Discover cardmembers can now make payments using Garmin Pay, a contactless payment solution for people on the move, said a press release.

Related Garmin Pay Contactless Payments Now Available for Maestro European Accountholders

Garmin Pay is available on Garmin’s latest active lifestyle smartwatches, the vívoactive® 3 series, and new GPS running watches, the Forerunner® 645, Forerunner 645 Music and fēnix® 5 Plus series, as well as the D2™ Delta aviator watch series. Adding Discover card to Garmin’s virtual wallet will allow users to make quick and easy purchases using just their watch.

“Consumers are constantly on the go and our goal is to make it as simple and seamless as possible for our cardmembers to pay with their Discover card, including on IoT and wearable devices,” said Shaida Lynch, vice president of e-business at Discover. “Now someone can be out on a jog or running errands and the ability to pay with Discover from their Garmin watch is just a quick tap away.”

Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales said his company is excited to provide their customers as well as Discover cardmembers another option of payment while they’re on the move. “Having the ability to easily pay for purchases, without the need for a phone or wallet, is a feature that we are happy to bring to users who live an active lifestyle,” he said.

With the Garmin Connect™ mobile app, users can add payment card to Garmin’s virtual wallet and start to use tap and pay with just a few quick touches. Discover cardmembers can use Garmin Pay at any merchant retail location that accepts both Discover and contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) transactions.

Related Dutch Bank ABN Amro Introduces Wearable Payments on Smartwatches, Rings, and Bracelets

“We are very pleased to have partnered with Discover and Garmin to bring additional payment capabilities to Discover cardholders,” said Michael Orlando, chief operating officer of NXT-ID and president of Fit Pay, Inc. “Discover cardholders will now be able to experience a truly frictionless payment experience through Garmin’s amazing line-up of smartwatches.”

Discover cardmembers who use Garmin Pay to make purchases will continue to receive all the convenience and benefits of their Discover card, including rewards, fraud protection and U.S.-based customer service.

San Francisco, California-based Fitbit has quietly launched two new fitness trackers, the Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Inspire HR, designed specifically for health plans, employers and health systems.

Both models are made available through Fitbit Health Solutions for corporate customers who want to provide them to their employees as part of a wellness program. Both models offer fitness tracking capabilities, including heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring, and a waterproof design.

Read more NIH, Fitbit Launch First Digital Health Technology Initiative BYOD Project

The Fitbit Health Solution website says, “Please note these devices are designed for our customers who are members of participating health plans and wellness programs. We suggest checking with your employer or health plan to learn more.”

Last year, Fitbit launched Fitbit Care as part of an effort to shore up the company’s enterprise business as a platform that wraps in health coaching and virtual care, along with the company’s existing activity tracking services, reports MedCity News.

The Fitbit Inspire tracks your activity, sleep as well as the number of calories burnt. It reminds you about your goals and moves with features like goal celebrations and moves reminders. The tracker can show notifications for calls, texts and calendar alerts and offers five days of battery backup.

The Inspire HR includes an interesting feature – a heart rate monitor, which can also be used for heart rate zone-based training. It has more than 15 goal-based exercise modes, same as the Charge 3. The GPS reads your real-time pace and distance data.

Read more Why Insurance Firms Increasingly Embracing Wearable Devices and Fitness Trackers

Though the Inspire supports sleep tracking, the Inspire HR can track sleep modes, such as light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Both sets of features are remarkable for a fitness tracker, and performs better than other Fitbit models.

As these two new trackers aren’t available for everyone, Fitbit hasn’t provided any details on their pricing. Also, the company didn’t say when these devices will be available for everyone.

Wearable devices can help people and physicians to monitor their natural aging and the risk of future disease, according to a study published in the journal Aging.

While other biomarkers of aging exist, like DNA methylation, researchers from Gero and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center conducted a systematic evaluation and found that wearable devices can be a feasible and cheaper option than getting blood drawn when it comes to tracking aging and potential diseases, Peter Fedichev, founder and chief science officer of Gero, told Healthcare Analytics News™.

Fedichev and his research team trained an AI algorithm to find patterns in everyday changes of physical activity to estimate a person’s biological age.

