Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed SKINTRONICS – a wearable stress monitor that utilizes fully stretchable, wireless skin-conformal bioelectronics, designed to provide precise readings of heart rate and sweat gland activity via galvanic skin response.

Read more: Ultrasound Wearable Patch Could Provide Early Warning for Heart Attacks and Strokes

Georgia Tech’s thin, conductive film and flexible layered electrodes with nanomembrane sensors create an impressive device that weighs less than 7 g, including its rechargeable battery. Other galvanic skin response wearable monitors may weigh (in volume) six times more than this technology or greater.

Where other devices lack the ability to maintain adequate contact without pressure from a band or strap, this adaptable stress monitor can be applied directly to the skin and fits snugly to the natural curvature of the body at the wrist or shoulder. The bioelectric wearable device is designed for greater comfort—it is soft, thin, and less than 5 mm thick. The durability and performance of the portable stress monitor have been tested to confirm that it can endure the daily wear of its users, reports Georgia Tech.

The quality of the data output of the high-sensitivity nanomembranes in this novel device was also tested and measured to be comparable, if not superior when concurrently compared to two commercially available devices. Georgia Tech’s portable stress monitor is designed to provide more accurate ongoing measurements and delivers an improved wearable design so that cardiac patients, infants in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), or even athletes may receive improved health monitoring with greater comfort.

Benefits/Advantages

• All-in-one: The personal adhesive bandage-like single device platform offers wireless, multi-data sensing by simply mounting it on the skin.
• Disposable: This wearable device is fully disposable after use and the measured data can be simply sent to the cloud via a tablet or smartphone app.
• Compact: The unique, thin design of this bioelectric device is one-sixth the volume of current market offerings—weighing less than 7 g, including its rechargeable battery.
• Greater comfort: The pattern of the biosensor’s electrodes is constructed to allow more than 50% stretchability and 30% areal coverage to the skin without the need for a constricting band or strap.
• Durable: The device has been successfully tested for flexibility and stability of its components with 1,000 cyclic stretching experiments to mimic daily use on the skin.

Potential Commercial Applications

• Stress monitoring for cardiac patients
• Neo-natal monitoring in PICU
• Pediatric patient health monitoring
• Baseline metrics and ongoing monitoring of athletes
• Corporate and public employee wellness programs

Read more: Janitri’s Wearable Patch Helping to Save Lives of Newborns and Mothers

Background and More Information

Stress monitors have evolved significantly from the originally wired electrodes—with limited placement near the palm/fingertips—to the wearable health monitors that multi-task as a pedometer, watch, and extension of the user’s cell phone. Though miniaturization of bioelectronics has improved the technology, the current market of monitors has been unable to break away from the combined plastic and metal frames that require a tight fit with a strap or band to conform to the body’s natural curvature at the wrist or ankle. Research shows that Georgia Tech’s wearable stress monitor brings greater comfort and flexibility without a constricting strap or band while providing accurate data about skin conductance changes, which is a quantifiable measurement of stress.

HingeConnect uniquely bridges the digital/in-person divide and enables real-time interventions by connecting Hinge Health’s Care Team across 71,000 clinical facilities

Digital musculoskeletal clinic Hinge Health launched HingeConnect to set a new standard in personalized care via seamless electronic medical record (EMR) integration, real-time interventions, and robust care coordination between digital and in-person providers.

Read more: Stryker Buys OrthoSensor and Its Knee Surgery Sensor Technology Verasense

The pandemic prompted a surge in digital care, providing Americans with greater access to convenient care. However, it also exposed a lack of coordination between in-person and digital providers, which can result in a poor participant experience, lower-quality care, and higher costs. This is especially relevant in musculoskeletal (MSK) health because ineffective care results in prolonged pain and increased costs and because 1% of plan members drive 55% of MSK costs, reports Hinge Health.

How HingeConnect works:

• Real-time interventions. EMR data from 750,000 providers across 71,000 care sites is proactively monitored to identify opportunities to offer less-invasive care by flagging select orders, such as surgery referrals or opiate prescriptions. Our care team can then intervene in real-time with noninvasive and nonaddictive alternatives, such as digital care programs or the groundbreaking impulse therapy device, the Hinge Health Enso.
• Personalized and coordinated care plans. Each member’s medical history is automatically compiled to inform the Hinge Health care team of issues such as injuries, pain medication use, and comorbid conditions so care plans can be personalized and carefully coordinated.
• Integrated medical history. By securely sharing Hinge Health outcome data with members’ external care providers, the platform promotes robust care coordination with in-person providers.

“As digital care continues to grow, the opportunity and need to integrate with in-person care grows in lockstep,” said Dr. Michael Fredericson, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford. “HingeConnect not only creates an integrated experience for members but also affords Hinge Health the unique ability to identify patients early in their course of treatment.”

“HingeConnect uniquely empowers our care team to see the whole picture and seamlessly coordinate care,” said Dr. Jeff Krauss, Hinge Health’s chief medical officer. “What makes HingeConnect even more valuable is the speed at which our care team receives information: sometimes within an hour of an order being created. Our staff physicians can immediately intervene to offer alternatives to surgery, or our doctors of physical therapy can intervene to offer alternatives to opioids.”

Read more: VHA Expanding Pain Management Program With SAM Wearable Ultrasound Patch

About Hinge Health

Hinge Health is pioneering the world’s most patient-centered Digital Musculoskeletal (MSK) Clinic. Four in five employers and 90% of health plans with a digital MSK solution have chosen Hinge Health. Hinge Health reduces MSK pain, opioid use, and surgeries by pairing advanced wearable technology with a comprehensive clinical care team, including doctors of physical therapy, physicians, board-certified health coaches, and more. Available to millions of members, Hinge Health is the #1 Digital MSK Clinic™ for health plans and employers, including Boeing, Salesforce, and US Foods.

DexCom, the global leader in real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people with diabetes, announced the FDA clearance of the Dexcom Partner Web APIs, enabling invited third-party developers to integrate real-time CGM data into their digital health apps and devices.

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

“FDA clearance of our real-time APIs further solidifies Dexcom as the leader in interoperable CGM, giving Dexcom users even more choice in how they view and interact with their glucose data,” said Jake Leach, chief technology officer at Dexcom. “The new APIs will help seamlessly integrate the power of real-time Dexcom CGM data into some of the leading diabetes and digital health solutions.”

Several prominent diabetes and digital health companies have been invited to access the real-time APIs and are already in the testing and development phase, including Garmin® and Teladoc Health’s Livongo® for Diabetes, reports BusinessWire.

“Garmin welcomes the opportunity to bring Dexcom CGM data to runners, cyclists, and everyday users who rely on the technology 24/7 to proactively manage their diabetes,” said Joe Schrick, vice president of fitness at Garmin. “We are proud to be part of this integration that will allow users a secondary way to quickly and discreetly view estimated glucose levels and trends right from their smartwatch at any time.”

People with diabetes and their healthcare providers will benefit from the integration of real-time Dexcom CGM data into third-party apps and devices in a multitude of ways. For example, it will:

• Allow users to quickly see all their therapy data in one place
• Empower users to utilize the apps they find most beneficial for a more tailored Dexcom experience
• Enable in-the-moment diabetes management coaching and feedback

Read more: Livongo Partners with Dexcom to Integrate Dexcom’s CGM System into their Platform

About DexCom

Dexcom, Inc. empowers people to take control of diabetes through innovative continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Dexcom has emerged as a leader in diabetes care technology. By listening to the needs of users, caregivers, and providers, Dexcom simplifies and improves diabetes management around the world.

