Wearable technology is here to stay. With so many different types of wearables in the market, consumers demand a good battery life for their devices. Researchers are searching for various methods to harvest energy. Now, scientists at the University of Colorado – Boulder have developed a low-cost wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery.

Read more: Flexible Thermoelectric Device Harvests Energy from Skin Temperature to Power Wearables

The device, described in the journal Science Advances, is stretchy enough that you can wear it like a ring, a bracelet or any other accessory that touches your skin. It also taps into a person’s natural heat—employing thermoelectric generators to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity, reports CU Boulder.

“In the future, we want to be able to power your wearable electronics without having to include a battery,” said Jianliang Xiao, senior author of the new paper and an associate professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder.

The new device created by Xiao and his colleagues can generate about 1 volt of energy for every square centimeter of skin space—less voltage per area than what most existing batteries provide but still enough to power electronics like watches or fitness trackers.

Scientists have previously experimented with similar thermoelectric wearable devices, but Xiao’s is stretchy, can heal itself when damaged and is fully recyclable—making it a cleaner alternative to traditional electronics.

“Whenever you use a battery, you’re depleting that battery and will, eventually, need to replace it,” Xiao said. “The nice thing about our thermoelectric device is that you can wear it, and it provides you with constant power.”

High-tech bling

The group’s latest innovation begins with a base made out of a stretchy material called polyimine. The scientists then stick a series of thin thermoelectric chips into that base, connecting them all with liquid metal wires. The final product looks like a cross between a plastic bracelet and a miniature computer motherboard or maybe a techy diamond ring.

“Our design makes the whole system stretchable without introducing much strain to the thermoelectric material, which can be really brittle,” Xiao said.

Just pretend that you’re out for a jog. As you exercise, your body heats up, and that heat will radiate out to the cool air around you. Xiao’s device captures that flow of energy rather than letting it go to waste.

“The thermoelectric generators are in close contact with the human body, and they can use the heat that would normally be dissipated into the environment,” he said.

Lego blocks

He added that you can easily boost that power by adding in more blocks of generators. In that sense, he compares his design to a popular children’s toy.

“What I can do is combine these smaller units to get a bigger unit,” he said. “It’s like putting together a bunch of small Lego pieces to make a large structure. It gives you a lot of options for customization.”

Xiao and his colleagues calculated, for example, that a person taking a brisk walk could use a device the size of a typical sports wristband to generate about 5 volts of electricity—which is more than what many watch batteries can muster.

Like Xiao’s electronic skin, the new devices are as resilient as biological tissue. If your device tears, for example, you can pinch together the broken ends, and they’ll seal back up in just a few minutes. And when you’re done with the device, you can dunk it into a special solution that will separate out the electronic components and dissolve the polyimine base—each and every one of those ingredients can then be reused.

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

“We’re trying to make our devices as cheap and reliable as possible, while also having as close to zero impact on the environment as possible,” Xiao said.

While there are still kinks to work out in the design, he thinks that his group’s devices could appear on the market in five to 10 years.

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American sports equipment company Under Armour has launched three new pairs of its connected shoes – the HOVR Machina, HOVR Infinite 3 and HOVR Sonic 4. All three shoes will connect with UA MapMyRun.

Read more: Nike Unveils Smart Basketball Shoes that Can Be Self-Laced with a Smartphone App

HOVR Machina 2

UA HOVR Machina 2 is more than a running shoe. Yes, it gives you energy return and the speed of a Pebax propulsion plate, but it also coaches you in real-time to help you run better when you connect them to UA MapMyRun, reports Under Armour.

Features:

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR foam to give back the energy you put in
• Ultralight 3D spacer mesh upper for increased breathability & ultimate speed
• As your body emits energy, the mineral-infused UA RUSH™ lining absorbs & reflects it back, improving endurance
• External heel counter for added stability & a locked-in feel
• Sprint spike-inspired Pebax® speed plate for increased return & more powerful push-offs
• Carbon rubber pods under the heel deliver greater traction & durability at high-impact strike zones

HOVR Infinite 3

Pro distance runners want energy return and efficiency. And that's exactly what UA HOVR Infinite 3 delivers. That and real-time Form Coaching. When connected to MapMyRun, it gives users personalized tips to help them run better.

Features:

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR™ foam to give back the energy you put in
• Engineered mesh upper is extremely lightweight & breathable, with strategic support where you need it
• Internal heel counter for additional support that helps keep the back of the foot locked-in place
• Die-cut, full-length EVA sockliner molds to the foot, eliminating slippage & providing ideal underfoot comfort
• Anatomically placed, deep flex grooves offer proper flexibility in key areas
• Carbon rubber pods under the heel deliver greater traction & durability at high-impact strike zones

Read more Alphabet’s Verily Developing Health-Tracking Smart Shoes that Can Measure Weight and Detect Falls

HOVR Sonic 4

The UA HOVR Sonic has been a no-brainer for runners who like distance but want more flexibility. And now, with real-time Form Coaching from UA MapMyRun™, the UA HOVR™ Sonic 4 also helps you become a better runner.

