According to patents filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple might be working on smell sensors for a variety of uses within healthcare. One such patent points to a sensor that could monitor blood sugar levels by analyzing sweat particles in the air.

The two sensors could also be used to detect pollution or carbon monoxide, or help prevent exacerbation of respiratory conditions, reports MobiHealthNews.

Apple submitted the patent applications in late 2018, and it was first spotted by Apple Insider last week.

Read more Artificial Intelligence and Radar Technologies to Measure Blood Glucose

Two different sensors are described in the two patents. These sensors would work together: One would use lights and photodetectors to see particles in the air and the other would be an array of ionic liquid sensors that could actually detect smells. The device could get help from machine learning algorithm to distinguish between different smells.

The patents also talk about incorporating the sensors into devices that are portable, meaning they could be smartwatches, tablets or phones. The sensors could have a number of possible applications, some of which are related to health, according to the patents.

“Gas sensors can help the mobile electronic device to detect various environmental gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the like,” the patent says. “Particulate air pollution is shown to have consistent association with illness exacerbations in people with respiratory disease as well as the rise in the number of death cases resulting from respiratory and cardiovascular disease among older people.”

Read more Large U.S. Study Suggests Apple Watch Can Detect Irregular Heartbeat

The second patent filed by Apple hints at applications for monitoring blood sugar.

“The ability to smell various flavors when combined, for example, with photo recognition can open a new horizon to smart device applications. The new applications may be in a number of areas including health, safety, security, networking and other areas. For example, in the health and safety areas, a smell-enabled (e.g., e-nose) smart communication device may be able to alert users about dangerous levels of gases such as carbon monoxide, natural gas and other toxic and/or hazardous gases, or measure compounds in human sweat and alert the user about his sugar levels, for example,” the patent said.

China is gearing up to become the world leader in the startup environment. Numerous Chinese startups are tapping investors for funds. In 2017, there were 46 startups worth at least $1 billion, making China the land of Unicorns. Together, these startups agree to help tug the country’s economy through the trade war with the United States. Here are 5 Chinese startups to watch for in the wearable space.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi is the world’s 4th most valuable technology start-up. The US$1.1 billion funding it received from investors, made Xiaomi’s valuation more than US$46 billion. The company was founded in 2010 by CEO Jun Lei and seven colleagues who included veterans of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Motorola Inc. Known for its Mi series of smartphones, Xiaomi is now one of the world’s top wearable makers. With its Mi Band series, Xiaomi has taken the wearable market by storm and in the Q3 2018, Xiaomi  took the top position with 21.5% market share in the global wearable segment as Apple came second with 13.1% share, according to the latest IDC (International Data Corporation) report.

Pico

Pico develops innovative VR solutions. Their Pico Neo is the first all-in-one VR headset which offers total freedom in a high-end package. The Neo has 6 Degrees of Freedom (movement in all directions) built right into the headset. This enables full VR immersion in a totally un-tethered, fully mobile package. Perfect for any user who wants to experience truly immersive VR without wires, attached computers or phones. Founded in 2015, the company operates in United States, Europe, China and Japan and has 300 employees across the globe. In August 2018, Pico raised US$24.7 million in Series A, reports Reuters.

iCarbonX

Founded in 2015, this Chinese data company aims to improve health care using artificial intelligence and biotech. iCarbonX has become a comprehensive platform for health data, pulling in information from millions of people. The platform created a Digital Life Alliance that brings together companies into a learning ecosystem around healthy living, disease, and AI (Fast Company).

Veer VR

Beijing-based VeeR VR is a leading sharing platform of 360/VR videos. Veer was founded in 2016, and now it’s an industry leader serving millions of users from over 150 countries by developing cross-platform accessible VR-streaming application. Currently VeeR has launched on multiple platforms including Apple App Store, Google Play, and Oculus Rift, etc; content uploaded to VeeR VR will be accessible across all platforms through automatic transcoding.