PKvitality – an innovative start-up brought up its unique solution to the 13 IoT/WT Innovation World Cup®. PKvitality develops K’Watch Glucose, a line of next-generation trackers with the ability to analyze key physiological markers by simply testing the skin rather than analyzing blood samples.

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1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF! – HOW DID IT ALL START?

PKvitality is an advanced bio-wearable company currently working on its innovative Skin Taste® technology. This technology will allow the analysis of key physiological markers by simply “tasting” the skin rather than analyzing blood samples. It will be placed at the back of K’Watch, a smartwatch providing a painless and discrete Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) device. It will enable precise and continuous monitoring of glucose levels anytime and anywhere. Using the same technology, PKvitality is also working on K’Watch Athlete, a smartwatch that will provide real-time monitoring of their lactic acid – an indicator of muscle fatigue – to significantly improve an athlete’s training and performance.

Read more: PKvitality’s K’Watch Glucose Is a Smartwatch That Provides Continuous Glucose Monitoring

We started this project in 2016 and the name of PKvitality pronounced “Pekka” in French means star in Polynesian dialect. It’s the encounter of the Tribal world, our origins, and the Stars, a journey, an adventure. PK is a journey toward the human being.

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2. WHAT ARE THE KEY MILESTONES YOU HAVE REACHED SO FAR?

• 2016: project initiated
• 01/2017: Consumer Electronic Show presence: 3 awards including 1 BEST OF INNOVATION in “Tech for a Better World”
• December 2017: Laureate of Concours Innovation Numérique by BPIFrance (1 045K€)
• October 2018: Entering pre-clinical stage (more in vitro, 1st in vivo, ex vivo, in silico)
• October 2019: Beurer Gmbh, a major distributor of blood monitors in Germany, Italy, and Austria invests 2M€ alongside a 250K€ private investment from Beurer Managing Director
• November 2019: PKvitality first company to be co-accelerated by Dassault Systemes and Sanofi
• December 2019: Winner in the Medtech category of EIT Health Catapult contest, the largest European startup health contest
• June 2020: Seed fundraising tour closed with a total of €3,4m
• September 2020: Laureate of the Eurostars and Innov’up Leader PIA programs and the start of the research on multi-analyte monitoring solutions
• September 2020: Laureate of the highly selective EIC Accelerator program
• November 2020: Won the 12th edition of the Healthcare Innovation World Cup®

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3. WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED?

The main challenge PKvitality has faced is due to the pluridisciplinary and complexity of the project. PKvitality has successfully gathered a team of medical experts, entrepreneurs, people with a consumer electronics approach, and a competent IT and engineering team. And all of these people work together to foster collective intelligence, that was a challenge.

The funding is also a major key to a startup's success. Many supports are foreseen so that startups can continue to develop, especially in public funding. One very important thing is to understand the ecosystem and the international, continental, or national grants/training/supports that can be applied to your company and the right timing to use them.

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4. WHAT IS COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

We are currently preparing the first clinical trials that will happen in a couple of months on a reduced number of people.

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5. DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE INNOVATION WORLD CUP® AND BEING THE WINNER?

The Innovation World Cup® was a great experience for PKvitality and we will definitely be back in the competition next year!

Related PKvitality’s SkinTaste Sensor and Tiny Needles Measure Glucose by Painlessly Penetrating Your Skin

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6. CAN YOU SHARE WITH US YOUR THREE TIPS FOR UPCOMING START-UPS?

• Gather concrete elements and results to show your product/prototype is on track and present them in an understandable and attractive way.
• Build your presentation around coherent and fluid storytelling.
• Practice practice practice… your pitch!

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THANK YOU FOR THE INTERESTING INSIGHTS AND WE SHALL KEEP WATCHING YOUR NEXT BIG STEPS!

Visit PKvitality and learn more about their tracking devices that will help millions of people to improve their health or athletic performance.

Join the 13th IoT/WT Innovation World Cup®. Submit your solution free of charge. The top selected finalists will be invited to present their solution live at HANNOVER MESSE 2022.

Don´t miss your chance!

As part of its 75anniversary celebrations, American speaker maker Klipsch has announced two new pairs of true wireless (TWS) earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC) technology and artificial intelligence (AI). According to Klipsch, both models have been designed to provide ultimate comfort and performance.

Read more: Huawei Launches Freebuds 4i True Wireless Earbuds, Band 6, and Fit Elegant Smartwatch

The new Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC earphones feature active noise canceling and run on the Bragi OS, allowing for motion-based head controls, reports CNet.

The built-in Bragi OS uses embedded AI to enable hands-free and advanced gesture control. The TWS earphones also offer Bragi-developed artificial intelligence (AI) powered gesture controls called Bragi Moves. Bragi Moves allows the user to take phone calls simply by nodding their head. This innovative operating system will enable plenty of new functionality over the life of the product.

Bragi GmbH is a Munich, Germany-based startup. The company was making "smart" true-wireless earbuds even before Apple's AirPods came to dominate the market. The company’s early smart earbuds were Bragi Dash and Dash Pro. In 2019, Bragi sold off its device business and with its Bragi OS, the company has since evolved into a software platform for true-wireless earbuds. Its customers are now Klipsch and Skullcandy.

Key specifications

• Style: In-Ear Earbuds
• Driver: Dynamic Moving Coil Micro Speaker
• Mic: Six-mic Beamforming
• Frequency response: 10Hz-19kHz
• Noise isolation: -22dB
• Battery (earphones): 50 mAh. Up to seven hours of battery life (five hours with ANC), 21 hours in case (15 hours with ANC)
• Battery (case): 360 mAh
• Bluetooth: Version: 5.0
• Range: Up to 10m
• Weight: Buds: 5.5g (.012 lbs)

Read more: Ultimate Ears Announces UE FITS The First Ever True Wireless Earbuds With Instant Custom Fit

Price and Availability

The new Klipsch T5 II True Wireless ANC earphones are available in copper, gunmetal, or silver colors for $299 (£299) and also come in a McLaren Edition version for $349 (£379).

Houston Methodist Neurological Institute researchers from the department of neurosurgery shrunk a deadly glioblastoma tumor by more than a third using a helmet generating a noninvasive oscillating magnetic field that the patient wore on his head while administering the therapy in his own home. The 53-year-old patient died from an unrelated injury about a month into the treatment, but during that short time, 31% of the tumor mass disappeared. The autopsy of his brain confirmed the rapid response to the treatment.

Read more: Robotic Neck Brace Helps Doctors Analyze Neck Mobility In Cancer Patients

“Thanks to the courage of this patient and his family, we were able to test and verify the potential effectiveness of the first noninvasive therapy for glioblastoma in the world,” said David S. Baskin, M.D., FACS, FAANS, corresponding author and director of the Kenneth R. Peak Center for Brain and Pituitary Tumor Treatment in the Department of Neurosurgery at Houston Methodist. “The family’s generous agreement to allow an autopsy after their loved one's untimely death made an invaluable contribution to the further study and development of this potentially powerful therapy.”

In a case study published in Frontiers in Oncology, Baskin and his colleagues detailed the journey of their pioneering patient who suffered from end-stage recurrent glioblastoma, despite a radical surgical excision, chemoradiotherapy, and experimental gene therapy, reports Houston Methodist.

Glioblastoma is the deadliest of brain cancers in adults, nearly always fatal, with a life expectancy of a few months to two years. When the patient’s glioblastoma recurred in August 2019, Baskin and his team, already working on the OMF treatment in mouse models, received FDA approval for compassionate use treatment of the patient with their newly invented Oncomagnetic Device under an Expanded Access Program (EAP). The protocol also was approved by the Houston Methodist Research Institute Institutional Review Board.

