” stated Paul Travers, Vuzix President and Chief Executive Officer.

The European construction industry was expanding at a rapid rate prior to COVID-19 with industry projects estimated to have totaled approximately $2.8 trillion by 2023, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets. The industry is continuing to grow, however, especially in light of recent data which predicts a global population of 11.1 billion by 2050. While contractors may have been reluctant to advance from traditional and linear methodologies in the past, the industry is now rapidly adopting technology to successfully manage projects while complying with new COVID-19 requirements, according to a press release.

Given the pace of development within the wearable AR environment, the new compatibility with Topcon’s software provides digital engineers, surveyors, contractors, layout personnel and on-site Building Information Modeling (BIM) technicians with a new, enhanced processing opportunity that also offers distinct cost savings.   Providing visual aids on smart glasses lenses and enabling the control of instruments via voice-commands, this new combination of technology allows the user to precisely layout and measure points on a job site, increasing accuracy and productivity.

Onsite surveyors and engineers can benefit from smart glasses giving them hands-free access to positioning data for setting out markers and quality assurance. With safety a key priority on construction sites, the Vuzix safety-rated smart glasses also help users to work safely and increase situational awareness by reducing the need to look down at a tablet, allowing the user to use voice commands to capture and mark points.  More on this solution can be found here.

Adam Box, Business Development Manager Vertical Construction at Topcon Positioning Group, said: “This new compatibility with Vuzix Smart Glasses represents the next generation of surveying equipment in the European market. Coupling this advanced technology with our already popular MAGNET software suite means that enhanced productivity, efficiency, and reduced costs can become a reality on many projects across the region. This is key at this point in time when much of the industry is looking to accelerate economic recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read more Pixee Medical Successfully Finishes its First Total Knee Replacement Surgery Guided Only by the Vuzix M400 AR Glasses

Topcon Positioning Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial, and agriculture markets. The company is headquartered in Livermore, California.

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Vuzix Smart Glasses Combined With Topcon’s MAGNET Software Boost Efficiency In Construction Sites

Vuzix Corporation that its Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group's...

Vuzix Corporation that its Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group's MAGNET software suite, which brings new efficiencies and hands-free usage to those working on-site and embraces the very latest developments in AR technology.

Read more: Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses Being Used By Istanbul University To Support Remote Student Learning

“Vuzix Smart Glasses are being used worldwide in a variety of industries and use cases. Topcon's recognition that our Smart Glasses can provide measurable benefits to the construction and surveying markets is great. We're delighted that the Vuzix Smart Glasses combined with Topcon's MAGNET software are aiding onsite productivity and keeping projects on schedule and within budget. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership,” stated Paul Travers, Vuzix President and Chief Executive Officer.

The European construction industry was expanding at a rapid rate prior to COVID-19 with industry projects estimated to have totaled approximately $2.8 trillion by 2023, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets. The industry is continuing to grow, however, especially in light of recent data which predicts a global population of 11.1 billion by 2050. While contractors may have been reluctant to advance from traditional and linear methodologies in the past, the industry is now rapidly adopting technology to successfully manage projects while complying with new COVID-19 requirements, according to a press release.

Given the pace of development within the wearable AR environment, the new compatibility with Topcon's software provides digital engineers, surveyors, contractors, layout personnel and on-site Building Information Modeling (BIM) technicians with a new, enhanced processing opportunity that also offers distinct cost savings.   Providing visual aids on smart glasses lenses and enabling the control of instruments via voice-commands, this new combination of technology allows the user to precisely layout and measure points on a job site, increasing accuracy and productivity.

Onsite surveyors and engineers can benefit from smart glasses giving them hands-free access to positioning data for setting out markers and quality assurance. With safety a key priority on construction sites, the Vuzix safety-rated smart glasses also help users to work safely and increase situational awareness by reducing the need to look down at a tablet, allowing the user to use voice commands to capture and mark points.  More on this solution can be found here.