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

Rokid

Rokid develops AR glasses. The company announced prototype of Project Aurora augmented reality smart glasses at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. The new glasses have two displays for 3D content. The glasses connect to external devices via USB-C. The company is aiming for a low-cost set of glasses that can connect to anything – even a Nintendo Switch.

Polar has announced the OH1+, its latest heart rate sensor strap. It’s a compact optical sensor, which can be worn on upper or lower arm, instead of around the chest, and is able to capture around 200 hours of heart rate activity.

While its predecessor, the OH1, was an excellent one, the new sensor makes heart rate tracking much simpler, reports Gadgets and Wearables.

Read more Matrix PowerWatch 2 Uses Solar and Body Heat to Power Heart Rate Monitor, GPS Now at CES 2019

You can wear the Polar OH1 during any sport. With the OH1+ optical Heart Rate Sensor, you can keep tabs on your heart rate while you exercise on land or swim in the water, with a phone or watch, or without. When you’re on land, just clip the OH1 to the armband and wear it around your upper or lower arm. The data collected helps you enhance your workout by maintaining a steady, rhythmic pace while working out. That data can be wirelessly transmitted to be displayed and stored in an app, such as Polar Beat, or on the display of a fitness device.

Polar included the swim goggle clip to allow you to have an easier transition from a land-based activity, like running, to the pool for some laps. It’s very simple to use, just pop the OH1 heart rate sensor in the clip and attach it to your goggles next to your temple. The sensor is water-resistant up to 98.4′. The OH1+ features plenty of memory to store 200 hours of data, allowing you to go device-free and synch and analyze these data later.

Read more Polar Launches Vantage V and Vantage M Premium Multisport GPS Watches

“Chest straps and wrist-based monitoring have their places in training, but OH1 + was designed as a comfortable option when scenarios call for more evolved heart rate options,” said Riikka Rae, Product Segment Manager at Polar.

Utilizing Bluetooth and ANT+ technology, the OH1+ streams your live heart rate to compatible smartphones, gym equipment, fitness trackers, smart watches, and cycling computers.

It houses a 45mAh rechargeable battery with enough power to give you up to 12 hours of monitoring on a single charge. Simply plug in the USB adapter to a USB power adapter (not include) to recharge.

Evonik, the largest specialty chemicals company in the world, unveiled TAeTTOOz®, a new material technology for printable batteries, at the LOPEC trade show held in Munich, Germany. TAeTTOOz has been developed on the basis of what are known as redox polymers by Creavis, the strategic innovation unit of Evonik.

Read more VARTA Microbattery Launches Three New Lithium-Ion Cells for Wearables at the ISPO Munich 2019

The strategic innovation unit of the Germany-based company used redox polymers to create the materials. With the help of conventional printing methods, the new materials can be transformed into ultra-thin, flexible battery cells. They allow storage of electrical energy without the need for metals or metal compounds. Battery cells produced with the TAeTTOOz® technology do not require liquid electrolytes and therefore cannot leak. Creavis is now seeking development partners to integrate the TAeTTOOz® technology into new and existing applications. The batteries give freedom to the developer with regards to the design and allow the storage of electrical energy without employing metals or metal compounds, reports Evonik.

“We have developed a technology with enormous potential. It enables us to offer a solution to power small electronic circuits with printed batteries efficiently, reliably, and in an ecofriendly way,” said Dr. Michael Korell, who is responsible at Evonik for the development of TAeTTOOz.

The TAeTTOOz technology opens up new possibilities particularly in the spreading networking of everyday objects, the Internet of Things. When ready for series production it can be used in many areas. Medical sensors for monitoring vital functions could be worn far more conveniently when printed batteries are used. In the area of logistics, intelligent sensors operated by printed batteries in packaging could monitor sensitive goods such as food or vaccines.

Read more Jenax Will Exhibit World’s First Truly Flexible Battery at Wearable Technologies 2018 San Francisco

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The core of Evonik’s corporate strategy combines focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 36,000 employees. In fiscal 2018, the enterprise generated sales of €15 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.6 billion.