Read more Wearable Accelerometers Can Predict Seniors’ Risk of Falling, Says Study

Researchers examined the association between physical activity and signs of weakness, morbidity and mortality risks.

The team analyzed human physical activity records from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and UK Biobank databases. More than 107,000 records were analyzed by the AI algorithm.

The researcher found that people who lead an unhealthy lifestyle like smoking, tend to have less physical activity, a changing in dietary patterns and a heightened risk of developing disease. Wearable technology can measure these factors which lead to the smokers’ biological age increasing.

However, if an individual stop smoking, aging can be reversed but if it’s discovered before serious age-related diseases.

Using wearable tech, a person can monitor his or her biological age in a more affordable way and without interrupting their everyday life, said the study.

Read more Huami Launches New Amazfit Health Band 1S and Introduces the World’s First AI-Powered Wearable Chipset Huangshan-1

While this is only the first step in evaluating the usefulness of wearable to improve aging, Fedichev told Healthcare Analytics News that wearable and AI systems could be able to start advising people on whether they need to eat more or less, exercise more or not smoke, etc.

“Consider this a first step,” Fedichev said. “If you can measure something you can test future interventions and then make more informed decisions about lifestyles.”

The 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference will take place on February 5-6 and will once again be THE meeting point for global professionals of the entire wearable ecosystem. This year for the first time the event will be part of ISPO tradeshow located in the brand new innovation hall C6 of Messe Munich. More than 60 high-level speakers coming from Bayer, Odlo, Casio, Gore, Microsoft and STMicroelectronics will give you the latest insights into their applications and digitalization strategies via IoT and WT solutions and drive your business development. The unique agenda is covering the latest trends and developments of the tremendously growing wearables market.

Sports is probably one of the most disrupted industries. And the industry is undergoing more disruption worldwide as a result of shifts in media consumption, emergence of novel technologies and the swiftly progressing sponsorship market, according to PwC’s annual survey. Heading into 2019, disruptive technology is changing how sports are played.

At our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6, we will highlight great thought leaders and innovators from all over the globe. While these innovators will be speaking at the conference, the companies themselves will showcase their breakthrough innovations. The companies and their leaders speaking at the conference are listed below. Do not miss the chance to meet and listen to them in person and join us for #WTEU19!

The Protxx wearable sensor, coupled with a powerful data analytics engine, helps trainers and sports medicine professionals monitor athlete performance and track the onset and progression of changes to both neurovestibular and musculoskeletal physiology triggered by impact exposure, enabling early intervention, reduced injury incidence and severity, improved recovery outcomes, and higher levels of performance during every game and practice.

John Ralston, Founder & CEO of Protxx will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Mr. Ralston will be discussing “Wearable Sensors to Reduce Neurological and Orthopedic Impact Injury Risks.”

With My Fitness Card the city is your gym. This new health&fitness platform – founded by Ralph Siebold and Andreas Schröder – offers a flexible subscription services to get access to a variety of handpicked studios without being  tied up to  longterm contracts.  Members enjoy more flexibility to book their desired workout and match it with their personal schedule & lifestyle. My Fitness Card promotes new fitness trends and making them easy to book & join. Studios can easily broaden the exposure of their offerings with an additional online channel. In addition, they get to extend their media coverage without additional costs. Studios get the opportunity to better manage and control the utilization and frequency of their floor and courses. The highly segmented market of outdoor fitness is also included in the My Fitness Card offerings.

Andreas Schröder, Founder & CEO of My Fitness Card will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Mr. Schröder will talk about “Fitness Aggregator.”

Technical University Munich (TUM) combines top-class facilities for cutting-edge research with unique learning opportunities for students. It is committed to finding solutions to the major challenges facing society as we move forward: Health & Nutrition, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment & Climate, Information & Communications, Mobility & Infrastructure. The university thinks and acts with an entrepreneurial spirit. Its aim: to create lasting value for society. All this combines to make it one of Europe’s leading universities.

Dr. Daniel Link, Senior Lecturer at the Technical University Munich, will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Dr. Link will talk about “Data Analytics in Top Level Sports.”