Adam Box, Business Development Manager Vertical Construction at Topcon Positioning Group, said: “This new compatibility with Vuzix Smart Glasses represents the next generation of surveying equipment in the European market. Coupling this advanced technology with our already popular MAGNET software suite means that enhanced productivity, efficiency, and reduced costs can become a reality on many projects across the region. This is key at this point in time when much of the industry is looking to accelerate economic recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read more: Pixee Medical Successfully Finishes its First Total Knee Replacement Surgery Guided Only by the Vuzix M400 AR Glasses

Topcon Positioning Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial, and agriculture markets. The company is headquartered in Livermore, California.

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BlueCats Launches Fully Configurable Wearable Contact Tracing Solution

BlueCats, a leading provider of comprehensive Real-Time Location Solutions based in Austin, Texas...

BlueCats, a leading provider of comprehensive Real-Time Location Solutions based in Austin, Texas, announced the launch of BlueCats Contact Tracing Solution (CTS). BlueCats CTS is a fully configurable wearable solution that provides the most accurate contact tracing and enables employees to adhere to social distancing guidelines with its distinct visual, physical and audible notifications so they know precisely when they are in close or nearby proximity to other employees without compromising privacy.

Related: Arjo Partners with Vitalacy to Provide Hand Hygiene Monitoring and Contact Tracing Solutions

“Our goal has always been to provide solutions that create a safer working environment for our customers and their employees,” said Nathan Dunn, BlueCats CEO. “We are IoT and RTLS experts, and we applied our expertise to accelerate the development of the BlueCats CTS to address the urgent need for an accurate, real-time proximity solution that could be relied upon amidst the pandemic.”

BlueCats CTS is easy to use, can be set up within a few hours, and scales to enable businesses to make effective decisions based on accurate metrics and insights. The solution ensures privacy is paramount by requiring no access to employee personal or cell phone data. Using individual Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wearable devices, called SafetyTags, provides a layer of accuracy and anonymity. Data is digitally collected and assessed, increasing accuracy and speed and eliminating the opportunity for manual errors, reports BusinessWire.

Once the BlueCats CTS SafetyTag is associated with a person, it records all interactions with other SafetyTags. No location data is stored. Any contact events between SafetyTags is stored within Loop Cloud, BlueCats’ privacy protected database. In the event an employee becomes symptomatic or tests positive for COVID-19, the employer can instantly produce a contact report via BlueCats’ Loop Cloud platform. Within minutes, specific employees that were in close contact with the infected employee can be appropriately notified, quarantined, and tested anonymously instead of having to shut down an entire facility or sideline an entire shift, quelling concerns in the workplace and ensuring seamless operations.

“While vaccines are being distributed across the world, the harsh reality is not every employee is willing or able to be vaccinated,” Dunn continued. “Accurate and reliable contact tracing is a business necessity for many companies to create a safe workplace capable of accommodating vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.”

Related: Coolpad Partners With M2MD To Develop Innovative Social Distancing and Contact Tracing Solutions For Workplace

While the urgent need for contact tracing is most impactful during a pandemic, BlueCats’ UWB-based solution provides additional value when used for asset and personnel tracking, man-down, time on tool, and much more.

BlueCats CTS is currently being used by innovative food processors, major construction companies, and manufacturers globally as well as in major U.S. municipalities.

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Wearables with Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Modules Boost Efficiency in Law Enforcement

Wearables enhance law enforcement efficiency and safety in crime prevention and emergencies.

From crime and riot prevention to terrorism and catastrophes, today’s police force has to risk their lives to perform highly dangerous tasks. Faced with these extraordinary challenges, law enforcement agencies are turning to wearable devices to protect themselves, improve the efficiency of operations, while maintaining public safety at the same time.

Read more CommandWear Wearable Technology Helps Save Lives While Also Keeping First Responders Safe

IoT wearable devices are now becoming a part of smart law enforcement solutions that can combat crime, reports Fibicom.

Fibocom offers high-performance and cost-effective wireless communication solutions to facilitate data transmission and communication during law enforcement through its LTE Cat 1 Module L610.

Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Module L610 is an industrial-grade LTE Cat.1 module with maximum speed up to 10Mbps. What makes it more attractive is its high-performance capability compared with its affordability due to UNISOC’s good offer. It supports FDD-LTE/TDD-LTE/GSM long-distance communication and WiFi SCAN/Bluetooth short-range wireless transmission. Fibocom L610 has rich interfaces including UART/SPI/I2C/USB. Built-in LBS, Codec, supports TTS, recording, and VoLTE.

Body-Worn Camera cameras transmit real-time video through a high-speed LTE network, allowing law-enforcement personnel to share them with their headquarters. This allows commanders to better understand the situation and implement appropriate strategies.

Push-to-talk over Cellular (PPToC) is a popular method of communication among law enforcement personnel. PPToC combines the functionality of radio and smartphone technology in one device. It can be used nationwide and enables users to have one-to-many and one-to-one communication from their smartphone. PPToC uses the existing LTE cellular network and does not need any additional infrastructure to cover larger areas. The PPToC devices can be easily connected to the cloud and managed through the central system or by smartphone apps.

Read more How Wearables and IoT Can Help First Responders During an Emergency

Fibocom’s LTE Cat 1 Module L610 supports LTE, GSM dual-mode communication, VoLTE, audio, camera, LCD, keypad, and other functions. Formed as both LCC+LGA and MiniPCIe packages, it provides universal interfaces such as USB / UART / SPI / I2C / SDIO to meet various application demands of the IoT industry. The product positioning covers the Internet of things market with medium and low rates, such as pan payment, sharing, industrial interconnection, tracking, in-vehicle applications and other application scenarios. Provide perfect high-speed experience for customers in the above fields.

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How Virtual Reality Can Help Rehabilitate COVID Patients

VR could aid COVID-19 rehab by addressing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome, enhancing recovery.

Virtual reality (VR) could play a key role in COVID-19 rehabilitation, according to a paper published in BMJ Open Sport Exercise Medicine.

Read more AR, VR And Other Immersive Technologies Could Be The Future Of Digital Health

A new challenge in treating COVID-19 patients is Post-Intensive Care Syndrome after coronavirus infection, or PICS-COV. Many critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to the researchers, continue to have Post-Intensive Care Syndrome, even after the infection is gone, leaving a potential risk for physical, psychological and cognitive impairment.

A subset of COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) frequently required several weeks of such intensive care; furthermore, traditional PICS preventive measures, such as reduction of environmental stressors, early mobility or writing an ICU diary, are virtually impossible due to infection control precautions, prone positioning and deprivation of social contact. Consequently, COVID-19 patients potentially have a substantial need for physical, psychological and cognitive rehabilitation after discharge from the ICU and the hospital.3 In the present viewpoint, we discuss how Virtual Reality (VR) can provide rehabilitation to post-COVID-19 patients.

VR consists of a head-mounted display (HMD) that can bring the user by computer-generated visuals into an immersive, realistic multi-sensory environment.

Several studies suggest that VR can be beneficial in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Researchers believe the immersive experience of VR may increase therapy adherence among patients and distract them from experienced fatigue and anxiety.

Read more XRHealth Launches First Virtual Reality Telehealth Clinic

“We believe that VR therapy offers an opportunity for recovering COVID-19 patients and care providers to partake in efficient home-based and individualized rehabilitation, monitored at a distance. Several barriers for implementation will need to be overcome, including designing an appropriate, safe, easy-to-use and cost-effective VR toolkit, organizing home-based VR therapy and support at a distance, and reimbursement. Embedding VR in virtual care platforms would assist in overcoming these barriers and stimulating the spread of VR therapy, both for post-COVID-19 patients in the present and possibly for other patients with similar rehabilitation needs in the future,” the researchers concluded.

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How Virtual Reality Can Help Rehabilitate COVID-19 Patients

Virtual reality (VR) could play a key role in COVID-19 rehabilitation, according to a paper...

Virtual reality (VR) could play a key role in COVID-19 rehabilitation, according to a paper published in BMJ Open Sport Exercise Medicine.

Read more: AR, VR And Other Immersive Technologies Could Be The Future Of Digital Health

A new challenge in treating COVID-19 patients is Post-Intensive Care Syndrome after coronavirus infection, or PICS-COV. Many critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to the researchers, continue to have Post-Intensive Care Syndrome, even after the infection is gone, leaving a potential risk for physical, psychological and cognitive impairment.