The United States is grappling with one of its worst-ever drug crises. Some 50 million people in the U.S. experience chronic pain daily or almost daily, and many people turn to opioid to relieve pain. That in turn leads to addiction, which is killing more than nine hundred people a week from opioid-related overdoses. Several companies have taken initiatives to create alternative methods of pain relief and prevent opioid addiction.

Read more Team Who Invented Opioid Overdose Detection Device Wins National Honors

Sana

Sana, a Colorado-based makes wearable mask that users wear over their eyes for 15 minutes before bed, or in 15-minute intervals throughout the day, to put them into a state where they feel relaxed and less pain. The Sana mask measures minute changes between each heartbeat, and administers precisely timed pulses of light and sound to stimulate the audio and visual cortex of the user’s brain, reports CNBC.

Quell 2.0

NeuroMetrix, a medical device company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of the neurological complications of diabetes, launched its breakthrough for the treatment of chronic pain, a wearable pain relief technology called Quell® 2.0 at PAINWeek 2018. The new Quell 2.0 device is smarter, more powerful and 50% smaller, and the Quell app has been totally redesigned to make it easier to use. Quell is drug-free and has been cleared by the FDA for treatment of chronic pain without a prescription.

Oska Pulse

Oska Wellness, a pioneer in technology-driven wellness solutions, announced it will debut its next-generation Oska Pulse device at Pepcom’s Digital Experience at the CES 2019.

Oska Pulse is a revolutionary drug-free pain relief device that is clinically proven to reduce inflammation, increase circulation, improve mobility and alleviate pain using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) technology. Key advancements of the device provide added customer convenience and include: 1) Three times longer sessions for 90-minute PEMF pain relief sessions, and 2) 50 percent longer battery life – 15-hour total run time.

Read more FDA Clears SPR Therapeutics’ Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Systems for Pain Management

Cefaly

A wearable device made by Cefaly for acute treatment of migraines received FDA approval in 2017. The device is placed on the forehead for one or two hours during a headache. It sends electric pulses through the skin into the trigeminal nerve in the face, producing a sedative effect to relieve pain. The wearable enables the use of medicines to be significantly reduced and the sufferer’s quality of life to be markedly improved.

Bragi, a company known for making some of the first Bluetooth headphones, has left the wearables market. The German company said it has sold its hardware business to a third-party buyer and that while it will continue to license its IP and artificial intelligence (AI), it will no longer be making new devices, reports Wareable.

Bragi came to prominence in 2014 when it made headlines with its successful $3.3 million Kickstarter campaign. The company introduced to the world its products like the Dash and Dash Pro, offering a compelling “smart” alternative to other devices.

Read more Nuheara Building Ecosystem for Hearables with its IQStream TV

Nikolaj Hviid, CEO of Bragi, confirmed the move in a statement. However, he was quick to add that his company’s uncoupling from products like the Dash should not be viewed as the end for Bragi.

“Bragi’s technology suite is applied beyond our own products to partners and headphone brands,” Hviid said. “The Dash Pro featured groundbreaking ultra-efficient AI and software that could be updated with new features such as Amazon Alexa, language translation and personalized hearing. With the sale of our product business, Bragi has completed its transformation into a software, AI and IP licensing company.”

The first wire-free headphones from Bragi, The Dash, debuted on Kickstarter in 2014. When AirPods came along in 2016, Bragi was leading the hearables market. So, it announced an AirPods competitor, “The Headphone.”

The Headphone was actually a low-priced version of The Dash designed specifically to compete with the AirPods, but Apple’s AirPods were a major hit with Apple customers and according to many users, Bragi’s hearables were fine, but were never quite able to measure up to the AirPods. And, like many other companies in the past, the market Bragi helped pioneer quickly sacrificed to existing behemoths.

Read more Earin Finally Releases its Second-Generation Wireless Earbuds with Google Assistant

At last year’s MWC, one of Bragi’s EVPs told Tech Crunch: “At some point we may not be a hardware company anymore. That was the plan from the beginning. That was not really a secret.”