RideOn specializes in cutting-edge Augmented Reality. They’re good at weaving digital information into the real world, and creating new experiences in a variety of activities with their tech. RideOn’s ski goggles are just the beginning. The company has already shipped their flagship product, RideOn AR ski goggles, to hundreds of early adopters worldwide. As they continue to deliver to tech and sports enthusiasts, their team is ready to take on new frontiers.

Alon Getz, CEO of RideOn will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Mr. Getz will discuss “Bringing Fun, Safety and Performance to Outdoor Activities using Head-Worn Augmented Reality.”

Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from 30 to 50 ft length, motor yachts, apparel (mostly sportswear), and equipment for sports facilities. Elan was founded in 1945 by Rudi Finžgar, a visionary and an audacious ski jumper, who jumped a world record (95 meters) in 1941. The beginning is more than promising, as after only a few years Elan is exporting to the US and rolls out 800 pairs of skis a year.

Melanja Šober, Head of product management at Elan, will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Ms. Sober’s topic will be “Smart Products are becoming a commodity. Is the Ski Industry ready?”

The 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference will take place on February 5-6 and will once again be THE meeting point for global professionals of the entire wearable ecosystem. This year for the first time the event will be part of ISPO tradeshow located in the brand new innovation hall C6 of Messe Munich. More than 60 high-level speakers coming from Bayer, Odlo, Casio, Gore, Microsoft and STMicroelectronics will give you the latest insights into their applications and digitalization strategies via IoT and WT solutions and drive your business development. The unique agenda is covering the latest trends and developments of the tremendously growing wearables market.

To be a winner in the increasingly competitive environment, companies need to make significant investments in technologies to lower costs, boost access to care delivery, and enhance care. The microelectronic is improving our daily life. We are in a perpetual state of change. To keep up with the state of the art technology will be more and more difficult for only one single company. That is why new companies are emerging every day to deal with these issues.

MOMES GmbH is specialized in developing software and hardware solutions for any kind of sensor measurement and signal analysis. This privately owned company was found in 2009. The team members are still in the microelectronic business since decades. The idea behind momes is to combine all special skills with a worldwide network of research institutions in one company.

Dirk Sandrock, CEO & Founding Partner at MOMES will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Mr. Sandrock will discuss “Why google glass and augmented reality failed so far or how much data do you need in action?”

Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (KEA) offers practice-oriented, higher education developed in close cooperation with the business community and educational institutions in Denmark and abroad. KEA has a number of labs with access to VR equipment, Drones, 3-D printers, and more.

Dr. Petra Ahde-Deal, Docent of Design at KEA, will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Dr. Ahde-Deal’s topic will be “Wearables Becoming Part of the Everyday.”

Casio, a Japanese multinational consumer electronics company, is contributing greatly to the wearable technology. From handheld scanner to industrial terminal or smartwatches – CASIO supplies innovative hardware solutions for mobile data capture and internal communications that are precisely tailored to the needs of modern working life. Reliable, durable and easy to use: for smooth and efficient work.

Thomas Uppenkamp, Sales manager at Casio, will be speaking at our 33rd WT | Wearable Technologies Conference on February 5-6. Mr. Uppenkamp will discuss “Smartwatches for Efficient Communications in Occupational Environments.”

Meet those international experts at the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference at ISPO Munich in hall C6 Feb 5-6!

Join us with 20% discount by using the code WT20 Register here

Wearables like fitness trackers and smartwatches are now part of our life. However, this notion of wearable technology isn’t new, in fact, it goes back hundreds of years. Around 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci used pedometers which were among the first wearables developed to measure physical activity. Wearables used in sports today are used to monitor and analyze physiological parameters and individualize training programs to boost athletes’ performance and health.

Over the past 20 years, major advances in technology have resulted in the triaxial accelerometer that measures movements in the anteroposterior, mediolateral, and vertical direction, easing the limitations of previous devices. Accelerometry-based wearables can be used to objectively assess physical activity and interventions aimed at improving health-related outcomes.

Wearable technology emerged as the top fitness trend in a worldwide survey conducted recently by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), predicting sales of U.S. $1.5 to U.S. $2.5 billion for some devices.