A subset of COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) frequently required several weeks of such intensive care; furthermore, traditional PICS preventive measures, such as reduction of environmental stressors, early mobility or writing an ICU diary, are virtually impossible due to infection control precautions, prone positioning and deprivation of social contact. Consequently, COVID-19 patients potentially have a substantial need for physical, psychological and cognitive rehabilitation after discharge from the ICU and the hospital.3 In the present viewpoint, we discuss how Virtual Reality (VR) can provide rehabilitation to post-COVID-19 patients.

VR consists of a head-mounted display (HMD) that can bring the user by computer-generated visuals into an immersive, realistic multi-sensory environment.

Several studies suggest that VR can be beneficial in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Researchers believe the immersive experience of VR may increase therapy adherence among patients and distract them from experienced fatigue and anxiety.

Read more: XRHealth Launches First Virtual Reality Telehealth Clinic

“We believe that VR therapy offers an opportunity for recovering COVID-19 patients and care providers to partake in efficient home-based and individualized rehabilitation, monitored at a distance. Several barriers for implementation will need to be overcome, including designing an appropriate, safe, easy-to-use and cost-effective VR toolkit, organizing home-based VR therapy and support at a distance, and reimbursement. Embedding VR in virtual care platforms would assist in overcoming these barriers and stimulating the spread of VR therapy, both for post-COVID-19 patients in the present and possibly for other patients with similar rehabilitation needs in the future,” the researchers concluded.

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Wearables Powered by Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Modules Helping Law Enforcement Agencies To Improve Efficiency

From crime and riot prevention to terrorism and catastrophes, today’s police force has to risk...

From crime and riot prevention to terrorism and catastrophes, today’s police force has to risk their lives to perform highly dangerous tasks. Faced with these extraordinary challenges, law enforcement agencies are turning to wearable devices to protect themselves, improve the efficiency of operations, while maintaining public safety at the same time.

Read more: CommandWear Wearable Technology Helps Save Lives While Also Keeping First Responders Safe

IoT wearable devices are now becoming a part of smart law enforcement solutions that can combat crime, reports Fibicom.

Fibocom offers high-performance and cost-effective wireless communication solutions to facilitate data transmission and communication during law enforcement through its LTE Cat 1 Module L610.

Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Module L610 is an industrial-grade LTE Cat.1 module with maximum speed up to 10Mbps. What makes it more attractive is its high-performance capability compared with its affordability due to UNISOC's good offer. It supports FDD-LTE/TDD-LTE/GSM long-distance communication and WiFi SCAN/Bluetooth short-range wireless transmission. Fibocom L610 has rich interfaces including UART/SPI/I2C/USB. Built-in LBS, Codec, supports TTS, recording, and VoLTE.

Body-Worn Camera cameras transmit real-time video through a high-speed LTE network, allowing law-enforcement personnel to share them with their headquarters. This allows commanders to better understand the situation and implement appropriate strategies.

Push-to-talk over Cellular (PPToC) is a popular method of communication among law enforcement personnel. PPToC combines the functionality of radio and smartphone technology in one device. It can be used nationwide and enables users to have one-to-many and one-to-one communication from their smartphone. PPToC uses the existing LTE cellular network and does not need any additional infrastructure to cover larger areas. The PPToC devices can be easily connected to the cloud and managed through the central system or by smartphone apps.

Read more: How Wearables and IoT Can Help First Responders During an Emergency

Fibocom’s LTE Cat 1 Module L610 supports LTE, GSM dual-mode communication, VoLTE, audio, camera, LCD, keypad, and other functions. Formed as both LCC+LGA and MiniPCIe packages, it provides universal interfaces such as USB / UART / SPI / I2C / SDIO to meet various application demands of the IoT industry. The product positioning covers the Internet of things market with medium and low rates, such as pan payment, sharing, industrial interconnection, tracking, in-vehicle applications and other application scenarios. Provide perfect high-speed experience for customers in the above fields.