The treatment consisted of intermittent application of an oscillating magnetic field generated by rotating permanent magnets in a specific frequency profile and timing pattern. First administered for two hours under supervision in the Peak Clinic, ensuing treatments were given at home with help from the patient’s wife, with increasing treatment times up to a maximum of only six hours per day.

The Oncomagnetic Device looks deceptively simple: three oscillators securely attached to a helmet and connected to a microprocessor-based electronic controller operated by a rechargeable battery, an invention by case study co-author Dr. Santosh Helekar. During the patient’s five weeks of treatment, the magnetic therapy was well-tolerated and the tumor mass and volume shrunk by nearly a third, with shrinkage appearing to correlate with the treatment dose.

Read more: Optune: FDA-Approved Wearable for Innovative Treatment of Glioblastoma

Co-authored by associate professor of neurosurgery Santosh Helekar, M.D., Ph.D., research professor Martyn A. Sharpe, Ph.D., and biomedical engineer Lisa Nguyen, the case study is entitled “Case Report: End-Stage Recurrent Glioblastoma Treated with a New Noninvasive Non-Contact Oncomagnetic Device.” The ongoing research is supported by the Translational Research Initiative of the Houston Methodist Research Institute, Donna and Kenneth Peak, the Kenneth R. Peak Foundation, the John S. Dunn Foundation, the Taub Foundation, the Blanche Green Fund of the Pauline Sterne Wolff Memorial Foundation, the Kelly Kicking Center Foundation, the Gary and Marlee Swarz Foundation, the Methodist Hospital Foundation and the Veralan Foundation.

“Imagine treating brain cancer without radiation therapy or chemotherapy,” said Baskin. “Our results in the laboratory and with this patient open a new world of non-invasive and nontoxic therapy for brain cancer, with many exciting possibilities for the future.”

After the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, engineers at the Estonia-based Respiray began working on a high-tech wearable air purifier to protect people from getting infected. The company’s team of experts and scientists began working on a face mask alternative that would eliminate the need to cover a face or restrict breathing. They designed their product with teachers in mind to help them communicate better whilst staying protected from any respiratory viruses and their mutations.

Harnessing decades-old technology to fight the modern pandemic

Harnessed for decades, UV has been deployed within technology solutions to provide a range of products widely used by society worldwide. Commercial and medical organizations have been using it to disinfect environments for years.

Read more: LG Launches PuriCare, A Rechargeable Wearable Air Purifier Mask

Recently, there have been big advancements in UV-C LEDs (265 nm), which are now low maintenance, reliable, and do not produce any ozone, causing another resurgence of UV disinfection.

UV-C causes damage to the DNA and RNA of pathogens like viruses and biological micro-organisms and prevents them from replicating, effectively inactivating the pathogens. UV technology solutions like Respiray offer extra protection against respiratory viruses.

How does Respiray work?

Respiray uses the latest UV technology to protect people against respiratory illnesses. This wearable air purifier disinfects the air you breathe and eliminates 99% of viruses and bacteria with invisible UV-C light.

The air purifier takes in unfiltered air, runs it through the UV disinfection module, and blows virus-free air to the front of the wearer’s face. In fact, the device purifies up to 55 liters of air per minute which is up to 4x more than an average resting human breathes.

Ergonomic design

Respiray’s wearable air purifier has an ergonomic design.  The weight is evenly distributed along your shoulders to provide maximum comfort. The device has an 8-hour battery that gives you peace of mind to smile and communicate all day long while being protected against unwanted airborne viruses. It also comes with an attachable face shield that can be worn when close to others.

Where is Respiray used?

Respiray can be used in crowded indoor environments such as schools, universities, offices, restaurants, supermarkets, events, and hotels – areas where communication is critical. Respiray is used by every business that wants to give their staff added protection, particularly those working in busy, poorly ventilated, or enclosed spaces.

At present, the device is only available in the EU, but soon it will be launched worldwide. Respiray devices have been sold for private customers across Europe in 12 different countries. Plus, several companies have bought the devices to offer extra protection to their employees and customers. The 4-star business and conference hotel Nordic Hotel Forum is recently using Respiray’s wearable air purifiers in their conference rooms to safeguard their guests.

Respiray is seeing a high demand for the product in educational environments. Schools are very keen to protect their teachers, especially those that cater to children with special educational needs. The Estonian Ministry of Health bought 100 devices for schools in Estonia.

Indrek Reimand, Deputy Secretary General at the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, highlights that the ministry is delighted to endorse innovation. “Respiray provides a fantastic example of how the collaboration between engineers, scientists, designers, and entrepreneurs drives creative solutions for complex issues,” Reimand said.

The first wearable air purifier for the new post-COVID world

Respiray is the world’s first company to engineer and produce a wearable air purifier that uses UV-C technology to disinfect air breathed in without covering a wearer's face. The patent-pending disinfection module is unique in its concept – it provides maximum disinfection with minimum energy consumption. This module enabled us to design a wearable product that efficiently kills viruses and that lets the wearer breathe effortlessly, while others can see their facial expressions.

Respiray isn’t only a mask alternative for COVID-19 – it is a personal air purifier for a post-covid world that protects people against airborne viruses, including regular flu and virus mutations. It complements ventilation and minimizes the risks of getting infected.

Safety is paramount

Does UV-C produce ozone? Is UV-C safe?

These are important questions concerning UV technology as UV light can often be associated with ozone production. However, ozone is only produced at short wavelengths. Respiray’s device is lab-tested to prove zero-emission of ozone. The highest quality Crystal IS Klaran’s 265 nm UV-C LEDs are sealed in double plastic enclosures to prevent any leaks.

Read more: Wearable Freeze-Dried Cell-Free Face Masks for COVID-19 Detection

Innovation backed by science

Respiray’s UV-C disinfection modules have been independently tested by the University of Tartu and the University of Lodz. They achieved over 99% effectiveness at inactivating various viruses and bacteria.

“The efficiency test of the UV-C module was performed on Alphavirus to research if and how effectively the device inactivates virus particles. Alphavirus is a similar single-stranded RNA-genome virus to SARS-CoV-2 and both viruses are comparable in size: approximately 70-100 nanometers. The results concluded that 99.4% of the virus particles were inactivated. It’s important to highlight the significance of these findings because the remaining diminutive concentration of virus particles is very unlikely to cause infection in the target organism,” says Liane Viru, Ph.D., lead researcher Professor of Applied Virology at the University of Tartu Ph.D. Andres Merits, and Head of Biosafety Core Facility at the University of Tartu.

About Respiray

Respiray was founded by Aleksandr Frorip, Robert Arus, and Indrek Neivelt – the founder of Pocosys, a company acquired by Norwegian software company Opera in 2020. Respiray is funded by a research and development company Ldiamon, which has 15 years of expertise in developing and manufacturing medical UV-C LED sensors for leading medical companies across Europe. The company has raised a total of 1.2 million euros, including from Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn’s investment vehicle Metaplanet Holdings.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego developed a soft and stretchy ultrasound patch that can be worn on the skin to monitor blood flow through blood vessels as deep as 14 centimeters inside a person’s body. The flexible patch can be worn on the neck or chest and may help doctors to monitor and diagnose various conditions, including blockages that could cause an infarct.

Read more: Sweat-Proof Smart Skin Takes Reliable Vitals, Could Be Used For Tracking Skin Cancer and Other Conditions

Knowing how fast and how much blood flows through a patient’s blood vessels is important because it can help clinicians diagnose various cardiovascular conditions, including blood clots; heart valve problems; poor circulation in the limbs; or blockages in the arteries that could lead to strokes or heart attacks, reports Liezel Labios in UC San Diego News.

This new ultrasound patch can continuously monitor blood flow—as well as blood pressure and heart function—in real-time. Wearing such a device could make it easier to identify cardiovascular problems early on.