Features

• CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN: tracks & analyzes your running metrics to help make you a better runner
• UA HOVR™ technology provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return that helps eliminate impact
• Compression mesh Energy Web contains & molds UA HOVR™ foam to give back the energy you put in
• Lightweight engineered mesh upper for ultimate breathability
• Tongue is attached to the footbed by stretchable support wings to maintain a snug fit throughout the foot
• One-piece heel construction with external TPU heel counter for additional support & structure
• Removable sockliner molds to the foot for customized comfort & cushion
• Blown rubber under the forefoot & high-abrasion rubber under the heel to help absorb ground contact

Polar has announced a new optical heart rate sensor, called the Verity Sense. It follows on from the existing Polar OH1, and adding new features and capabilities. The ultralight (17g) and compact sensor is the perfect alternative to any chest strap and wrist devices. However, the real advantage of this strap is its ability to be worn in numerous places. You can wear it on your arm and even wrap the device around your leg. According to Polar, the sensor can be clipped to swim goggles as well.

Read more: Google Pixel Phones Will Soon Track Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate Using Your Phone’s Camera

Verity Sense uses the same 6 LED optical heart tracking as the previous OH1. You can also wear it on your clothing. To do that, simply detach the sensor from its armband and holder and wear it anywhere under tight-fitting clothing. Just make sure the optical heart-rate sensor sits nice and tight against your skin. So, whatever your sport, Polar Verity Sense adapts 100%.

When you connect your Polar Verity Sense to your phone or watch for your workout, you'll know moment by moment where you are with your session and you can adjust intensity should that be necessary.

The internal memory on Polar Verity Sense saves your workout when you want to be free as a bird and just listen to what your body is telling you.

Here are some of the upgrades from its previous version:

• Increased signal ranges from 75 meters to 150 meters
• Increased battery life from 8 hours to 20 hours
• Increased storage from 4MB to 16MB
• Increased water resistance from 30m to 50m
• Added dedicated swim mode, which captures swim metrics
• Changed band design to make it difficult to flip over

Read more: MIT Develops Smart Shirt That Can Monitor Heart Rate, Temperature and Other Vital Signs

All those updates come at a price hike of $10. The new Polar Verity Sense heart rate monitor sells for $90, including the sensor, gray armband strap, swim goggle clip, proprietary USB charger, and a mesh storage bag.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized marketing of eXciteOSA – a neuromuscular tongue stimulating device that could help prevent sleep apnea and snoring – and it doesn’t need to be worn while sleeping. Signifier Medical Technologies, a company with offices in London and Massachusetts, will market the device.

Read more: Onera Bioimpedance Patch Uses Artificial Intelligence to Detect Sleep Apnea

“Obstructive sleep apnea not only impacts sleep quality but can have other serious health impacts if untreated. Today’s authorization offers a new option for the thousands of individuals who experience snoring or mild sleep apnea,” said Malvina Eydelman, MD., director of the Office of Ophthalmic, Anesthesia, Respiratory, ENT and Dental Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the upper airway becomes blocked repeatedly during sleep, reducing or completely stopping airflow. Untreated OSA can lead to serious complications such as heart attack, glaucoma, diabetes, cancer and cognitive and behavioral disorders.

The eXciteOSA device is the first of its kind cleared by the FDA to treat sleep apnea and snoring by improving tongue muscle function by delivering electrical stimulation to the tongue through a mouthpiece worn for 20 minutes a day. It helps retrain the tongue to prevent it from collapsing backward and blocking airflow during sleep.

Read more: Withings Launches New ‘ScanWatch’ with ECG and Sleep Apnea Detection

The FDA assessed the safety and effectiveness of the eXciteOSA device in 115 patients with snoring, including 48 patients with snoring and mild sleep apnea.

Results showed a greater than 20% mean reduction in snoring time (at levels louder than 40dB) in 87 patients, reports FDA. Among patients with mild OSA (n=65), 79% responded to therapy with a mean reduction of 52% in AHI, a 58% reduction in oxygen desaturation index, and a 3.9-point reduction in Epworth Sleepiness Scale score. The most common adverse events observed were excessive salivation, tongue or tooth discomfort, tongue tingling, dental filling sensitivity, metallic taste, gagging, and tight jaw.

The eXciteOSA device is not intended for patients who have or are suspected of having more serious cases of OSA.

Fitbit users can now track their blood glucose levels using the device’s smartphone app. Fitbit will roll out the feature within the app throughout February, the company said.

Read more: Heart Rate Variability Fluctuates by Age, Gender, Activity and Time of Day, Fitbit Study Reveals

Approximately 34.2 million Americans live with diabetes, while another 88 million adults have prediabetes, according to CDC. Now more than ever, there’s a need for tools that can help people tackle the disease.

Users can set personalized ranges so they can see when they’re outside their target range to better identify important changes and get friendly reminders.

Why do you need to track your glucose levels?

When you eat food, your body breaks down carbohydrates into a simple sugar called glucose, which is absorbed into the blood. Blood glucose (or blood sugar) is the main sugar found in your blood. It’s an energy source that fuels your body—keeping your muscles moving, brain thinking, and heart pumping. But when blood glucose levels are too high, most commonly with diabetes, it can cause damage to blood vessels and increase the risk of hypertension, stroke, and heart attacks.

Tracking your blood glucose is important to help you keep your levels in your target range. It can allow you to learn your body’s unique patterns and how behaviors like diet, activity, and sleep and other factors like stress and medication adherence are affecting your levels, reports Fitbit.

In addition to the ability to track blood glucose, Fitbit Premium members gradually will have access to seeing how often their glucose levels fall within their target range over a 30-day period, along with correlations between when they take a reading and their levels as well trends in this data. Members can also share their blood glucose levels as part of their Wellness Report with their healthcare provider to help your care team offer more personalized guidance for your care.