Text Link

Stretchable System Can Power Wearables by Harvesting Energy from Wearer

Researchers create a stretchable system to harvest energy from human movement for wearables.

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable health-monitoring devices may be possible, according to an international team of researchers, led by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in Penn State’s Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics.

The research team, with members from Penn State and Minjiang University and Nanjing University, both in China, recently published its results in Nano Energy, reports Penn State News.

According to Cheng, current versions of batteries and supercapacitors powering wearable and stretchable health-monitoring and diagnostic devices have many shortcomings, including low energy density and limited stretchability.

“This is something quite different than what we have worked on before, but it is a vital part of the equation,” Cheng said, noting that his research group and collaborators tend to focus on developing the sensors in wearable devices. “While working on gas sensors and other wearable devices, we always need to combine these devices with a battery for powering. Using micro-supercapacitors gives us the ability to self-power the sensor without the need for a battery.”

Read more Researchers Develop Wearable Textile That Harnesses Solar Energy And Converts Them Into Electrical Energy

An alternative to batteries, micro-supercapacitors are energy storage devices that can complement or replace lithium-ion batteries in wearable devices. Micro-supercapacitors have a small footprint, high power density, and the ability to charge and discharge quickly. However, according to Cheng, when fabricated for wearable devices, conventional micro-supercapacitors have a “sandwich-like” stacked geometry that displays poor flexibility, long ion diffusion distances and a complex integration process when combined with wearable electronics.

This led Cheng and his team to explore alternative device architectures and integration processes to advance the use of micro-supercapacitors in wearable devices. They found that arranging micro-supercapacitor cells in a serpentine, island-bridge layout allows the configuration to stretch and bend at the bridges, while reducing deformation of the micro-supercapacitors — the islands. When combined, the structure becomes what the researchers refer to as “micro-supercapacitors arrays.”

“By using an island-bridge design when connecting cells, the micro-supercapacitor arrays displayed increased stretchability and allowed for adjustable voltage outputs,” Cheng said. “This allows the system to be reversibly stretched up to 100%.”

By using non-layered, ultrathin zinc-phosphorus nanosheets and 3D laser-induced graphene foam — a highly porous, self-heating nanomaterial — to construct the island-bridge design of the cells, Cheng and his team saw drastic improvements in electric conductivity and the number of absorbed charged ions. This proved that these micro-supercapacitor arrays can charge and discharge efficiently and store the energy needed to power a wearable device.

The researchers also integrated the system with a triboelectric nanogenerator, an emerging technology that converts mechanical movement to electrical energy. This combination created a self-powered system.

“When we have this wireless charging module that’s based on the triboelectric nanogenerator, we can harvest energy based on motion, such as bending your elbow or breathing and speaking,” Cheng said. “We are able to use these everyday human motions to charge the micro-supercapacitors.”

By combining this integrated system with a graphene-based strain sensor, the energy-storing micro-supercapacitor arrays — charged by the triboelectric nanogenerators — are able to power the sensor, Cheng said, showing the potential for this system to power wearable, stretchable devices.

Read more Energy Harvesting Nanogenerators Offer New Option For Monitoring Health

Other researchers on this project were Cheng Zeng, assistant professor; Zhixiang Peng, research assistant; Chao Xing, associate professor; Huaming Chen, associate professor; Chunlei Huang, assistant professor, and Jun Wang, professor, all at Minjiang University; Bingwen Zhang, assistant professor at the Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Marine Sensing Materials at Minjiang University; and Shaolong Tang, professor of physics, Nanjing University.

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Mobility Solutions and Wearables – Trends in Warehouse Operations

Wearable tech in warehouses boosts efficiency and productivity through seamless connectivity.

The year 2020 has been a blockbuster year for wearables. Mobility solutions and wearable warehouse technology are not new, but the level of sophistication delivered by them is helping warehouse managers re-invent their operations and achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity.

Read more Life-Saving Wearable Devices that Boost Safety for Construction Workers

Warehouse mobility solutions include wearable scanners, smartphones, vehicle-mounted computers, tablets, and mobile printers that allow warehouse workers to freely move around their workplace and remain fully connected regardless of location.