A team led by Sheng Xu, a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, reported the patch in a paper published July 16 in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

“This type of wearable device can give you a more comprehensive, more accurate picture of what’s going on in deep tissues and critical organs like the heart and the brain, all from the surface of the skin,” said Xu.

“Sensing signals at such depths is extremely challenging for wearable electronics. Yet, this is where the body’s most critical signals and the central organs are buried,” said Chonghe Wang, a former nanoengineering graduate student in Xu’s lab and co-first author of the study. “We engineered a wearable device that can penetrate such deep tissue depths and sense those vital signals far beneath the skin. This technology can provide new insights for the field of healthcare.”

Another innovative feature of the patch is that the ultrasound beam can be tilted at different angles and steered to areas in the body that are not directly underneath the patch.

This is a first in the field of wearables, explained Xu, because existing wearable sensors typically only monitor areas right below them. “If you want to sense signals at a different position, you have to move the sensor to that location. With this patch, we can probe areas that are wider than the device’s footprint. This can open up a lot of opportunities.”

How It Works

The patch is made up of a thin sheet of flexible, stretchable polymer that adheres to the skin. Embedded on the patch is an array of millimeter-sized ultrasound transducers. Each is individually controlled by a computer—this type of array is known as an ultrasound phased array. It is a key part of the technology because it gives the patch the ability to go deeper and wider.

The phased array offers two main modes of operation. In one mode, all the transducers can be synchronized to transmit ultrasound waves together, which produces a high-intensity ultrasound beam that focuses on one spot as deep as 14 centimeters in the body. In the other mode, the transducers can be programmed to transmit out of sync, which produces ultrasound beams that can be steered to different angles.

“With the phased array technology, we can manipulate the ultrasound beam in the way that we want,” said Muyang Lin, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego who is also a co-first author of the study. “This gives our device multiple capabilities: monitoring central organs as well as blood flow, with high resolution. This would not be possible using just one transducer.”

The phased array consists of a 12 by 12 grid of ultrasound transducers. When electricity flows through the transducers, they vibrate and emit ultrasound waves that travel through the skin and deep into the body. When the ultrasound waves penetrate through a major blood vessel, they encounter movement from red blood cells flowing inside. This movement changes or shifts how the ultrasound waves echo back to the patch—an effect known as Doppler frequency shift. This shift in the reflected signals gets picked up by the patch and is used to create a visual recording of the blood flow. This same mechanism can also be used to create moving images of the heart’s walls.

A Potential Game Changer in the Clinic

For many people, blood flow is not something that is measured during a regular visit to the physician. It is usually assessed after a patient shows some signs of cardiovascular problems, or if a patient is at high risk.

The standard blood flow exam itself can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. A trained technician presses a handheld ultrasound probe against a patient’s skin and moves it from one area to another until it’s directly above a major blood vessel. This may sound straightforward, but results can vary between tests and technicians.

Read more: This Wearable Patch May Provide Painless, More Effective Chemotherapy For Melanoma

Since the patch is simple to use, it could solve these problems, said Sai Zhou, a materials science and engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and co-author of the study.

In tests, the patch was performed as well as a commercial ultrasound probe was used in the clinic. It accurately recorded blood flow in major blood vessels such as the carotid artery, which is an artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain.

The researchers point out that the patch still has a long way to go before it is ready for the clinic.

Hapbee, the leading wearable, wellness technology company and creator of the Hapbee headband, has announced the launch of their eighth and latest signal, "Boost," which will provide users with a caffeine-free and calorie-free energy boost whenever they need it.

Read more: This Wearable Empowers Its Users to Reach Their Desired Feelings on Command

A healthier alternative to typical afternoon pick-me-ups such as coffee or energy drinks, "Boost" promotes a gradual rise in physical energy levels to help users feel less drowsy and more alert, with a reduction in mental fatigue. Developed through Hapbee's licensed, patented ability to record and broadcast the frequencies of various compounds, the Boost signal was partially derived from theobromine, a nootropic commonly used to help clear away brain fog, helping users stay focused while supporting attention and reaction time, the company said in a press release.

The company pre-released the Boost signal a few weeks ago to a select group of Hapbee "power users" to gauge early reaction prior to its broader release. "I have been an avid Hapbee user since the product first launched last year and can't tell you how excited I am about Boost," said Ben Greenfield, renowned biohacker, fitness guru, and New York Times best-selling author. "I have been using Boost as a mid-day enhancer since it was first released and it's making a big difference in my afternoon energy levels."

“Through customer feedback and our market research, we identified a growing chorus of requests in the areas of alertness and attention,” said Hapbee CEO Yona Shtern. “Adding Boost to our expanding roster of signals helps users who are mentally exhausted to stay more alert and focused during their daytime activities. We anticipate that Boost will quickly become a favorite among Hapbee users.”

Hapbee leverages patented, magnetic-field technology to help people choose how they feel. Ultra-low frequency electromagnetic signals are derived from compounds such as caffeine, nicotine, and melatonin and are then played digitally through the Hapbee headband to deliver sensations such as Happy, Alert, Focus, Relax, and Deep Sleep without the side effects or dependencies that might otherwise result from ingesting the substances.

"This is a natural extension of the Hapbee signal library and one we see benefiting everyone from the office professional, to busy parents, to students studying, and even to athletes looking to charge up before a big performance," explained Hapbee Chief Science Officer, Dr. Brian Mogen. "Providing an aid to the ongoing needs of users is our mission and always at the forefront of how we approach product development.”

Read more: US Army Outfits Paratroopers With WHOOP Strap To Assess Level of Stress

Hapbee originally launched with six signals and has added "Bedtime" and now "Boost" to their growing lineup in 2021 as they continue to expand their catalog. The Company is currently in the research and development phases of an extensive expansion of signal blends and time-released routines.

About Hapbee

Hapbee is a wearable magnetic field technology company that aims to help people choose how they feel. Powered by EMulate Therapeutics' patented ultra-low radio frequency energy (ulRFE®) technology, Hapbee delivers low-power electromagnetic signals designed to produce sensations such as Happy, Alert, Focus, Relax, Boost, and others.

Engineers from Stanford University have developed a new calorie burn measurement system that is small, inexpensive, and accurate. Also, people can make it themselves. Whereas smartwatches and smartphones tend to be off by about 40 to 80 percent when it comes to counting calories burned during an activity, this system averages 13 percent error.

Read more: Calibre: The First Of Its Kind, Most Accurate Wearable Calorie and Fitness Tracker With Real-Time Results

“We built a compact system that we evaluated with a diverse group of participants to represent the U.S. population and found that it does very well, with about one-third the error of smartwatches,” said Patrick Slade, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Stanford who is the lead author of a paper about this work, published in Nature Communications.

A crucial piece of this research was understanding a basic shortcoming of other wearable calorie counters: that they rely on wrist motion or heart rate, even though neither is especially indicative of energy expenditure. (Consider how a cup of coffee can increase heart rate.) The researchers hypothesized that leg motion would be more telling – and their experiments confirmed that idea.

There are laboratory-grade systems that can accurately estimate how much energy a person burns during physical activity, but they involve bulky, uncomfortable equipment and can be expensive. This new wearable system only requires two small sensors on the leg, a battery, and a portable microcontroller (a small computer), and costs about $100 to make. The list of components and code for making the system are both available writes Taylor Kubota in Stanford News.

“This is a big advance because, up till now, it takes two to six minutes and a gas mask to accurately estimate how much energy a person is burning,” said Scott Delp, director of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford and the James H. Clark Professor in the School of Engineering, who is co-author of the paper. “With Patrick’s new tool, we can estimate how much energy is burned with each step as an Olympic athlete races toward the finish line to get a measure of what is fueling their peak performance. We can also compute the energy spent by a patient recovering from cardiac surgery to better manage their exercise.”