Kinduct, the Nova Scotia-based athlete management system has partnered up with Irish sports tech company Orreco to develop products for elite sports teams and athletes.

“Kinduct strongly believes in partnerships that augment both company’s offerings and most importantly improve the experience for our athletes, teams and organizations that we serve,” said Kinduct CEO & Founder Travis McDonough. “The Kinduct-Orreco alliance is a perfect example of this and is without question an industry changing partnership that will help transform outcomes in the human performance market.”

Kinduct is a world leading data and analytics software provider. The company’s highly secure, cloud-based platform allows human performance, health and wellness organizations to spend less time managing their data and more time using it to inform decisions, promote constant improvement and produce exceptional results. Kinduct’s software integrates with new and emerging technologies and data sources to help produce a more accurate picture of your organization’s current and future predicted state.

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

Kinduct Technologies is dedicated to making people better. Their products are developed to address the information challenges of organizations who work with patients, athletes and clients. Their software solutions help organizations collect, organize, share and analyze data in one centralized platform, leading to informed decisions and powerful results.

Kinduct was part of an insightful panel discussion on the support of wearables for football players at last year´s WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco. At this year´s edition, the NFLPA will outline opportunities to leverage wearables for data monetization, followed by an insightful panel discussion on the use of wearables and data analytics for protection, health and media in professional sports.

Register now and stay tuned for the full agenda release, there is much more to come!

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given (501k) clearance to the Loop System, a continuous remote monitor for patients with COPD. Developed by Spry Health, a Palo Alto, CA-based provider of remote patient monitoring solutions, the wristband wearable is designed for management of COPD and other chronic conditions.

Read more Cambridge Consultants Develops Verum – an AI-Powered Remote Patient Monitoring Platform

The wearable device collects and monitors a user’s pulse-oximetry, respiration and heart rate. These data are automatically analyzed to identify clinically relevant signs of deterioration, with any changes highlighted for providers on an accompanying dashboard, reports MobiHealthNews.

“In a given year, over 28 million hospitalizations are attributed to chronically ill patients, resulting in an average bill of $37,300 per stay with some patients winding up in the hospital three or more times per year,” said Elad Ferber, co-founder of Spry Health, in a statement.

The Loop is the first clinical grade wearable that measures pulse oximetry, respiration rate, and heart rate.

The Loop wearable continuously and noninvasively collects vital signs to assess the patient’s baseline and monitor their evolving condition. The device’s analytic platform spots subtle physiological changes and provides relevant, actionable insights to healthcare organizations before new symptoms are noticeable to the patient. Healthcare facilities can then identify their most vulnerable patients and guide them to the right care at the right time.

Before marketing the Loop, the company conducted comprehensive pre-market evaluations of a digital medical device. More than 250 participants took part in the evaluation, which proved the Loop was clinically equivalent to standard heart rate, oxygen saturation and respiration monitoring devices.

Read more Samsung Might Launch a Sensor-Covered Smart Shirt that Detects Breathing Problem and Lung Disease

“Typically, when you’re giving somebody a blood pressure monitor, a spirometer, a pulse oximeter, a scale, people just don’t use these devices,” Cobut told MobiHealthNews. “So, we’ve made the bet that if we can build a product that has great usability; that people will be engaged with it, they’ll get data that they understand is useful and has value for them. In return, they’ll reward us with all this clinical data that we can use to build predictive models.”

By the year 2050, approximately 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities, according to Gartner. Cities have evolved a lot over the last few years, and the Internet of Things (IoT) is making a big impact on these changes.

Read more IBM Research: The Sensors Powering Smart Cities Are Vulnerable to Hackers

It is estimated that millions of devices are connecting to the internet every second. The IoT devices are forecasted to grow to between 25-30 billion devices by 2020. The IoT economy will see billions of dollars spent over the next several years, reports Forbes.

As smart cities of tomorrow are taking shape against this backdrop, IoT is playing a huge role in running our smart homes and businesses and enhance our quality of life.

IoT is easing the burden of rapid urban growth by improving infrastructures and communications.