By delivering an uninterrupted flow of information across the business and the supply chain in real-time, mobility solutions and wearables have become part of standard warehouse operations.

Wearable mobile computers, often referred to as wearable terminals, offer a robust, hands-free tech solution that enables warehouse workers the freedom to focus on the job in-hand.

Prior to the pandemic, the Zebra Warehousing Vision Study found that 62% of warehouse operators said they planned to upgrade or add wearable mobile computers by 2022, reports DCVelocity.

Designed for workers in the warehousing and logistics industries, wearable mobile computers help to effectively streamline operations, while at the same time reduce human error.

Benefits of Wearable Mobile Computer

  • Lightweight solutions
  • Durability
  • Increased productivity
  • Multi-tasking
  • Accuracy

These wearable terminals can be easily worn on the wrist or the work belt. They help workers to do their job hands-free and focus on the job clear of any obstructions.

Some Examples of Wearable Mobile Computers

Zebra’s WT6000 wearable computer gives workers a lightweight, hands-free device they can wear on their wrist and forearm. Its industrial rugged design delivers maximum uptime in your most demanding environments. It allows workers to access warehousing software, pick lists, orders, and labeling with the touch of a screen.

Read more How Wearable Technology Could Revolutionize Manufacturing Industry

ProGlove’s wearable ‘Reel’ barcode scanner provides contactless scan. The company’s MARK Display scanner untethers workers from paper, from hand-held devices, and from static work-stations while keeping crucial information with workers at all times.

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Mobility Solutions and Wearables – New Trends in Warehouse Operations

The year 2020 has been a blockbuster year for wearables. Mobility solutions and wearable...

The year 2020 has been a blockbuster year for wearables. Mobility solutions and wearable warehouse technology are not new, but the level of sophistication delivered by them is helping warehouse managers re-invent their operations and achieve new levels of efficiency and productivity.

Read more: Life-Saving Wearable Devices that Boost Safety for Construction Workers

Warehouse mobility solutions include wearable scanners, smartphones, vehicle-mounted computers, tablets, and mobile printers that allow warehouse workers to freely move around their workplace and remain fully connected regardless of location.

By delivering an uninterrupted flow of information across the business and the supply chain in real-time, mobility solutions and wearables have become part of standard warehouse operations.

Wearable mobile computers, often referred to as wearable terminals, offer a robust, hands-free tech solution that enables warehouse workers the freedom to focus on the job in-hand.

Prior to the pandemic, the Zebra Warehousing Vision Study found that 62% of warehouse operators said they planned to upgrade or add wearable mobile computers by 2022, reports DCVelocity.

Designed for workers in the warehousing and logistics industries, wearable mobile computers help to effectively streamline operations, while at the same time reduce human error.

Benefits of Wearable Mobile Computer

  • Lightweight solutions
  • Durability
  • Increased productivity
  • Multi-tasking
  • Accuracy

These wearable terminals can be easily worn on the wrist or the work belt. They help workers to do their job hands-free and focus on the job clear of any obstructions.

Some Examples of Wearable Mobile Computers

Zebra’s WT6000 wearable computer gives workers a lightweight, hands-free device they can wear on their wrist and forearm. Its industrial rugged design delivers maximum uptime in your most demanding environments. It allows workers to access warehousing software, pick lists, orders, and labeling with the touch of a screen.

Read more: How Wearable Technology Could Revolutionize Manufacturing Industry

ProGlove’s wearable ‘Reel’ barcode scanner provides contactless scan. The company’s MARK Display scanner untethers workers from paper, from hand-held devices, and from static work-stations while keeping crucial information with workers at all times.

Text Link

Stretchable System Can Power Wearables By Harvesting Energy From Wearer’s Breathing and Motion

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable...

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable health-monitoring devices may be possible, according to an international team of researchers, led by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in Penn State's Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics.

The research team, with members from Penn State and Minjiang University and Nanjing University, both in China, recently published its results in Nano Energy, reports Penn State News.