At the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference & Exhibition at ISPO Munich on Feb 3-6, several companies providing sports and fitness wearables will showcase their products and services. Here are the companies:

ARION is a next-generation wearable that helps runners improve their technique to run faster, longer and safer. It brings insights and innovations from elite top sport athletes to the wider population and makes cutting edge training techniques and exercise science available to everyone, helping them to achieve personal goals. The pressure-sensitive insoles measure the direct interaction between your feet and the ground. The footpods accurately track the movement of your body. Combined with the ARION app it connects you to your running technique that wasn’t possible before, to ultimately run faster, longer and safer.

Firstbeat is the leading provider of physiological analytics for sports and well-being. We transform heartbeat data into personalized information on exercise, stress, and recovery. Hundreds of elite sports teams, wellness professionals, and millions of consumers worldwide trust Firstbeat to enhance performance and well-being. Firstbeat was founded in 2002 in Jyväskylä, which is the hub of sports sciences of Finland with the University and physiology labs. The company’s mission is to use physiology and science to unlock human potential in health, performance and productivity.

The Protxx wearable sensor, coupled with a powerful data analytics engine, helps trainers and sports medicine professionals monitor athlete performance and track the onset and progression of changes to both neurovestibular and musculoskeletal physiology triggered by impact exposure, enabling early intervention, reduced injury incidence and severity, improved recovery outcomes, and higher levels of performance during every game and practice.

Meet those companies at the WT | Wearable Technologies Joint Pavilion at ISPO Munich in hall C6, booth 706 on Feb 3-6!

The co-located WT | Wearable Technologies Conference will take place on February 5-6 and will once again be THE meeting point for global professionals of the entire wearable ecosystem. This year for the first time the event will be a more integral part of ISPO tradeshow located in the brand new innovation hall C6 of Messe Munich More than 60 high-level speakers coming from Bayer, Odlo, Casio, Gore, Microsoft and STMicroelectronics will give you the latest insights into their applications and digitalization strategies via IoT and WT solutions and drive your business development. The unique agenda is covering the latest trends and developments of the tremendously growing wearables market.

Join us with 20% discount by using the code WT20

Register Here

Despite being a smash hit, Apple hasn’t launched the next version of its Airpods for more than 2 years. Now, Digitimes, an electronics publication well known for rumors, is reporting that the tech giant plans to launch the next-generation of its Bluetooth earbuds – the Airpods 2 – in 2019 with new health monitoring features.

The rumor, however, doesn’t talk about the specifics on the features. Theoretically, both heart rate and blood pressure could be tracked from the ear.

Starkey Hearing Technologies unveiled Livio AI, an Artificial Intelligence-powered hearing aid that automatically translates foreign languages, and tracks both your physical and mental health at the CES 2019.

Valencell, a US firm that develops biometric sensor technology for wearables and hearables, announced an ear-based blood pressure sensor at the CES 2019. The company is also working on earbud-based heart rate sensors available since 2014.

“The technology works by looking at the different waves, seeing which waves it likes, and then processing those waves into estimated blood pressure based on the characteristics of those waves,” Valencell President Dr. Steven LeBoeuf told MobiHealthNews in an onsite demo at the event. “The reason the technology doesn’t work at the wrist is manyfold, but it has to do with you just need a whole lot more data. You may need about a thousand times more data to make the wrist work as well as in the ear becaus all the different structures in the wrist and the variations in the wrist complicates how you process the blood pressure because we’re not directly measuring blood pressure. What we’re doing is a transfer function between the blood flow and the blood pressure, and that transfer function has less variation on the ear and the finger — actually, it works a lot better on the ear than the finger.”

If the next gen AirPods really do feature health sensors, it will be interesting to see what type of health tracking they are capable of performing. Previously, Apple filed a patent for wireless earbuds with build-in sensors for heart rate monitoring and measuring body temperature.

Sleep trackers only track your sleep; they don’t help you fall asleep when you need it badly. Philips Health decided to do something about the sleep problems many of us face, and came up with a smart headband called ‘SmartSleep.’ Once you wear it in bed, the headband plays white noise to help you fall asleep.