Read more: Combining Fitbit Wearables With Health2Sync Glucose Control App Improves Diabetes Management

How to get started

To get started, open the Fitbit app and select 'Discover', followed by 'Health and Fitness Stats'. Add the 'Blood Glucose' tile to your 'Today' screen, then tap it to connect your OneTouch app and meter.

The feature is currently rolling out to all users throughout the US, in English only, and should be available nationwide by the end of February.

India’s largest watchmaker Titan has expanded its portfolio within the wearable category by launching its new smart fitness gear brand TraQ. The first-ever smart gear developed entirely by Titan, TraQ was conceptualized in-house at the design studio in Bangalore and is made exclusively for India's outperformers.

Read more: Garmin Lily, A Smartwatch Targeted at Women, Expected to Hit Markets Soon

Titan is eyeing the growing market in the fitness gear segment as the number of people taking up sports like running, cycling, swimming and aiming for a healthy and active lifestyle is on the rise.

“The pandemic has accentuated this trend creating demand for a dedicated gear for tracking performance in these sports. While there are many sports accessories brand, there are very limited players who offer products to track the performance in various sports. So, we are very excited to launch a new brand of performance gear catering to this growing need,” said Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches Division, Titan Company Limited.

The watches are available under three variants - TraQ Lite, TraQ Triathlon, and TraQ Cardio. TraQ Pro watches boast amazing features that enable the journey to outperform, including an in-built GPS, transflective display, ANT+ compatibility, heart rate monitoring, and much more. The Pro watches from the brand are multi-sport enabled with running, cycling, and swimming modes. The TraQ App further helps to go beyond the limit with advanced performance data, pace measurement, setting goals, connecting with friends, and much more. The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Apple App Store, reports BusinessWorldIn.

TraQ Lite is the introductory activity watch from the brand. This digital watch comes with a chest strap that allows the user to accurately measure heart rates as well as use heart rate zones for workout-based training. The watch records up to 25 fitness records for one to refer to.

Read more: Wahoo Enters Wearables Market with the Launch of Elemnt Rival Multi-Sport GPS Smartwatch

TraQ Triathlon and TraQ Cardio gears are equipped with smartwatch functions that help to stay on track, with call and message alerts on the go, to the latest weather updates before heading out for training. Users can time every move with clock features like alarm, stopwatch, and timer and experience the thrill of training with music that has the right BPM, through the music control feature. The TraQ Pros also have best in class battery backup with the delivery of up to 13 hrs with GPS on and almost a week on standby mode with Active HRM disabled. The watches have 5 buttons for input making them extremely easy to use when wearing protective gloves or with sweaty fingers where a touch-screen becomes extremely cumbersome to operate.

The newest trend to hit the wearables market is metabolic monitoring, which comes in the form of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. CGM tracks how the food consumed by the user affects their blood glucose and helps them pick the right food for their metabolism.

Read more: Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 CGM Wins CE Mark for People with Diabetes In Europe

These devices can also alert users if they might be at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, reports Katie Adams in BeckersHospitalReview.

Diabetes is evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. The evolution and progress of home glucose monitoring continued and was revolutionized even more, with the introduction of CGM. Now, companies like Abbott, Medtronic, and Dexcom are leading the race in CGM development.

Most metabolic monitoring involves measuring blood glucose, which is a marker for the risk of decreased brain glucose (due to hypoglycemia) and for increased end-organ glycosylation (due to hyperglycemia) that occurs in diabetes.

In 1999, the FDA approved the first CGM in the market, and the first real-time CGM was Glucowatch Biographer, which was worn as a wristwatch. This device used reverse iontophoresis measuring glucose levels.

New continuous blood glucose monitors are currently being developed that will eventually not only measure blood glucose levels but will be connected to insulin delivery systems to create an artificial pancreas.

Medtronic has launched InPen, an FDA-cleared smart insulin pen for people on multiple daily injections (MDI). The smart insulin pen will link with the Medtech giant’s Guardian Connect continuous glucose monitoring system, to help track insulin doses alongside real-time blood sugar readings through a single smartphone app provided by Medtronic.

Read more: Dexcom G6 Pro CGM Offers Both Blinded And Unblinded Mode For Glucose Monitoring

Although currently available CGMs are mostly invasive, various CGM makers are developing non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring. Nemaura, a UK-based medical technology company received CE approval for its non-invasive, affordable, and flexible Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) SugarBEAT for use by diabetics and pre-diabetics. This approval allows Nemaura to sell SugarBeat throughout the European Union. The key features of this CGM are:

• Non-invasive, needle-free, disposable adhesive skin-patch connected to a rechargeable transmitter
• Lowest priced CGM in the industry
• Enables users to spend more time in range (TIR) by providing an ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) chart

Undoubtedly, it’s an exciting time in the diabetes technology world. By watching developments in the CGM sector, we can safely say that continuous glucose monitoring will shape the future for diabetics.

Facedrive Health, the developer of TraceSCAN, is contributing to Herald – an open-source project developed by VMware – to Combat COVID-19. Herald is an open-source Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based protocol developed for the reliable exchange of information between a range of mobile phones. Herald is being developed with the goal of providing more reliable Bluetooth Proximity Detection to improve digital exposure notification applications worldwide in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Read more: Facedrive Launching Pilot Project For Its COVID-19 Contact Tracing Wearable in Partnership with LiUNA

To further expedite the reach and interoperability of digital exposure notification through wearables, Herald is sharing its codebase—including Facedrive’s contributions—with Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH.io). LFPH is a non-profit global community that builds, secures, and sustains open-source software to help public health authorities (PHAs) around the world combat COVID-19 and future epidemics. As more projects are contributed, LFPH will expand its scope into software support for all phases of PHA’s testing, tracing, and isolation activities, reports BusinessWire.