Looking at the legs

How people burn calories is complicated, but the researchers had a hunch that sensors on the legs would be a simple way to gain insight into this process.

The system the researchers designed consists of two small sensors – one on the thigh and one on the shank of one leg – run by a microcontroller on the hip, which could easily be replaced by a smartphone. These sensors are called “inertial measurement units” and measure the acceleration and rotation of the leg as it’s moving. They are purposely lightweight, portable, and low cost so that they could be easily integrated into different forms, including clothing, such as smart pants.

To test the system against similar technologies, the researchers had study participants wear it while also wearing two smartwatches and a heart rate monitor. With all of these sensors attached, participants performed a variety of activities, including various speeds of walking, running, biking, stair climbing, and transitioning between walking and running. When all of the wearables were compared to the calorie burn measurements captured by a laboratory-grade system, the researchers found that their leg-based system was the most accurate.

By further testing the system on over a dozen participants across a range of ages and weights, the researchers gathered a wealth of data that Slade used to further refine the machine learning model that calculates the calorie burn estimates.

Read more: Flexible Cable Based Capacitors Support Energy Harvesting for Wearables

“A lot of the steps that you take every day happen in short bouts of 20 seconds or less,” said Slade, who mentioned doing chores as one example of a short-burst activity that often gets overlooked. “Being able to capture these brief activities or dynamic changes between activities is really challenging and no other system can currently do that.”

An open design

Simplicity and affordability were important to this team, as was making the design openly available because they hope this technology can support people in understanding and looking after their health.

“We’re open-sourcing everything in the hopes that people will take it and run with it and make products that can improve the lives of the public,” said Mykel Kochenderfer, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford who is a co-author of the paper.

The NSW Smart Sensing Network is part of a group of 37 university and industry partners leading the establishment of a new $24 million Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health. Today, the Hub has been awarded $5 million in funding under the latest round of the Australian government’s ARC Industrial Transformation Research Program (ITRP).

Read more: VivoSense Awarded the NIH/NCI Grant To Develop Platform For Cancer Research and Clinical Care

Led by Professor Chun Wang, Head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW, the Hub aims to develop, manufacture, and export high-tech, cyber-secure IoT sensors to global health markets.

“In addition to the development of new connected sensors and digital analytics, the Hub will also contribute to uplifting our domestic medical technologies and pharmaceuticals sector’s skills in advanced manufacturing of sensors and new equipment, regulatory approval, and product commercialization,” said Professor Wang.

“NSSN has contributed to the success of the Hub by connecting researchers with relevant companies, helping the team to identify industry needs, and guidance in the governance structure of the Hub.”

NSSN founding Co-Director Professor Justin Gooding, who has been directly involved with the Hub as part of the leadership team, congratulated Professor Wang on the success of the ITRP grant and praised Professor Wang’s superb leadership of the project, reports NSSN.

“The Hub will create an opportunity for Australia, and NSW, to become a world leader in the manufacture and commercialization of connected health devices and wearable sensors,” said Professor Gooding.

“The NSSN was integral in the team effort that got this Hub over the line. The success exemplifies the value add that NSSN has in connecting researchers to industry and helping to develop large research initiatives that benefit NSW and Australia,” said Professor Gooding.

NSSN MedTech Theme Leader Ms Jane Evans, who has been working closely with the Hub’s leadership team, said long-term partnerships between universities and industry are vital for the future of technology development.

“The ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health is an excellent demonstration of researchers, industry, and entrepreneurs working together with a focus on genuine and innovative transformation in the healthcare sector,” said Ms. Evans.

“Successful innovation relies heavily on the people and a transparent culture; you need people that are allowed to think differently and have come together to form a vision for a better future.

“I would like to congratulate Professor Wang for his thoughtful leadership in steering 30 partners, 7 universities, and 36 Chief Investigators throughout the development process and for being tirelessly humble and grateful to all involved.”

In addition to Professor Chun Wang and Professor Justin Gooding, the Hub’s leadership team includes Professor Madhu Bhaskaran, Professor Kim Delbaere, and Professor Nigel Lovell.

Read more: Australian Researchers Develop Brain Implant That May Restore Limited Sight In Blind People

University partner organizations

UNSW Sydney, Macquarie University, University of Newcastle, RMIT University, Queensland University of Technology, Monash University, and the University of Wollongong.

Industry partner organizations

Roebuck, NeuRa, Nutromics, Santevation, Hunter Medical Research Institute, David Penn Consulting, Prince of Wales Hospital, Minifab (AUST), Sensoria Health, Vlepis, Nthalmic, ANDhealth, Australian Read Cross Lifeblood, Primestone Capital, Australian Advanced Materials, Tiger Pharm, Soft Sense, Sydney Pain Management Centre, Flame Security International, Genesys Electronics Design, Global Edge MedTech Consulting, Glia Diagnostics, Vitalcare, STMicroelectronics, NSW Institute of Sport, and the NSW Smart Sensing Network.

In a paper published in June 2021, researchers at the Imperial College London have explored the future of wearable technologies. The wearable technology industry is expanding rapidly. The most obvious example is the growth of the Apple Watch. First launched in 2015, it sold 31 million units in 2019 alone, 10 million more than the entire Swiss watch industry. Globally, the wearable technology market was valued at $32.63bn in 2019 and is forecast to expand at an annual growth rate of 15.9% to 2027.

With the emergence of fitness monitors, such as Fitbit and smartphone apps, driven by low-cost microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and optical sensors, wearable wellness monitors have become mainstream.

Read more: Popularity Of Smartwatch And Wristband Is Opening Door To Advanced Wearable Fitness Technology In Medical Platforms

Up until now, wearable devices have predominantly been used to measure heart activity or patterns of respiration. One example of a widely used wearable device in healthcare is the Holter monitor. Dating back to the 1960s, it measures the electrical activity of the heart, termed an electrocardiogram (ECG), over a longer period of time than the traditional resting ECG which typically collects just a few beats for analysis.

Wearable sensors for animals

Apart from human applications, wearable devices have huge potential in both livestock farming and domestic pets. In animal farming, the lack of an ability to distinguish sick animals from healthy ones has led to mass antibiotic usage or culling, resulting in antimicrobial resistance and economic issues, respectively. High-intensity farming has also contributed to the spread of many pathogens of animal origin to humans, for example, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu), and may also be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wearables in Healthcare

Diabetes

A good example of how wearable devices are currently improving medical care is in the treatment of diabetes. Constant monitoring of blood glucose is required to keep levels within a safe range. Conventional methods Conventional methods require a “finger stick test” to obtain a blood sample for analysis, known as self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), reports Imperial College London.

COVID-19 and infectious diseases

Another important potential use for wearable technology is when a patient has an infectious disease and direct contact with healthcare workers is not desirable. In this scnario, rudimentary surrogate measures of health provided by wearables could be useful for the clinician. This has become much more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. One example of how wearables have been utilized by healthcare providers during the pandemic is the use of wireless pulse oximeters to detect early deterioration of COVID-19 patients.28 Patients are able to remain at home, monitored by the oximeter, which notifies healthcare providers should the patient require hospitalization.

The next generation of wearables

At Imperial College London, numerous new avenues to bring chemical and biochemical wearables to their full potential are currently being researched. One example includes employing biochemical engineering and optical outputs to design simple medical devices capable of diagnosing and monitoring medical conditions.

Wireless auscultation of dogs

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a stretchable wearable device made of a polymer composite that can be used for wireless auscultation of dogs. The wearable sensor takes the shape of the body and removes air bubbles among the fur to improve the conduction of signals on the contact surface, allowing the recording of heart sounds.