According to Cheng, current versions of batteries and supercapacitors powering wearable and stretchable health-monitoring and diagnostic devices have many shortcomings, including low energy density and limited stretchability.

“This is something quite different than what we have worked on before, but it is a vital part of the equation,” Cheng said, noting that his research group and collaborators tend to focus on developing the sensors in wearable devices. “While working on gas sensors and other wearable devices, we always need to combine these devices with a battery for powering. Using micro-supercapacitors gives us the ability to self-power the sensor without the need for a battery.”

Read more: Researchers Develop Wearable Textile That Harnesses Solar Energy And Converts Them Into Electrical Energy

An alternative to batteries, micro-supercapacitors are energy storage devices that can complement or replace lithium-ion batteries in wearable devices. Micro-supercapacitors have a small footprint, high power density, and the ability to charge and discharge quickly. However, according to Cheng, when fabricated for wearable devices, conventional micro-supercapacitors have a “sandwich-like” stacked geometry that displays poor flexibility, long ion diffusion distances and a complex integration process when combined with wearable electronics.

This led Cheng and his team to explore alternative device architectures and integration processes to advance the use of micro-supercapacitors in wearable devices. They found that arranging micro-supercapacitor cells in a serpentine, island-bridge layout allows the configuration to stretch and bend at the bridges, while reducing deformation of the micro-supercapacitors — the islands. When combined, the structure becomes what the researchers refer to as "micro-supercapacitors arrays."

“By using an island-bridge design when connecting cells, the micro-supercapacitor arrays displayed increased stretchability and allowed for adjustable voltage outputs,” Cheng said. “This allows the system to be reversibly stretched up to 100%.”

By using non-layered, ultrathin zinc-phosphorus nanosheets and 3D laser-induced graphene foam — a highly porous, self-heating nanomaterial — to construct the island-bridge design of the cells, Cheng and his team saw drastic improvements in electric conductivity and the number of absorbed charged ions. This proved that these micro-supercapacitor arrays can charge and discharge efficiently and store the energy needed to power a wearable device.

The researchers also integrated the system with a triboelectric nanogenerator, an emerging technology that converts mechanical movement to electrical energy. This combination created a self-powered system.

“When we have this wireless charging module that’s based on the triboelectric nanogenerator, we can harvest energy based on motion, such as bending your elbow or breathing and speaking,” Cheng said. “We are able to use these everyday human motions to charge the micro-supercapacitors.”

By combining this integrated system with a graphene-based strain sensor, the energy-storing micro-supercapacitor arrays — charged by the triboelectric nanogenerators — are able to power the sensor, Cheng said, showing the potential for this system to power wearable, stretchable devices.

Read more: Energy Harvesting Nanogenerators Offer New Option For Monitoring Health

Other researchers on this project were Cheng Zeng, assistant professor; Zhixiang Peng, research assistant; Chao Xing, associate professor; Huaming Chen, associate professor; Chunlei Huang, assistant professor, and Jun Wang, professor, all at Minjiang University; Bingwen Zhang, assistant professor at the Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Marine Sensing Materials at Minjiang University; and Shaolong Tang, professor of physics, Nanjing University.

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Nerivio’s Ren Method Found To Be Effective For Treating Migraine In Randomized Controlled Trials

Theranica, a prescribed digital therapeutics company developing advanced electroceuticals for...

Theranica, a prescribed digital therapeutics company developing advanced electroceuticals for migraine and other pain conditions, announced that a new peer-reviewed systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that remote electrical neuromodulation (REN) was the only neuromodulation-based acute migraine treatment with sufficient clinical evidence to conclude that it is effective.

Read more: Wearable Sensor Cannot Accurately Detect Migraine Attacks Beforehand, Reveals Small Finnish Study

“As non-invasive neuromodulation is an emerging field in the treatment of migraine, an unbiased systemic review was important to understand what may really be benefitting patients,” said Prof. Stephen Silberstein, MD, director of the Headache Center at the Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. “While the industry should conduct more studies to understand the potential of neuromodulation for migraine treatment, this study certainly helps comparing between the different emerging techniques. REN, based on triggering conditioned pain modulation, stands out with very promising results for acute migraine treatment.”