Here are some ways IoT is changing our smart cities:

Improve Public Transportation

Public transportation is disrupted whenever there are road closures, bad weather, or equipment breakdowns. IoT can provide mass transit authorities the real-time insights they need to implement contingency plans, ensuring that city dwellers always have access to safe, reliable, and efficient public transportation. This might be done using insights from cameras or connected devices at bus shelters or other public areas.

Provide More Efficient Water Supply

IoT can potentially change the way cities consume water. Water leaks and improved data integrity are possible with the help of smart meters. This will in turn prevent lost revenue and boost productivity. Also, these meters can be designed to help consumers with delivering real-time access about their consumption and water supply.

Improve Security and Privacy

IoT is already providing improved security with video surveillance, allowing police to monitor live feeds from across an entire city and relying on artificial intelligence systems to detect and report incidences of crime.

Read more AIStorm Introduces Real-Time AI-in-Sensor Solutions for IoT, Mobile Handsets and Driverless Cars

How Nokia is Helping to Advance Smart Cities

Nokia has launched “IoT for Smart Cities”, a fully integrated framework to efficiently deliver and manage smart city services. The ‘fully integrated’ approach fulfills the vital requirement of a connected city that is shared, secure and scalable – where every ‘thing’ can talk to each other to make tomorrow’s cities smart, safe and sustainable. Nokia’s Integrated Operations Center (IOC) orchestrates all smart city operations for enhanced efficiency, faster responsiveness and improved decision making.

A large study conducted by Stanford University researchers suggests Apple Watch can detect an alarming irregular heartbeat, demonstrating a potential future role for wearable technology in healthcare.

Although the findings were presented at the 2019 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session, experts say the results are not definitive, and more work is needed to tell if using wearable technology to screen for heart problems really helps. The study was funded by Apple Inc.

Read more Wearable ECG Monitoring Patch Can Detect Atrial Fibrillation Earlier and More Efficiently, Says Study

“The findings provide the evidence we need to continue investigating this strategy and to see if wearable technologies can identify AFib earlier, leading to earlier treatment and reducing the number of strokes,” said Dr. Campbell, a clinical pharmacist in electrophysiology at Duke University Hospital, in Durham, N.C., who was not involved in the research.

More than 419,000 Apple Watch users signed up for the unprecedented analysis, known as the Apple Heart Study. This was the largest ever study to explore screening seemingly healthy people for atrial fibrillation (A-fib).

Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia). Blood flow from the top chambers of the heart to the bottom chambers varies from beat to beat, and the heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body efficiently. If left untreated, A-fib can cause potentially life-threatening health issues, such as a stroke.

Of the participants, 0.5%, or about 2,000 subjects were warned by the watch that they might have a problem. Those people were sent an ECG (electrocardiography) patch to wear for subsequent detection of atrial fibrillation episodes, reports Reuters.

A third of those whose watches detected an irregular pulse were confirmed to have atrial fibrillation using the ECG technology, researchers said.

Some 84 percent of the irregular pulse notifications were later confirmed to have been AF episodes, data showed.

Read more Boston Scientific Receives CE Mark for Next Generation WATCHMAN FLX Stroke-Preventing Device

The study also found that 57 percent of participants who received an alert on their watch sought medical attention.

“The study’s findings have the potential to help patients and clinicians understand how devices like the Apple Watch can play a role in detecting conditions such as atrial fibrillation, a deadly and often undiagnosed disease,” Mintu Turakhia, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford, said in a statement.

Sticking a wearable device to skin can be very tricky. That’s why it’s very important to have a good adhesive to hold the device together or adhere the device to the wearer’s skin. 3M just announced it has added 3M™ Extended Wear Medical Transfer Adhesive, 4075 to its lineup of advanced adhesives for medical devices. Designed to laminate many substrates, 3M medical transfer adhesive, 4075 features an extended wear pressure sensitive transfer adhesive and allows design engineers to use a variety of backings.