Wearable chemical and biochemical devices

By utilizing microfluidic channels these patches non-invasively sample minute volumes of sweat released from the skin. Passing analytes over sensing components probes allows for real-time readout of biomarkers such as electrolytes.

Microneedle patch

Microneedles penetrate the outer layer of skin to gain access to the interstitial fluid. This minimally invasive technique allows for a more in-depth analysis of the body's homeostasis. Microneedles act as electrodes for simple electrochemical analysis of biomarker concentrations. These patches are worn in a similar way to plaster and leave a little imprint upon removal making them ideal for point-of-care analysis.

Smart tattoos

An interesting technique to monitor analytes is smart tattoos. In normal tattoos, the ink is in contact with the analyte solution under the skin. By including pigments that are sensitive to changes in biomarkers (such as pH, glucose, ions, and enzymes), the tattoo responds to changes in biomarkers by changing color.

What are the main barriers to progress?

Privacy concerns

As the internet of things becomes more widespread, the public is becoming more conscious of how much of their life is quantified in data and may feel uncomfortable with sharing large quantities of personal data collected by wearable devices. This issue is also compounded by the suspicion users have about where their data is going. For wearable sensors to reach their full potential, protecting user information is paramount.

Read more How Wearable Technology Could Revolutionize Manufacturing Industry

Startups

Spyras

An Imperial College London-led startup Spyras spun out of the Güder Research Group at Imperial College London. It has developed a technology that analyses breathing patterns using sensors integrated into disposable facemasks. Respiration rate is one of the four vital signs of health, however, it is generally not measured using high-precision instruments. Spyras measures patterns of breathing, and breath biochemistry, which can play an important role in the early detection and monitoring of diseases and inform treatments.38,39 Real-time respiratory monitoring is also expected to play a growing role in the wellness segment in sports, meditation, and sleep.

Flow Bio – Imperial expertise in the industry

The flowPATCH is a wearable, non-invasive patch that captures an athlete’s sweat and interprets key bio-markers in real-time, starting with electrolytes and total body fluid loss. This system provides users with personalized recommendations that allow them to improve their performance. Ali Yetisen, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, is the Science Advisor to Flow Bio, the company that developed the flowPATCH.

Researchers at Stanford University have invented a manufacturing technique that yields flexible, atomically thin transistors less than 100 nanometers in length – several times smaller than previously possible. The technique is detailed in a paper published on June 17 in Nature Electronics.

With the advance, said the researchers, so-called “flextronics” move closer to reality. Flexible electronics promise bendable, shapeable, yet energy-efficient computer circuits that can be worn on or implanted in the human body to perform myriad health-related tasks. What’s more, the coming “internet of things,” in which almost every device in our lives is integrated and interconnected with flexible electronics, should similarly benefit from Flextronics, reports Andrew Myers in Stanford News.

Technical difficulties

Among suitable materials for flexible electronics, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have shown promise, but the engineering challenge to date has been that forming these almost impossibly thin devices requires a process that is far too heat-intensive for the flexible plastic substrates.

Read more: Designing Flexible and Rigid Medical Wearables To Withstand Everyday Wear-and-Tear

For the solution, Eric Pop, a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, and Alwin Daus, a postdoctoral scholar in Pop’s lab, who developed the technique, used two steps, starting with a base substrate that is anything but flexible.

Atop a solid slab of silicon coated with glass, Pop and Daus formed an atomically thin film of the 2D semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) overlaid with small nano-patterned gold electrodes. Because this step is performed on the conventional silicon substrate, the nanoscale transistor dimensions can be patterned with existing advanced patterning techniques, achieving a resolution otherwise impossible on flexible plastic substrates, the Stanford report said.

The layering technique, known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), grows a film of MoS2 one layer of atoms at a time. The resulting film is just three atoms thick, but requires temperatures reaching 850 C (over 1500 F) to work. By comparison, the flexible substrate – made of polyimide, a thin plastic – would long ago have lost its shape somewhere around 360 C (680 F), and completely decomposed at higher temperatures.

By first patterning and forming these critical parts on rigid silicon and allowing them to cool, Stanford researchers can apply the flexible material without damage. With a simple bath in deionized water, the entire device stack peels back, now fully transferred to the flexible polyimide.

After a few additional fabrication steps, the results are flexible transistors capable of several times higher performance than any produced before with atomically thin semiconductors. The researchers said that while entire circuits could be built and then transferred to the flexible material, certain complications with subsequent layers make these additional steps easier after transfer.

“In the end, the entire structure is just 5 microns thick, including the flexible polyimide,” said Pop, who is the senior author of the paper. “That’s about ten times thinner than a human hair.”

“This downscaling has several benefits,” said Daus, who is the first author of the paper. “You can fit more transistors in a given footprint, of course, but you can also have higher currents at lower voltage – high speed with less power consumption.”

Read more: Flexible Hybrid Electronics Market to Reach Almost $200 Million by 2024

Meanwhile, the gold metal contacts dissipate and spread the heat generated by the transistors while in use – heat which might otherwise jeopardize the flexible polyimide.

Promising future

With a prototype and patent application complete, Daus and Pop have moved on to their next challenge of refining the devices. They have built similar transistors using two other atomically thin semiconductors (MoSe2 and WSe2) to demonstrate the broad applicability of the technique.

Meanwhile, Daus said that he is looking into integrating radio circuitry with the devices, which will allow future variations to communicate wirelessly with the outside world – another large leap toward viability for flextronics, particularly those implanted in the human body or integrated deep within other devices connected to the internet of things.

Feeling extra sweaty from a summer heat wave? Don't worry -- not all your perspiration has to go to waste. In a paper published July 13 in the journal Joule, researchers have developed a new device that harvests energy from the sweat on – of all places – your fingertips. To date, the device is the most efficient on-body energy harvester ever invented, producing 300 millijoules (mJ) of energy per square centimeter without any mechanical energy input during a 10-hour sleep and an additional 30 mJ of energy with a single press of a finger. The authors say the device represents a significant step forward for self-sustainable wearable electronics.

Read more: Flexible Cable Based Capacitors Support Energy Harvesting for Wearables

“Normally, you want maximum return on investment in energy. You don't want to expend a lot of energy through exercise to get only a little energy back,” says senior author Joseph Wang, a nanoengineering professor at the University of California San Diego. “But here, we wanted to create a device adapted to daily activity that requires almost no energy investment -- you can completely forget about the device and go to sleep or do desk work like typing, yet still continue to generate energy. You can call it 'power from doing nothing.’”

Previous sweat-based energy devices required intense exercise, such as a great deal of running or biking, before the user sweated enough to activate power generation. But the large amount of energy consumed during exercise can easily cancel out the energy produced, often resulting in an energy return on investment of less than 1%, reports Cell Press.

In contrast, this device falls into what the authors call the “holy grail” category of energy harvesters. Instead of relying on external, irregular sources like sunlight or movement, all it needs is finger contact to collect more than 300 mJ of energy during sleep -- which the authors say is enough to power some small wearable electronics. Since no movement is needed, the ratio between harvested energy and invested energy is essentially infinite.

It may seem odd to choose fingertips as the source of this sweat over, say, the underarms, but in fact, fingertips have the highest concentration of sweat glands compared to anywhere else on the body.

“Generating more sweat at the fingers probably evolved to help us better grip things,” says first co-author Lu Yin, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student working in Wang's lab. “Sweat rates on the finger can reach as high as a few microliters per square centimeter per minute. This is significant compared to other locations on the body, where sweat rates are maybe two or three orders of magnitude smaller.”