Related Silentmode’s PowerMask Plays Immersive Music So that You Can Fall Asleep Anywhere

At the recently concluded CES 2019, Philips added 3 new features to the SmartSleep: a new wearable called the Snoring Relief Band, an advanced coaching system to help users improve the quality of their sleep, and a system for better analyzing a person’s sleep, reports Gearbrain.

Snoring Relief Band

Sleeping on your back can cause you to snore. Philips Snoring relief band combines science-based technology with a small, discreet sensor to help encourage you to sleep on your side. Worn in a soft band around your chest, the band uses sensors to work out when you are moving from your front or side and onto your back, and prompts you to move to your side. The gentle vibrations don’t disrupt your sleep, and the intensity and vibration pattern automatically adjust to your snoring needs. The result: quieter nights for both you and your bed partner.

SmartSleep Better Sleep

Next up from Philips at CES is the SmartSleep Better Sleep Program, which is claimed to “re-train sleep habits to help users fall asleep faster and stay asleep with sustainable results.”

Related Pegasi Light Therapy Smart Sleep Glasses Helps You Sleep Better at Night

Adopting new sleep habits requires more than a quick fix. The SmartSleep Better sleep program offered by Philips provides you with a sleep-improvement schedule that retrains you to be able to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night5. Using your smartphone and wearable device, the program starts with an evaluation of your sleep habits and environment, which will then create a customized and personalized program to help you understand your sleep challenges. The Philips SmartSleep Better sleep program tools are designed to keep you motivated during every step of the way and give you sustainable results.

With the advancement in technology, healtcare now has more access to patient data. Simple wearables like Fitbits to FDA-approved Medtronic devices are all helping doctors understand patient behaviors in order to improve care. At this year’s WT | Wearable Technologies Conference & Exhibition at ISPO Munich on Feb 3-6, the companies listed below will be showcasing their wearable devices for health:

AiQ Smart Clothing Inc. is considered a pioneer in the Smart Clothes industry. Their philosophy on Smart Clothing is “Smart Inside Out”, which defines the perfectly seamless integration of technology and apparel. By taking a unique architectural approach, AiQ is working to accelerate the development of a wide variety of smart clothes focused at different slices of human life – play, work, entertain & stay healthy. AiQ’s innovations are backed by over two hundred patents. AiQ believes that clothes are the universal wearables and making them smarter to enrich everyday experiences is a natural progression of technology.

Bonbouton is a technology platform for preventative diabetic health care. Their first product, a smart insole with a proprietary embedded graphene sensing system, passively monitors the skin’s physiological signals in order to detect early signs of foot ulcers. The smart insoles sync with their mobile app to continuously monitor foot temperature to provide an early view of developing foot ulcers.This simplifies patient self-monitoring, significantly reduce the cost of care and facilitate better patient outcomes.

CareWear® has developed a wearable photobiomodulation therapy system using blue and red light to decrease pain and accelerate recovery from athletic activity and injury. Their solution is a wearable system with a reusable light patch that can be used pre-training, post-training, or post-injury anywhere: training room, traveling, or home. Just stick the light patch on the treatment site, attach the rechargeable controller, click to start and go! The product is an FDA class II over-the-counter device and can be sold without a prescription.

Datwyler Sealing Solutions Datwyler is a leading industrial supplier and a key player in the healthcare world. With their medical solutions, they are aiming to create a safer and improved medical environment of tomorrow. Datwyler’s soft dry electrodes are the compnay’s proposition for long-term EEG monitoring. They consist of a flexible conductive polymer and customizable design to ensure comfort. Partnering up with the world’s top pharmaceutical and medical companies, Datwyler stands by their mission to ensure patient safety and improve patients’ lives.

VitaScale has successfully developed the worldwide first wearable breath analysis device that can quickly and conveniently measure gas components in a person’s breath. With the end consumer ready hard and software (App) of vitascale™ the golden standard in sports medicine becomes available for everybody. This innovative and patented headset system provides real-time performance and metabolism measurement, to optimize a person’s health based on breathing gas composition.

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Meet those companies at the WT | Wearable Technologies Joint Pavilion at ISPO Munich in hall C6, booth 706 on Feb 3-6!