Herald delivers a set of features that enhance exposure notification at the inter-device communications level. Important features include 100% detection of phones in the foreground and background across iOS and Android devices, more frequent distance estimations enabling more accurate data capture and risk measurement over time. Perhaps most importantly, by providing a common packet header Herald allows for international interoperability amongst all contact tracing applications, whether designed for centralized or decentralized contact matching and risk scoring.

TraceSCAN, Facedrive Health’s innovative exposure notification, and smart wearables solution, is powered by cutting-edge Bluetooth technology which enables the device to work as an independent wearable product or in conjunction with mobile-only solutions. Given Facedrive Health’s expertise in the development of wearable exposure notification devices, joining the Herald community and contributing to its development was a natural fit.

Read more: This App Combines AI and Biosensors to Detect COVID-19 in Two Minutes, Even in Asymptomatic Patients

“The Herald Protocol is an innovative and necessary foundational technology that can significantly improve the communications layer of the exposure notification application stack. Based on our experience in building TraceSCAN, we are pleased to be involved in the community development of Herald, alongside VMware and other partners,” said Sayan Navaratnam, Chairman and CEO of Facedrive. “Herald has the potential to significantly improve the range and accuracy of COVID-19 related applications and to enable universal interoperability across technology silos in Canada and internationally. This type of global connectivity is critical because the larger an exposure notification network becomes, the more effective it is at detecting and halting the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” added Navaratnam.

Medidata has announced the launch of Sensor Cloud, a platform for managing a broad range of sensor and digital health technology data during the clinical trial process.

Read more: Clinical Trial Services Company VeraSci Joins Forces with ActiGraph to Expand Wearables Use in Clinical Trials

The New York-based company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of French software firm Dassault Systemes, said the Sensor Cloud seamlessly integrates Medidata’s existing clinical cloud technology, the Medidata Rave Clinical Cloud, and supports continuous patient data collection from both Medidata and third-party medical-grade sensors, reports Medidata.

“With the ability to measure a wide variety of biometric data including vital signs, movement, sleep patterns, and more, Sensor Cloud presents an unparalleled opportunity for researchers to derive new insights from vast amounts of data,” said Anthony Costello, president, Patient Cloud at Medidata. “As sensor usage in clinical trials is projected to surge up to 70% by 2025, it is imperative that we create the platform needed to rapidly standardize and integrate sensor data in order to harness the full power of these technologies for the benefit of patients.”

Following Medidata’s recent acquisition of digital biomarker business MC10, the launch of Sensor Cloud further strengthens the company’s unique data ingestion, analytics and insights capabilities that currently provide differentiated value to patients, trial sites, trial sponsors, and contract research organizations (CROs).

Using Sensor Cloud, researchers can access sensor data through a single Application Programming Interface (API, a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other) and integrate new sensor technologies in weeks rather than months. Sensor Cloud provides the ability to:

• Enable greater insights through proprietary analytics including novel digital biomarker discovery
• Lower costs and enable greater operational efficiency by making it easier for patients to share data and stay enrolled in trials
• Standardize data from ingestion through delivery via a common data model
• Reduce site and patient burden by cutting down on-site visits, time, and travel through a more flexible engagement model

Read more: Impact of Mobile Devices on Clinical Trial Data Collection

“Social distancing and other prevention protocols necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly accelerated the adoption of remote technologies as a way to ensure the continuation of clinical trials,” added Costello. “These advancements will continue to grow in popularity, outlasting the pandemic and, as trials continue to improve and become more patient-centric, communication and engagement become increasingly important. Patient involvement and the quality of the data generated by sensors will be integral to the overall evolution of this innovative research model.”w

Across the world, as vaccine rollout accelerates and people start returning to work, employers are grappling with making their workplaces safe from COVID-19. Many are turning to wearable technology to maintain social distancing and safety among their employees.

Read more: Safe Spacer Wearable Helps Workers And Others Maintain Social Distance Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Wearable tech in the workplace is not new. According to a report by PwC, more than 75 million wearables have been used in the workplace in 2020. In the US, approximately 90% of companies now operate "wellness programs" for their employees which include competitions and team building to improve fitness and increasingly use wearable technology to record results.

Fitbit announced a new Ready for Work solution amid the pandemic. The solution gives employees access to key health metrics from their Fitbit device along with exposure, symptom, and temperature logging, all within an easy-to-use Daily Check-In feature that provides employees with guidance on whether to go into the workplace. Daily reporting and analytics enable employers to quickly assess and monitor workplace health and safety and provide support for employees.

Other wearable makers like Halo, Nymi, Modjoul, Kinetic, Estimote, and Safe Spacer developed wearables to ensure employees’ safe return to work. US Air Force’s innovation-pushing startup AFWERX is planning to buy around 10,000 wearable devices that can pinpoint and tip-off personnel of potential COVID-19 infections early on.

However, there are challenges that wearables must overcome. Many employees will naturally be uncomfortable about having their activity monitored in this way. They may find it intrusive or unreasonable, especially if they suspect data could be used in a disciplinary context, reports People Management.

Employers must clearly state why they’re using the wearable device. Is it to track whether social distancing guidelines are being adhered to, for example, or is it to prevent the spread of COVID-19?