The device the researchers developed in this study is a type of energy harvester called a biofuel cell (BFC) and is powered by lactate, a dissolved compound in sweat. From the outside, it looks like a simple piece of foam connected to a circuit with electrodes, all of which is attached to the pad of a finger. The foam is made out of carbon nanotube material, and the device also contains a hydrogel that helps maximize sweat absorption.

“The size of the device is about 1 centimeter squared. Its material is flexible as well, so you don't need to worry about it being too rigid or feeling weird. You can comfortably wear it for an extended period of time,” says Yin.

Within the device, a series of electrochemical reactions occur. The cells are equipped with a bio enzyme on the anode that oxidizes, or removes electrons from, the lactate; the cathode is deposited with a small amount of platinum to catalyze a reduction reaction that takes the electron to turn oxygen into water. Once this happens, electrons flow from the lactate through the circuit, creating a current of electricity. This process occurs spontaneously: as long as there is lactate, no additional energy is needed to kickstart the process.

Separate from but complementary to the BFC, piezoelectric generators -- which convert mechanical energy into electricity -- are also attached to the device to harvest up to 20% additional energy. Relying on the natural pinching motion of fingers or everyday motions like typing, these generators helped produce additional energy from barely any work: a single press of a finger once per hour required only 0.5 mJ of energy but produced over 30 mJ of energy, a 6,000% return in investment.

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

The researchers were able to use the device to power effective vitamin C- and sodium-sensing systems, and they are optimistic about improving the device to have even greater abilities in the future, which might make it suitable for health and wellness applications such as glucose meters for people with diabetes. "We want to make this device more tightly integrated into wearable forms, like gloves. We're also exploring the possibility of enabling wireless connection to mobile devices for extended continuous sensing," Yin says.

"There's a lot of exciting potential," says Wang. "We have ten fingers to play with."

Myant, the industry leader in Textile Computing, has announced that it has secured Health Canada clearance for its biosensing Skiin Underwear. This Class II medical device clearance allows garment wearers to reliably and continuously monitor their ECG data. Additionally, wearers can track other metrics, including heart rate, HRV, core body temperature, with more to come such as sleep and location.

Read more: Under Armour Launches Three New HOVR Connected Running Shoes

Available in a number of comfortable and accessible form factors, Skiin Underwear family of products (which is currently also pending FDA clearance) will revolutionize Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Chronic Care Management (CCM) through passive, continuous connection and data collection. Myant believes Skiin will support patients, their loved ones, and their practitioners in the shift towards more personalized care, especially in vulnerable communities like the aging population, according to a press release.

"Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in the elderly population in North America," says Tony Cahine, Myant & Skiin CEO, "with the cognitive decline attributed to loneliness on the rise. Though Myant's vision is vast, we have adopted a laser focus on solving this looming challenge." Today's healthcare system operates on episodic and reactive care (instead of continuous and preventative care), patient self-reporting, and disjointed support from a patient's care circle.

"I believe that Skiin will help patients overcome existing deterrents and barriers to adequate healthcare, helping serve our most marginalized populations by connecting them to care, to their family, friends, care providers, and practitioners," Comments Myant's EVP, Ilaria Varoli.

Read more: YKK’s Smart Zipper Can Be Connected to Mobile Phones

"Today's healthcare system relies on events and episodic data, patient self-reporting, and disjointed support from a patient's care circle," says Chahine. "We believe that without holistic and continuously connected care, our marginalized and vulnerable communities like our aging population will continue to be underserved and at risk of lower efficacy in medication and rehabilitation program adherence."

Skiin will be commercially available to the general public later this year.

About Skiin

Skiin is a Myant brand that wants to improve the health and well-being of all people through the digitization of the self. The Skiin layering system fits seamlessly into one's lifestyle. Its human-centric design allows you to maintain your regular behavior. Skiin's sensors continuously capture multi-location health and wellness signals. This aggregated data creates your health and wellness Baseline.

Researchers at Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new robotic neck brace that may help doctors analyze the impact of cancer treatments on the neck mobility of patients and guide their recovery.

Read more: SynPhNe Wearable Trains Brain And Muscle As One System, Helps With Stroke Rehabilitation

Head and neck cancer was the seventh most common cancer worldwide in 2018, with 890,000 new cases and 450,000 deaths, accounting for 3% of all cancers and more than 1.5% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Such cancer can spread to lymph nodes in the neck, as well as other organs in the body. Surgically removing lymph nodes in the neck can help doctors investigate the risk of spread, but may result in pain and stiffness in the shoulders and neck for years afterward.

Identifying which patients may have issues with neck movement "can be difficult, as the findings are often subtle and challenging to quantify," said Scott Troob, assistant professor of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery and division chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. However, successfully targeting what difficulties they might have with mobility can help patients benefit from targeted physical therapy interventions, he explained.

The current techniques and tools that doctors have to judge the range of motion a patient may have lost in their neck and shoulders are somewhat crude, explained Sunil K. Agrawal, a professor of mechanical engineering and rehabilitative and regenerative medicine and director of the ROAR (Robotics and Rehabilitation) Laboratory at Columbia Engineering. They usually either provide unreliable measurements or require too much time and space to set up for use in routine clinical visits, reports Columbia University.

To develop a more reliable and portable tool to analyze neck mobility, Agrawal and his colleagues drew inspiration from a robotic neck brace they previously developed to analyze head and neck motions in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In partnership with Troob's group, they have now designed a new wearable robotic neck brace. Their study appears July 12 in the journal Wearable Technologies.

The new brace was made using 3D-printed materials and inexpensive sensors. The easy-to-wear device was based on the head and neck movements of 10 healthy individuals.

"This is the first study of this kind where a wearable robotic neck brace has been designed to characterize the full head and neck range of motion," Agrawal said.

In the new study, the researchers used the prototype brace, along with electrical measurements of muscle activity, to compare the neck mobility of five cancer patients before and one month after surgical removal of neck lymph nodes. They found their device could precisely detect changes in patient neck movements during routine clinical visits.

"Use of the sensing neck brace allows a surgeon to screen patients postoperatively for movement difficulty, quantify their degree of impairment, and select patients for physical therapy and rehabilitation," Troob said.

"Patients consistently identify the need for rehabilitation and guided exercises after surgery as an unmet need in their medical care," Troob said. "This work will lay the foundation for the appropriate identification of patients for intervention. We additionally hope that through using the neck brace, we will be able to objectively quantify their improvement and develop evidence-based rehabilitative programs.”

Read more: Mount Sinai Chooses Current Health’s Remote Patient Monitoring to Provide Patients Equal Access to Cancer Care

In the future, the researchers hope to investigate larger groups of patients and use the neck brace to follow patients through physical therapy to develop evidence-based protocols for rehabilitation, Troob said. They also would like to develop similar braces for other surgical sites, such as the forearm, ankle, or knee, he added.

South Korean automotive supplier Hyundai Mobis has developed M.Brain, a brainwave detection device that alerts motorists against drowsy driving or sudden health issues. Among other biosignals, brainwave measurement is known to be one of the most advanced and challenging technologies to work with.

Read more: NextMind Starts Shipping its DevKit for Real-Time Brain-Sensing Wearable

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers in 2017.  These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and nearly 800 deaths.

M.Brain measures the driver's condition on a real-time basis by detecting the brainwaves around the ears through earpiece sensors that are worn. The key is the software technology that analyzes and determines the data from the brainwaves. Hyundai Mobis is committed to R&D and has even adopted machine learning to interpret the brainwave signals, according to a press release.

M.Brain can also be interworked with a smartphone app and provide notification that the driver is losing attention. The accident prevention technology also provides alerts for different sensory organs, such as sight (LEDs around the driver's seat), touch (vibrating seat), hearing (headrest speaker), etc.