The co-located WT | Wearable Technologies Conference will take place on February 5-6 and will once again be THE meeting point for global professionals of the entire wearable ecosystem. This year for the first time the event will be a more integral part of ISPO tradeshow located in the brand new innovation hall C6 of Messe Munich More than 60 high-level speakers coming from Bayer, Odlo, Casio, Gore, Microsoft and STMicroelectronics will give you the latest insights into their applications and digitalization strategies via IoT and WT solutions and drive your business development. The unique agenda is covering the latest trends and developments of the tremendously growing wearables market.

Join us with 20% discount by using the code WT20

Neuro-technology company SyncThink has partnered with augmented reality (AR) specialist Magic Leap to make their proprietary brain health assessments and therapy applications available on the Magic Leap One platform.

Read more Cardiologists Use Augmented Reality to Plan and Perform Complex Procedures

The partnership would allow SyncThink to utilize AR for health assessments, rehabilitation, and sports performance. SyncThink’s leadership in eye-tracking analytics and ownership of a large-scale clinical database will also be used to augment Magic Leap’s platform capabilities, reports SyncThink.

“One of the primary advantages of working with Magic Leap’s mixed reality technology is it allows us to create specific interactive brain performance training paradigms in the user’s exact environment instead of trying to produce the same result in a virtual environment,” said CEO of SyncThink Laura Yecies. “This is especially important in sports, for example, where they can train and measure the recovery or improvement of a specific skill by doing the exact activity their sport requires.”

Nicole Samec, healthcare product manager for Magic Leap, notes that, “Magic Leap One is inspired by human physiology and has deep user sensing capabilities that make it an ideal spatial computing platform for developing real-time, objective health and wellness assessments. We hope that SyncThink’s use of our platform will enable clinicians, patients, and the general public to optimize their brain health and performance.”

Read more Controlling Virtual and Augmented Reality with Your Mind

In addition to developing new features and ways to further its brain health assessments in mixed reality, SyncThink will also utilize Magic Leap’s spatial computing platform to make improvements to their full suite of assessments. These additions include adding high-precision methods to objectively assess balance, proprioception, depth perception, and convergence, among others features, for injuries such as concussions.

The Verily Study Watch, developed by Verily — an arm of Google parent company Alphabet — has received FDA 510(k) clearance for an “on-demand ECG feature.” The Verily Study Watch is a prescription-only wearable that can record, store, transfer and display single-channel ECG rhythms.

Related Garmin Health Partners with ActiGraph to Create Wearables for Clinical Trials

Verily has been working on a health watch for several years, with the aim to design an inconspicuous biosensing device that could monitor the user’s health either for clinical or for research purposes. Now, the newly developed device has been used by thousands of people as part of clinical research studies in a number of studies including Verily’s Project Baseline, Aurora study and Personalized Parkinson’s Project, according to a statement. The new FDA approval will allow the devices to be used for more research projects.

“This work may ultimately give us insights into the utility of integrating mobile health data into the clinical care environment, and how these data can support the physician-patient relationship… Together, we are working towards a future where we can use devices, like the FDA-cleared Study Watch, to inform real-world, personalized care decisions and help us move to proactive healthcare,” said Michael V. McConnell, M.D., Head of Cardiovascular Health Innovations at Verily.

It’s important to note that FDA ‘clearance’ as a Class II device is very different from FDA ‘approval,’ which is typically reserved for Class III products, or technologies that might have higher risk but also a higher benefit (e.g. implantable pacemakers). The difference, as The Verge’s Angela Chen explained when the Apple Watch received its clearance, is that the FDA isn’t making any judgments on the actual efficacy of the device, only that it’s safe to use.

Related Parexel Announces Mobile Technology and New Wearable Device for Clinical Trials

Chen explains that “For Class II and Class I, the FDA doesn’t give ‘approval,’ it just gives clearance. Class I and Class II products are lower-risk products.” A classic Class I example is something like a tongue depressor – and it’s much easier to get clearance than approval, according to Jon Speer, co-founder of Greenlight Guru, a company that makes quality management software for medical device companies.