The research, published in The Journal of Headache and Pain, a peer-reviewed journal affiliated with the European Headache Federation, looked at 38 available peer-reviewed articles studying the effect of neuromodulation treatment on migraine patients. Seven of the studies focused on acute treatment and the ability of different devices to deliver either pain relief or pain freedom at two hours. Secondary outcomes were assessed by improvement in the quality of life, the need for rescue medication and the Patient Global Impression of Change Score, according to a press release.

“Theranica is strongly committed to high-quality clinical research, as evidenced in this study,” said Dagan Harris, Ph.D., Theranica's vice president of clinical and regulatory affairs. “We are proud to have designed Nerivio such that it stands out as the one neuromodulation method noted as effective and intend to continue exploring REN's ability to bring relief to people living with migraine and other pain conditions. Our high standards of clinical development allow us to improve the Nerivio experience, from the treatment to the accompanying software, for a large community that deserves a safe and effective solution.”

Read more: New Startups and Innovations Helping Migraine Sufferers with Treatment and Care

Nerivio is a prescribed therapeutic wearable that deploys REN to activate the body's native conditioned pain modulation mechanism to treat the pain, aura, and associated symptoms caused by migraine. It is worn on the upper arm and controlled through an app on a patient's smartphone that also serves as a migraine diary.

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April 2026: Jewel - Smart Cardiac Monitoring Patch

Wearable cardiac patch detecting arrhythmias and delivering life-saving defibrillation.
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February 2026: Feel Music Through Touch

Wearable haptic music tech that turns sound into body sensations for inclusive experiences.
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January 2026: Nutromics Lab-on-a-Patch

Skin-worn patch enabling continuous, real-time biomarker monitoring for personalized healthcare.
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December 2025: Miniaturized Temperature Sensing Accuracy

AS6223 – Miniaturized temperature sensing accuracy for next-generation wearables.
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November 2025: Transforming Cancer Care with Wearables

Wearable implant delivering continuous, personalized cancer therapy for everyday life.
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October 2025: The New Era of Meta Smart Glasses

Meta Smart Glasses 2025: Sleek, AI-powered eyewear for hands-free capture and connection.
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September 2025: Innovation in Oxygen Monitoring

OxiWear - Innovation in wearable health, protecting you from silent hypoxia every day.
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August 2025: Ultra-Thin Battery Revolution in Wearables

NGK's 0.45mm EnerCera Battery: Non-Swelling, Non-Flammable Power for Wearables
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July 2025: Mudra Link - Neural Gesture Control Wristband

Touchless neural wristband for seamless gesture control across devices and platforms.
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June 2025: Biobeat’s Next-Generation Wearable Solution

AI-powered wearable for continuous, cuffless vital sign monitoring in clinical and home settings.
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May 2025: Breakthrough in Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Needle-free biosensor patch for real-time glucose monitoring and metabolic health insights.
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April 2025: Robeauté’s Brain Microrobot

Robeauté's microrobot enables precise, minimally invasive brain intervention with cutting-edge tech.
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March 2025: The Future of Cognitive Health

G.Brain boosts focus and brain health with AI-powered neurotechnology.
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February 2025: Revolutionizing Women's Health

Nettle™ by Samphire Neuroscience: A non-invasive, drug-free solution for women's health.
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January 2025: The Future of Heated Apparel

Revolutionizing heated clothing with sensor-driven, real-time temperature control.
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December 2024: Remote Health with Smart Patches

Wearable tech enables non-invasive, continuous health monitoring, transforming patient care.
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November 2024: Bearmind Launches Brain Health Wearable

Bearmind’s helmet sensor tracks head impacts in real time, advancing safety in contact sports.
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October 2024: Ambiq Empowers Digital Health with Edge AI

Ambiq’s low-power chips enable personal AI on-device for digital health and remote monitoring.
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September 2024: The Revolutionary .lumen Glasses

Empowering the visually impaired with smart, award-winning technology for greater independence.
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August 2024: Breakthrough in the Field of Health Monitoring

BioButton: award-winning sensor for continuous vital health monitoring with advanced AI technology.
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