HIPAA too may apply to wearables and their collection of health-related data when related to the operation of a group health plan. Employers will need to consider the implications of this popular set of privacy and security standards.

As wearable technology develops, it may eventually provide a viable solution for many employers to help detect COVID-19 symptoms early, and to enforce social distancing measures to reduce the risk of infection in the workplace.

Read more: Nymi Launches Wearable Wristband For Health and Safety of Workers

If used properly, wearable technology could be a vital part of ensuring our safe return to workplaces and in the long run it may help protect employee health and wellbeing.

Designers are often challenged with the tradeoff between small size and long runtime for wearable and IoT applications. Addressing that challenge is MAX20361, a single-/multi-cell solar harvester with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from Maxim Integrated. The industry’s smallest solar harvesting solution is ideal for space-constrained applications such as wearables and emerging internet of things (IoT) applications.

Read more: Maxim Integrated and Mouser Launches New eBook that Explores Next-Gen Healthcare Wearables

By enabling solar charging in these highly space-constrained products, the MAX20361 can extend the runtime of those devices by providing a supplemental power source. This solar harvester reduces solution size by at least half compared to the closest competitor. In addition, the MAX20361 increases harvested energy with up to 5 percent better boost efficiency than the closest competitor, coupled with an adaptive MPPT approach which can improve the overall system-level efficiency even further, reports Maxim Integrated.

“This device offers exciting possibilities for a new supplemental power source to continually charge the battery of a device,” said Frank Dowling, director of the Industrial and Healthcare Business Unit at Maxim Integrated. “For example, if you can harvest just 30mW of solar power per day on a 300mAHr battery system which typically runs for three weeks, you can, as a result, extend that runtime by over 50 percent.”

Key Advantages

• Smallest Size: Industry’s smallest solar harvesting solution due to reduced component size and smaller, fewer external components; at least 50 percent smaller solution size compared to the closest competitor
• Higher Efficiency: Increased boost efficiency maximizes harvested energy with up to 5 percent better boost efficiency than the closest competitor; additional harvesting gains can be achieved through adaptive MPPT features coupled with the unique integrated harvesting gauge for real-time indications of efficiency to optimize performance

“Innovation continues to drive adoption of consumer wearables with global revenue estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent in the next four years,” said James Hayward, principal analyst at IDTechEx Research. “For device manufacturers, longer battery life and smaller form factor remain key product features toward market differentiation and user satisfaction.”

Read more: Maxim’s New Wrist Form Factor Reference Design Reduces Health Wearable Development Time By Six Months

Availability and Pricing

The MAX20361 is available at Maxim Integrated’s website for $2.64 (1000-up, FOB USA); also available from authorized distributors. The MAX20361EVKIT# evaluation kit is available for $57.

Researchers at Penn State University have developed a new kind of wearable sensor that would deliver real-time medical data to those with eye or mouth diseases, according to Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in the Penn State Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM).

Read more: Penn State Engineers Print Sensors Directly On Human Skin Without Using Heat

Published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering, the small wearable device is designed to be placed near the eyes or mouth to collect data from tears or saliva. Data collected would then be sent to a user’s smartphone or sent to their doctor, reports Mariah Chuprinski in Penn State News.

“We sought to create a device that collects both small and large substances of biofluids such as tears and saliva, which can be analyzed for certain conditions on a rapid, continuous basis, rather than waiting on test results from samples in a lab,” said Cheng, who is also the lead author of the research.

“But a device like this would have to be discreet, soft and comfortable for a patient to agree to wear it,” he said. “And it would have to be a low-cost option for patients.”

The tears- and saliva-sensing technology can help manage diseases like oral ulcers, oral cancer, eye wrinkles, and oral or eye infections like keratitis, which is inflammation of the clear tissue on the front of the eye.

Last year, Cheng published a similar wearable skin patch that collects sweat and tests for pH, sodium, and glucose levels — most helpful for those with hypoglycemia or diabetes.

This new device not only collects data but also administers medicine with a microneedle through the skin around the eye, mouth, or tongue.

“Through nano- to micro-steel ports on the device, we can probe the cell to deliver molecular drugs for treatment in a very efficient process at the cellular level,” Cheng said. “Conversely, the ports can allow us to get access to the gene and coding information on the cell.”

The researchers are developing working prototypes and are in talks with local manufacturers as well as the National Institutes of Health and Amazon for manufacturing the device on a large scale.

“This is a mature technology with a lot of interest behind it,” Cheng said. “There are many possible uses for the device if it makes it to the commercial marketplace.”

With future support from the National Science Foundation, Cheng hopes to extend the technology to other applications as well.

Facebook has started rolling out Messenger on Oculus Quest and Quest 2 headsets. With the v25 software update, users will be able to bring Facebook Messenger to Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2. This will allow them to chat with Facebook friends who own any device with Messenger. Facebook said that without taking off the headset you’ll be able to write messages by typing with a virtual keyboard, select from pre-written texts, or use Quest’s voice-to-text function. However, Messenger will only be available to those who have already connected their Facebook accounts to their Quest or Quest 2 headset.

Read more: Facebook Reportedly Set Up New Group for Building Augmented Reality Glasses

“We also want to bring people together and make it easier than ever to join your friends and family in VR. That means making it easier to find your friends and family in VR. This week we’ll begin rolling out Messenger in VR, helping you communicate with the special people in your life—whether you’re looking to compete in Beat Saber, meet up and watch a performance in Venues, or just chat about what’s for dinner without removing your headset,” Oculus said in its blog.