Google has agreed to pay watchmaker Fossil $40 million to buy its smartwatch technology. Fossil is the most active player in Google’s Wear OS smartwatch ecosystem, continuing to build smartwatches that run Wear OS. Although, Wear OS competes with Apple Watch, it has been struggling to gain mass adoption among consumers.

Related Google Files Patent for a Gesture-Based Smartwatch That Could Be Used for Video Conferencing

As part of the deal, Google will now also own a part of Fossil’s R&D team that currently supports the secret technology which neither company has provided much detail about.

Fossil says it will still retain more than 200 of its own R&D employees to focus on innovation and product development.

“The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go consumer,” said Stacey Burr, vice president of product management, Wear OS by Google.

Fossil’s EVP and chief strategy and digital officer Greg McKelvey told Wareable that the IP that creates the deal is based around new product innovation that’s entered the market yet. The IP is based on a technology that Fossil acquired as part of its purchase of wearable devices startup Misfit in 2015.

“It’s based on something out of our timeline,” McKelvey said. “It’s new to the market technology and we think it’s a product that has features and benefits that aren’t in the category today,” he added. He stated that, despite the sale, Fossil is still work closely with Google on developing the technology and is planning on launching new devices based on the innovation across its abundance of fashion brands.

Related Fossil Launches Sport Smartwatch on Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform and Wear OS

Fossil is one of Google’s partners that use Wear OS in their watches. Other big companies using Wear OS are Tag Heuer, LG, and Movado, reports CNBC.

Google hasn’t yet built a smartwatch of its own, but this deal could signal a growing commitment on the company’s part to wearable hardware technology.

The ever-increasing number of elderlies and escalating healthcare expenses are driving people to choose various fitness wearables to track their activity and improve health. As a result, wearable makers have focused on integrating wearable sensors in clothes, shoes, and even on bodies.

Advances in eHealth and mHealth systems are increasing the use of digital technology in healthcare.

Sensors can help the healthcare industry enormously. As we can see, sensors are now critical in remote patient monitoring. Sensors can help in detecting blood sugar levels in patients and transmit the captured data to doctors, enabling them to analyze the sensor-collected data and initiate personalized treatments and medications for patients, reports IT Business Net.

Thus, the demand for wearable sensors has increased in the last few years. According to research firm, Allied Market Research, the wearable sensors market is projected to reach $2.258 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 52.9% from 2016 to 2022.

Scientists are now trying to develop wearable devices that use solar power or even body heat, because continuous connectivity demands an extended battery life for the wearables.

Smartwatch Powered by Body Heat

Smartwatch maker Matrix has unveiled a new smartwatch called the PowerWatch 2, which is loaded with features like step count, heart rate monitor, notification and GPS, and needs only body heat and solar power to run.

Launched at the CES 2019, the PowerWatch 2 is a follow-up to last year’s PowerWatch X that was powered entirely by the body heat emitted from your wrist. The new watch also has Android and iOS companion apps, and third-party functionality with services like Google Fit and Apple HealthKit.

Wearable Sensors to Help Quit Smoking

iMorph, a company that integrates wearable self-help smart technology announced its flagship smoking cessation product, CigFree SmartBand, is being readied as a prototype for its clinical trial to demonstrate efficacy for quitting smoking. “CigFree SmartBand” is the first all-natural healthy non-invasive low-cost solution for quitting smoking.

Wearable Sensors to Protect You from UV Ray

Too much ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or sunbeds is the main cause of skin cancer. Scientists at the Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering have developed the world’s smallest wearable, battery-free device to measure exposure to light across multiple wavelengths, from the ultra violet (UV), to visible and even infrared parts of the solar spectrum. The sensor has been shown to separately and precisely monitor both UVA and UVB exposure for individuals at higher risk of developing melanoma. During a study where human participants wore the sensor, it recorded multiple forms of light exposure during outdoor activities, even when the user was in the water.

In the near future, you’ll be able to learn about your health condition by simply sticking a patch on your skin.

Researchers at Northwestern University developed a wearable device that can monitor and diagnose health problems by analyzing the sweat on your skin.

Related Stanford Researchers Develop Wearable That Measures Stress Through Sweat

The device is a wearable patch that measures the chemical contents of sweat on the skin. It could be used to screen for cystic fibrosis, and give athletes real-time performance data.