Related DowDuPont Launches New Soft Skin Adhesive for Wearable Medical Devices at MD&M West 2019

The new adhesive offers excellent initial skin adhesion with up to a 14-day wear time, depending on the backing material used.

“We are excited to broaden our extended wear family with a product that provides customers greater design flexibility by letting them select a wide variety of backings,” said Marcello Napol, vice president in 3M’s Medical Solutions Division. “Offering design engineers more patient-friendly adhesive options that provide comfort and a strong, reliable bond is a key part of our mission. Our customers work hard to make a difference in people’s lives, and our goal is to make it easier for them to work with challenging substrates like skin.”

The 4075 adhesive can be used on intact skin.

3M medical transfer adhesive, 4075 meets requirements to use on intact skin. It was tested to meet ISO:10993-5 and ISO:10993-10 standards, which assess the in vitro cytotoxicity and a product’s potential to produce irritation and skin sensitization, respectively. It is ethylene oxide sterilization compatible. The tape is part of the extensive adhesives product line 3M offers the medical device manufacturing, design and supply industries. Through the company’s diversity of technologies – paired with its 55+ years of experience in the medical adhesive business and team of experts – 3M provides medical device professionals with the tools they need to satisfy their project requirements and confidently navigate their way to market.

Related 3M Exhibited Wearable Smart Medical Adhesives at CES 2019

3M is trying to improve lives by applying science in collaborative ways. With $33 billion in sales, the company’s 93,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

In the last five years, big tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet have been trying to gain a firm foothold in the digital health market. And there’s a simple explanation for this: the aging baby boomer and the rising cost of healthcare.

Read more The State of Wearable Technology in Healthcare: Current and Future

Wearable technology in combination with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to detect health conditions such as heart disease, stroke and cancer. AI is enabling doctors to perform robotic surgery with precision, reducing the risk of post-surgery complications. Surgeons are also routinely utilizing Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality during surgical procedure.

Last year, Microsoft launched Healthcare NExT, a new initiative aimed at transforming the healthcare sector by leveraging its existing AI work and Azure cloud resources, reports MicroSmallCap. Microsoft said its new service will help healthcare companies store patient data in the cloud and a Healthcare Bot service that will be integrated with Electronic Health Records. To facilitate this, the tech giant is integrating robots, voice recognition, and cognitive services into new collaborative healthcare applications.

In January, Verily, the life sciences division of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, raised $1 billion from investors to support its healthcare projects beyond merely research. This funding should help Verily advance their ongoing projects in healthcare. Many of the projects on which the company is working are focused on research. One example of such project is a study being conducted in conjunction with Gilead Sciences–a research-based biopharmaceutical company–that aims to identify the genomic cause of inflammatory disease.

Many are wondering exactly what Amazon has up its sleeve when it comes to digital health. After signing an alliance with JP Morgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway in late January to form a non-profit health care entity, the Ecommerce giant appears to be amassing a number of puzzle pie. The company hasn’t clearly explained its goals, but they include finding ways to lower health care costs and increase access to consumers, with a focus on technologies such as AI, mobile, and cloud computing.

Read more FDA Digital Health Regulations Could Create New Opportunities for Pharma

Following in the footsteps of the big companies, several startups are about to disrupt healthcare in 2019. These include Virta Health, Helix, Omcare, Sensely, Pear therapeutics and more.

According to Mercom Capital Group, global venture capital funding in the digital healthcare market was almost $10 billion in 2018, an increase of $2.8 billion from the previous year. The speed at which tech firms are embracing digital health, we can expect to see funding figures continue to rise in the coming years.

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a wearable device that could soon replace traditional biopsies to diagnose cancer. The watch-sized device can harvest more than three times as many cancer cells than a standard blood test, according to the researchers. This novel device could help doctors to identify cancer in the blood that traditional blood tests can miss, preventing the need for invasive biopsies.

Read more Canadian Researcher Develop Low-Cost Handheld Cancer Probe to Detect Melanoma Early

“Nobody wants to have a biopsy,” said Dr. Daniel F. Hayes, a professor at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and the paper’s senior author. “If we could get enough cancer cells from the blood, we could use them to learn about the tumor biology and direct care for the patients. That’s the excitement of why we’re doing this.”