Users can also send private Oculus Party invites to make jumping into multiplayer games more simple. Facebook says the v25 update is rolling out starting this week, however may take a few weeks to arrive to all users, reports RoadToVR.

Users can choose to sign out of Messenger at any time via the settings, in case they want to lend the headset to others. The signing back in the process is easy and can be done by selecting the Messenger profile and re-entering the password.

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

Alongside, the Messenger update, Facebook also shared that with the new update, they will be rolling out what they call App Lab, essentially a TestFlight-like feature to allow Quest users to download content outside of the curated Oculus Store.

For the tenth consecutive year, Epic Systems was awarded the top overall software suite in 2020 Best in KLAS health IT rankings. Overall, Epic earned eight awards, including top overall physician practice vendor.

Read more: Global Software-Defined Perimeter Market Expected To Grow At A CAGR of 5% During 2020-2025

Best in KLAS 2020 Software & Services recognizes the leading vendors for solutions, services and management consulting offered in the United States. Global Best in KLAS 2020, also released today, recognizes the leading software and service organizations that serve the global healthcare market outside the United States.

“Providers and payers demand better performance, usability, and interoperability from their vendor partners every year,” says Adam Gale, President of KLAS. “Best in KLAS winners set the standard of excellence in their market segment. Earning a Best in KLAS award should both excite and humble the recipients. It serves as a signal to providers that they can expect the best from the winning vendors.”

2020 Best in KLAS definitions. Best in KLAS is awarded only in those software and services market segments that have the broadest operational and clinical impact on healthcare organizations, KLAS Research said Global Software-Defined Perimeter Market Expected To Grow At A CAGR of 5% During 2020-2025.

Category Leader is reserved for use in select, niche market segments that don’t qualify for Best in KLAS but in which at least two products meet minimum KLAS data levels. Like Best in KLAS winners, vendors awarded Category Leader also stand out for helping healthcare organizations deliver quality patient care.

Overall Software Suite is reserved for those vendors that provide a suite of products clients would purchase to address their core IT needs. Vendors that have both a fully rated clinical and financial system, as well as ancillary systems qualify for this overall suite ranking. Additional detail has been provided around how each vendor performs against the other enterprise suites and against the various ancillary markets in which a vendor has a product offering currently rated by KLAS.

Here is the list of KLAS overall software suite rankings, based on a 100-point scale:

1. Epic: 85.9
2. Meditech C/S: 77.1
3. Allscripts Paragon: 71.5
4. Cerner: 70.6
5. Allscripts: 67.6
6. CPSI Evident Thrive: 66.9

Best in KLAS is based on information obtained from the approximately 2,500 interviews KLAS conducts with providers and payers each month. Annually, these interviews represent the opinions of healthcare professionals and clinicians from more than 4,500 hospitals and 2,500 clinics, and account for 1,200 products and services from more than 450 vendors.

Read more: Valencell Launches Software Library, Helping Manufacturers to Integrate the Company’s Software Into Their Wearables

KLAS is a research and insights firm on a global mission to improve healthcare delivery by amplifying the provider's voice. Working with thousands of healthcare professionals and clinicians, KLAS gathers data and insights on software, services and medical equipment to deliver timely reports, trends and statistical overviews.

Google’s Pixel phones will soon be able to track heart rate and respiratory rate using only your phone’s camera. The feature will be made available in Google Fit app for Pixel phones, the company announced in a blog post. Google also said it’ll expand the feature to more Android phones in the future, but did not specify which devices will get this next.

Read more: Google Is Working On A New Generation Of Wearables, Including Holographic Glasses And Smart Tattoos

Google Pixel isn’t the first smartphone to track heart rate. Samsung’s Galaxy S5 through the Galaxy S10 could track heart rate, reports The Verge. Google’s heart rate monitor is similar to Samsung’s, which used a physical photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor on the back of the phone. Users could simply press a finger against the sensor and get a heart reading in seconds.

The Pixel phones do not have a PPG sensor, but it uses the actual rear camera. This works by tracking color change as blood moves through your fingertip. Google says, "To measure your heart rate, simply place your finger on the rear-facing camera lens.”

Measuring your respiratory rate works with the selfie camera, where you position yourself within a frame and then just breathe.

“A lot of people, especially in disadvantaged economic classes right now, don’t have things like wearables, but would still really benefit from the ability to be able to track their breathing rate, heart rate, et cetera”, said Jack Po, a product manager at Google Health.

Heart rate data from Google’s app will not be as comprehensive as the types of readings delivered by smartwatches and other wearables. But an at-home feature that can check in on these metrics on demand is still a useful tool, Po said.

Google said it is relying on its own customary algorithms to calculate the heart rate and respiratory rate. It also claims these will work “in a variety of real-world conditions and for as many people as possible.”

Read more: Samsonite’s New Smart Backpack Powered By Google’s Jacquard Tag Can Control Your Phone

The Fit app explicitly tells users that:

“These results are not intended for medical purposes and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.”

Sepsis, a life-threatening emergency, happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. One of every three patients who dies in the hospital has sepsis. The life-threatening response to infection is difficult to detect in its earliest stages, and every hour the condition goes untreated increases a patient's mortality risk by 4%.