Hyundai Mobis plans to apply various bio-healthcare technologies to public transportation with a view to contributing to public safety. M. Brain will test- apply in Gyeonggi-do's public buses first.

The global in-vehicle healthcare market has now taken its first step. Heartbeat measurements or eye tracking technologies are introduced. Meanwhile, brainwave-based technology shows infinite potential for development as it is capable of measuring massive amounts of data, which is why Hyundai Mobis' M.Brain is considered an innovative technology.

Hyundai Mobis is showing progress in developing autonomous driving healthcare technology using biosignals. At the CES in 2018, the company presented DDREM (Departed Driver Rescue & Exit Maneuver), which works to prevent accidents that occur as a result of drowsy driving. Hyundai Mobis then succeeded in developing the eye tracking DSW (Driver State Warning) system in 2019, and ROA (Rear Occupant Alert) system to detect infants in the backseat using radar last year.

Read more: Australian Researchers Develop Brain Implant That May Restore Limited Sight In Blind People

About Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis is the 7th largest leading automotive supplier. Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Seoul, Korea, Hyundai Mobis also develops sensors, sensor fusion in controllers, and software design capabilities in safety control. Mobis currently has more than 30,000 employees and has been manufacturing in more than 30 regions in 10 countries. In addition to its R&D headquarters in Korea, Mobis has 4 technology centers in Germany, China, India, and the United States.

100Plus is a fast-growing remote patient monitoring (RPM) platform. The company’s suite of remote patient monitoring technologies includes a Blood Pressure Cuff, Digital Weight Scale, Emergency Watch, and Blood Glucose Monitor. Ava is 100Plus’ AI-powered healthcare assistant that is specifically intended for senior patients who may not be tech-savvy or as open to new technologies.

Read more: Mount Sinai Chooses Current Health’s Remote Patient Monitoring to Provide Patients Equal Access to Cancer Care

Ava's healthcare assistant reviews a patient’s demographics, medical history, and biotelemetry to personalize how it communicates to each individual person, reports MedGadget. It uses machine learning to enable patients to interact, ask questions, and receive tailored responses while following strict security and adherence to patient privacy regulations. The company reports that Ava has already facilitated 660,000 health alerts and three million device readings.

“When we developed Ava, we considered the fact that seniors are not only less tech-savvy, but also less trusting of new technologies. Ava is remarkable because it leverages machine learning to personify the staff at a physician's practice, providing a truly personal touchpoint. This is important because we know that these patients are more responsive to direct physician advice and the technology comes across as a member of the practice. Ava also works through SMS and doesn’t require an app or internet service,” Ryan Howard, CEO of 100Plus told MedGadget’s Conn Hastings in an interview.

Today, 80 percent of U.S. seniors over the age of 65 have at least one chronic disease which accounts for 95 percent of Medicare spending.

Read more: Orbita Launches AI-Powered Virtual Bedside Assistant To Improve Patient Care

In March 2021, 100Plus raised $25M in seed investment, led by Henry Kravis, George Roberts, and other super angel investors. 100Plus is the only remote patient monitoring product to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and offer an end-to-end solution, including patient outreach, device setup, patient engagement and automated billing. The company has ramped revenue to $5M in annual recurring revenue since its launch in January of 2020 and is poised to continue to build upon this growth.

Tap Strap 2 is a wearable device that allows you to send a text or command to your electronic devices simply by tapping your fingers on any surface. Tap Strap 2 is the first tool ever on the market that gives users the power to rapidly send commands and control media through gestures, for everyday devices.

Tap Strap 2 has dropped to $100 from its MSRP of $199 with the 4th of July deal, reports EndGadget.

Tap Strap 2 was designed to enable the wide adoption of new technologies and experiences. You type characters and commands by tapping a combination of fingers on any surface. Tap has accelerometers built into each finger-ring, which register which fingers you are tapping and send the associated letter, number, symbol, or macro to a paired Bluetooth device.

Read more: Mictic: Wearable Wristband Translates Gestures, Movements Into Music In Real-Time

Tap Strap 2 uses onboard intelligence to automatically know what interaction the user intends. When a user's hand is horizontal, Tap Strap 2 becomes a keyboard. When the thumb rests on a surface, it seamlessly switches to optical mouse mode. And when the user's hand is rotated vertically, Tap Strap 2 will switch gears yet again into AirMouse mode.

From tablets through SmartTVs to AR & VR the Tap Strap 2 allows you to type, mouse & control any environment. Simply tap your fingers on any surface or wave your hands in midair.

Benefits of using Tap Strap 2

• Relieves stress & tension from repetitive typing
• Learn to Tap using finger combinations, not key locations
• Automatically turn Tap into a mouse by placing your thumb down on a surface
• Easily control PowerPoint presentations
• Create loops & other effects in music product apps
• Control your favorite video games on Xbox One, PC & Mac

Enhanced iPad Support

While Tap Strap 2 works with any Bluetooth-enabled device, it provides enhanced support for iPad, offering iOS-relevant functions that are not supported by standard mice, such as horizontal swipes, accessing the home screen, and launching the app switcher.

Read more: Tactigon One Wearable Gesture & Motion Controller with Artificial Intelligence

The second-generation Tap Strap 2 is a complete input solution for iPad, enabling users to rapidly input text and precisely navigate without the touchscreen interface. It also opens up Tap to entirely new uses, like improved navigation of Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, and other Smart TVs, and gesture-controlled inputs for AR/VR. Tap Strap 2 also extends device accessibility for individuals who have difficulty controlling a touch screen, and greatly improves the experience of using the iPad in professional settings.

Physilect, a Finnish pioneer of computer-aided remote rehabilitation, is developing a series of exergames that use the Movesense sensor as a controller. With the games, Physilect is combating the problems arising from immobility and helps people stay active and have fun at the same time.

Read more: Treating ADHD by Using Video Game to Monitor Children’s Brain Waves

Exergames are computer games that are also a form of exercise. Exergames have different targets such as motivating players to exercise, preventing the sedentary behavior related to usual computer games, guiding players to specific exercises for health purposes or simply making the games more fun and engaging.

The current pandemic situation has induced a boom of home training solutions that often include gamified elements. New home fitness solutions are bringing large amounts of cyclists daily on their stationary bikes to race against each other in the virtual world or runners to run famous routes on a treadmill with a monitor. With other systems, users are working out in front of a screen and a camera and get cheered up, instructed, and rewarded for good performance by AI-based analysis, reports Movesense.

“We have invested a lot of effort in getting to know how to use Movesense in games,” says Arcady Khotin, Physilect Chairman of the Board. "We used the global pandemic time and organized a group of remote game developers around our company and gave them our Android SDK to simplify the connection to the sensor. Now we have several games pending”

There are also some Movesense-powered products with exergame elements on the market. Volava launched a fitness boxing kit for home use and Virtual KnockOut is working on a boxing game.

On the other side, the pandemic and related lockdowns have reduced the amount of physical activity for a big part of the population. Physilect is developing a series of exergames to combat the problems arising from immobility.

Physilect has just launched the first game of the family, Pottery Fitness. The game simulates a potter’s wheel to train your hands, wrists, and forearms. It uses Movesense sensor data to control the game by measuring the player’s hand movements.

Pottery Fitness is not a medical application, but it helps to maintain physical activity for those who lead a sedentary life, work a lot at the computer and may suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.

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The Physilect SDK consists of a set of “listeners” that report to the developer about actions like rotation or direction of movement or time between actions, state of balance, etc. It helps using the usual terms of in-game mechanics applied to the use of the sensor.

Physilect is offering its SDK free of charge to everyone interested in implementing Movesense sensors in their applications.