Tumors can release more than 1,000 cancer cells into the bloodstream in a single minute. Current methods of capturing cancer cells from blood rely on samples from the patient — usually no more than a tablespoon taken in a single draw. Some blood draws come back with no cancer cells, even in patients with advanced cancer, and a typical sample contains no more than 10 cancer cells.

The device is made up of four major components: a micro-controller, a peristaltic pump, a heparin injector and a CTC capture module containing a microfluidic capture chip. The whole system sits inside a 3D printed casing and can be controlled wirelessly using a custom-built app, reports MobiHealthNews.

When a patient wears the device, whole blood from his or her peripheral vein is routed into the device through an indwelling intravenous catheter, and then back into their bloodstream. Because of this procedure, the device can screen a substantially larger volume of the patient’s blood with minimal loss.

Over a couple of hours in the hospital, the new device could continuously capture cancer cells directly from the vein, screening much larger volumes of a patient’s blood. In animal tests, the chip in the wearable device trapped 3.5 times as many cancer cells per milliliter of blood as it did running samples collected by blood draw.

Read more Breakthrough Microfluidic Device Detects Cancer Faster and Less Invasively

Hayes believes the device could start human clinical trials in three to five years. It would be used to help to optimize treatments for human cancers by enabling doctors to see if the cancer cells are making the molecules that serve as targets for many newer cancer drugs.

“This is the epitome of precision medicine, which is so exciting in the field of oncology right now,” says Hayes.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

#TheRaceIsBack! The wait is finally over, the world’s leading competition in the area of IoT is back! We are welcoming techpreneurs from all around the world to submit their disruptive solutions in the following categories: Industrial | City | Transport | Agriculture | Healthcare | Sports | Home | Lifestyle.

Together with our partner Innovation World Cup®, we are looking for the best innovative Internet of Things and Wearable Technologies start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs to take part in the 11^th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®.

Every year, the Innovation World Cup® selects about 60 techpreneurs and their ground-breaking solutions out of more than 1,000 submissions for the Innovation World Cup® finals. These finalists will have the opportunity to pitch at leading industry events and get the support needed to take their solutions to the next level.

The participation in the competition is free of charge and the advantage you will get is invaluable! Win prizes worth over $500,000 including €10,000 in cash. Winners and finalists will get exclusive benefits to boost their development:

• Speaking slots on the main stages of WT | Wearable Technologies Conferences, BIM World, MEDICA, Mobile World Congress MWC, and many more leading tech events.
• Free development kits offered by STMicroelectronics, Würth Elektronik, EBV Elektronik and Microtronics.
• Free use of productions labs and testing facilities offered by our partners.
• Free marketing packages and extensive media coverage at a global level.
• Significant advice from international tech experts to support your business development: finding the right components, go-to-market strategy, and commercial launch, to mention but a few.
• Placement in the Hall of Fame of the IoT/WT Innovation World Cup®.

Each participant has also the opportunity to compete in the special prizes of the 11^th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®: EBV IoT Hero powered by EBV Elektronik, rapidM2M Challenge powered by Microtronics, Gore Innovation Center Prize powered by Gore, Trusted Connectivity Award powered by Gemalto, Logistics Game Changer powered by LOXXESS, and Smart Clothing Challenge powered by AIQ Smart Clothing.

Leading tech players STMicroelectronics, EBV Elektronik, W.L. Gore & Associates, LOXXESS, AIQ Smart Clothing, Gemalto, Microtronics, Würth Elektronik and VARTA Microbattery are main corporate partners of the competition and are excited to see who has the disruptive potential to rise above the others!

iBreve, GaitUp, Bonbouton, COBI, Sigfox, Sensoria and other top techpreneurs made history after debuting at the Innovation World Cup®. Your company could be next.

The registration will take you only a few minutes, apply now here www.innovationworldcup.com (The submission deadline closes on September 18th)

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.

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“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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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“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.”