Read more: University of Missouri Engineers Develop On-Skin Device that Works as Personal Air Conditioner

The University of Missouri Health System consists of five hospitals with 602 beds in total. After implementing Cerner’s Sepsis Management solution in February 2017, teams at the University of Missouri Health Care and the Tiger Institute focused on turning early detection into prompt action. Their work helped increase proactive intervention from the organization’s rapid response team (RRT) — the Tiger Team — while reducing sepsis mortality rates and decreasing code blue calls to resuscitate patients, reports MU Health Care.

The teams configured Cerner solutions to automatically calculate each patient's national early warning score (NEWS) and help care teams follow MU Health Care’s NEWS-driven nursing protocol. NEWS summarizes a patient's risk for clinical decline based on commonly tracked vital signs. The higher the NEWS, the more serious the patient's condition.

“A patient’s NEWS helps aggregate small changes that, on their own, might seem harmless,” explained the project's physician champion, Catherine Jones, MD, hospitalist and medical director for medical specialties. “The scores help us catch sepsis early, when it's difficult to spot but easier to treat, and trigger prompt action.”

The researchers at MU Health Care analyzed historical patients’ scores to identify when patients typically require RRT intervention or transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU). Guided by those thresholds, they developed an algorithm and a NEWS-driven nursing protocol to help caregivers act appropriately based on the patient’s status and location within the hospital.

“Once we identified critical NEWS thresholds, we could establish a preemptive protocol,” said Jones. “We try to stay a step ahead of the infection.”

Since MU Health Care turned on NEWS alerts at University Hospital in August 2019, rapid response calls increased 63% and code blue calls decreased 40%.

“Reaching patients with the rapid response team sooner helps avoid code blue calls,” said Mason Crawford, MHA, RN, performance improvement coordinator. “We’re avoiding patient decline.”

By comparing actual sepsis mortality to projections based on pre-implementation mortality rates, MU Health Care estimates NEWS and NEWS-driven nursing protocol helped avoid 12 sepsis-related deaths in nine months. University Hospital’s mortality index — a ratio of observed deaths to expected deaths, given the severity of septic patients’ primary diagnoses and comorbidities — dropped 22% during that time.

Read more: MU Engineers Develop New Method Of Allowing Patients To Draw Their Biomedical Sensors On Skin

“We knew the project would impact our sepsis mortality rates, but we didn’t realize how significant it would be,” said Benjamin Wax, BSN, RN, senior clinical informaticist at MU’s Tiger Institute.

Toronto technology company Nymi announced a partnership with ELATEC, a provider of RFID readers and NFC/BLE mobile device readers. The partnership will enable users of Nymi’s Workplace Wearables to seamlessly open doors and authenticate to systems, devices and machines that utilize ELATEC’s readers.

Read more: HID Global Employing Wearable Nymi Band For Employee Authentication

“This partnership with ELATEC provides important market reach and compatibility for our Workplace Wearables,” said Andrew Foxcroft, Vice President of Nymi. “The Nymi Band is being rapidly adopted in industries like pharma and medical device manufacturing with an emphasis on privacy, security, and a natural user experience. ELATEC reader compatibility will facilitate penetration of these and other industries and global regions.”

The Nymi Band enables organizations to incorporate Nymi's passwordless technology with applications that ensure the health, safety, and security of connected workers, enabling a range of use cases that includes COVID-19 social distancing and contact tracing, among others, the company says.

According to IDC, digital transformation (DX) spending will approach $1.3 trillion in 2020, with digitally-enhanced workers becoming more effective and functional by at least 35% next year. Workplace wearables for connected workers have become a vital component of DX strategies and are projected to exceed $60 billion globally by 2022 (Deloitte). The Nymi Band addresses the challenges of digitally-led initiatives that, coupled with unprecedented obstacles from the COVID-19 pandemic, require a unique approach to employee health, safety, and security.

The Nymi Band secures an individual's identity by using their unique fingerprint and heart rhythm to bind the user to the band. It uses On-Body Detection (OBD) and presence to ensure that the band is always on the intended user and the user is actually there. Finally, it uses cryptography to mathematically prove the user's identity to the network. Because the biometrics never leave the band, this provides the highest level of both security and privacy available.

Read more: Xyntek, Nymi Partner Up to Add Wearable Biometric Devices to their Platform

“We’re delighted to be working with Nymi in providing a frictionless and hands-free authentication, authorization, and access control solution for our customers across numerous industries,” said Paul Massey, CEO of ELATEC Inc. “Wearable technology enables a very positive user experience and exciting new applications for our reader solutions.”

Elon Musk has announced that his brain-computer interface Neuralink is looking to accelerate its pace to enable human trials as soon as possible. Provided that things go well, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO remarked that human trials for Neuralink’s technology could begin as early as this year.

Read more: Elon Musk Unveils Neuralink Brain Implant, Connecting Human Brains to Computers

“Neuralink is working super hard to ensure implant safety & is in close communication with the FDA. If things go well, we might be able to do initial human trials later this year,” Musk said.

The Neuralink is a microchip that is designed to implant artificial intelligence into human brains as well as potentially cure neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, reports BusinessInsider.

Musk claims the brain-machine interface could do anything from cure paralysis to give people telepathic powers, referring to the device as "a Fitbit in your skull."

The Neuralink system has a small device with a rechargeable battery meant to last a full day. There are wires embedded in the cortical surface of the brain for continuously recording 1,024 channels of neural signals at once. A six-axis inertial measurement unit tracks head movement. There are also sensors for measuring temperature, and a Bluetooth antenna to connect with a smartphone app.

The device is less invasive than other Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) systems that are implanted around the chest area, and a link implanted through the skull. Musk saying it could be implanted in less than one hour in an outpatient setting and without the use of general anesthesia, with options for removal or upgrades down the line.

Read more: Brain Computer Interface with Neurofeedback Can Improve Your Performance, Says Columbia Study

Musk is known for making awe-inspiring claims and then failing to deliver. He predicted one million self-driving taxis on the road by the end of 2020. But that didn’t happen. However, let’s just hope he’s right this time around. The idea behind Neuralink is so far-fetched that it could transform the world.

US connected care medical technology company Hillrom announced today that it has acquired contact-free continuous monitoring technology from Israeli company EarlySense for $30 million, potential milestone payments, and a portion of Hillrom's equity investment in EarlySense.

Read more: VivaLNK Launches New Turnkey Service for Healthcare Applications in Remote Patient Monitoring

EarlySense will receive licensing for all intellectual property and technology sold to Hillrom for use outside the hospital, as well as a cash consideration of $30 million, potential payments based on the achievement of certain commercial milestones, and a portion of Hillrom’s equity investment in EarlySense, Globes reports.

EarlySense CEO Matt Johnson said, "We set out to save lives and improve care by implementing AI-based contact-free patient monitoring in healthcare facilities across the globe. We made great progress by becoming the standard of care in Hillrom’s flagship Centrella Smart+ hospital bed. Our technology has already monitored more than one million patients and helped clinicians save tens of thousands of lives, and we expect to accelerate this significant impact as a result of this technology sale to Hillrom."

He added, "The Covid-19 pandemic has created historic opportunities for smart health technologies outside the hospital, and this transaction will allow us to continue serving our global customer base and apply our clinically proven technology to this high-growth sector. Our more than one hundred million patient-monitored hours uniquely position us to deliver intelligent, predictive, and patented solutions that elevate remote patient care without increasing the risk of harmful infection."

EarlySense technology allows for the continuous monitoring – more than 100 times per minute – of patient heart and respiratory rates without anyone ever touching the patient.

Hillrom President and CEO John Groetelaars said, "EarlySense’s contact-free continuous monitoring technology provides caregivers with a full picture of patient health, allowing for intervention at the earliest signs of patient deterioration," said "We look forward to bringing this critical technology to additional customers around the world as we deliver on our vision of Advancing Connected Care.”

Read more: Medtronic Buys Smart Insulin Pen Company Companion Medical

Wells Fargo Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to EarlySense in the deal and Goldfarb & Seligman and Polsinelli served as legal counsel. Hillrom was represented by Advs. Mark Cohen, Hili Rashkovan, Tal Rotman and Maya Lakstein of the Pearl Cohen law firm.

Market Industry Reports (MIR) has published a new report titled “Wearable Medical Devices Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2019–2030.” According to the report, the wearable medical devices market is estimated to be over US$ 12.5 billion in 2019. It is anticipated to grow at a ~22% CAGR from 2019 to 2030.

Read more: Global Medical Wearables Market Size to Reach US $85.6 Billion by 2027: Polaris Market Research

The growth of the wearable medical devices market can be attributed to several factors such as technological advancements, innovations in the field of healthcare, and the rising adoption of smartphones among others. Moreover, growing consciousness regarding benefits associated with a healthy lifestyle has been critical in contributing to the wide-scale adoption of wearable medical devices, worldwide. A sample copy of Wearable Medical Devices Market is available at: https://www.marketindustryreports.com/pdf/249

Key players in the medical device market, according to Market Industry Reports are:

• Fitbit
• Koninklijke
• Philips N.V.
• Omron Healthcare
• Drägerwerk AG & Co.
• KGaA,
• Polar Electro
• VitalConnect
• World Global Network
• Garmin Ltd.
• Xiaomi and ten3T Healthcare

The rising prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases coupled with the rising geriatric population is fueling the demand for wearable medical devices market. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S., approximately 18.2 million adults aged above 20 years suffer from Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).

Technological advancements in the sector of wearable medical devices have been significant in encouraging manufacturers to explore and develop advanced devices with superior functionalities. Moreover, Many devices have been introduced in the market by key players to help individuals track their health and manage diverse conditions. For instance, in January 2019, Omron Healthcare, Inc., a global leader in personal heart health and wellness technology launched HeartGuide, a wearable blood pressure monitoring system. The company has also received the 510K FDA clearance for the same.

The Wearable Medical Devices Market is segmented on the basis of Product, Modality, Cancer Type, End-Users and region.

By Type:

Smart Watches, Activity Monitors, Smart Clothing, Smart Patches

Distribution Channel:

Online Channel, Pharmacies and, Hypermarket

Device Type:

Diagnostic & Monitoring Devices and Therapeutic Devices

Application:

Sports & Fitness, Remote, Patient Monitoring and, Home Healthcare

Research Approach:

As a standard protocol at MIR, all research assignments go through the following rigorous processes.

• Secondary Research
• Primary Research
• Market Size Estimation & Forecasting
• Data Validation & Triangulation
• Report Generation

Read more: Diagnostic Wearable Medical Devices Market Anticipated to Grow Substantially Through 2025

Market Industry Reports is a global leader in market measurement & advisory services, Market Industry Reports is at the forefront of innovation to address the worldwide industry trends and opportunities. We identified the caliber of market dynamics & hence we excel in the areas of innovation and optimization, integrity, curiosity, customer and brand experience, and strategic business intelligence through our research.