While fitness trackers like Apple Watch and Fitbit can track your health data, these devices are rigid and bulky. The new device, developed at John Rogers’ lab, is so thin and flexible that it looks like a temporary tattoo. It adheres to the skin to analyze the chemistry of your sweat. It detects key biomarkers in sweat and sends the data wirelessly to a smartphone app. The device can collect data on wearer’s pH, sweat rate, chloride levels, glucose and lactate – high levels of which could signal cystic fibrosis, diabetes or a lack of oxygen.

“It fits into a broader trend that you’re seeing in medicine, which is personalized, tailored approaches to treatment and delivery of care,” said John Rogers, a biomedical engineer at Northwestern University in Illinois and the key architect of the device.

Some similar devices in development use electric sensors to read chemicals. Others rely on calorie count, in which the intensity of the color in the readout matches the concentration of the chemical being monitored. The new device delivers all of that in a battery-free and wireless form, reports the New York Times.

“This looks like the first version in which they integrated all of it in one device,” said Martin Kaltenbrunner, an engineering professor at Joannes Kepler University Linz, in Austria, who was not involved in the research. “The level of technology that is in this paper is very, very advanced.”

Related Georgia Tech Researchers Develop Long-Acting Contraceptive Patch that Gives Women DIY Option for Birth Control

Sweat naturally flows into the device’s very tiny holes located at the base. The sweat then travels through a network of valves and microchannels, each roughly the width of a human hair, and accumulates into a tiny reservoir. Each reservoir has a sensor that reacts with chemicals like lactate or glucose found in the sweat.

“That’s basically it,” Dr. Rogers said. “There’s nothing that penetrates the skin, and there’s no power supply that’s driving flow.”

The device was described in the journal Science Advances.

There’s no wearable device that you can use to control your computer with your mind. Now, CTRL Labs is developing a device that will let you do just that.

CTRL Labs is a Manhattan, NYC-based startup that’s backed by tech giants like Amazon and Alphabet.

The startup develops neural interfaces to make our interactions with technology more fluid to the point where devices feel that they’ve become part of you.

Many companies are interested in this technology. For example, last year Facebook revealed an experimental thought-typing system. For many of these companies, the ultimate goal is a direct line to the human brain, which is still technically difficult and potentially dangerous. CTRL-Labs is trying to perform the same functions with a simple electrode-studded wristband.

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Patrick Kaifosh founded CTRL Labs with Thomas Reardon in 2015. Both of them have PhDs in neuroscience from Columbia University. Reardon also created Internet Explorer while he was at Microsoft.

To make this human-machine link possible, Kaifosh and Reardon figured out how to tap into the body’s nervous system.

“Your brain actually generates commands that propagate out to your muscles to allow you to move in the world. That’s all relayed via what’s called the motor nervous system. Ultimately your brain sends down a signal to your spinal cord, and your spinal cord in turn relays that up to the muscles. This is an electrical signal that’s actually received in the muscle,” says Reardon.

An armband outfitted with a number of sensors detects this electrical activity and sends it to a computer. From there, algorithms decode it and use the signals to decode a machine. Users can then do things like scroll through texts, turn a dial or sought items from a menu. The signals can even be used to control robots.

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“You don’t have to actually move for us to decode some of your intentions, what you have to do is generate that electrical pulse,” Reardon says.

Just a day ago, Google was involved in some type of acquisition deal with watchmaker Fossil. The watchmaker isn’t just a fashion brand, it’s also the biggest remaining seller of Google’s Android Wear OS hardware.

Google agreed to buy Fossil’s IP and “a portion of Fossil Group’s research and development team currently supporting the transferring IP” for $40 million.

What makes Google-Fossil deal more intriguing is the fact that in 2016 Wear OS made a grand entrance in the smartwatch market with brands like Fossil, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Diesel and Skagen.

Rumors of a Google Pixel Watch have been going around since 2018 when everyone thought the search engine giant would be releasing its own smartwatch alongside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. But that didn’t happen.

It may look like that Google is going to use Fossil’s secret tech to use as a unique selling point for a future Pixel Watch, but it looks to also be a unique feature Google wants on all of Wear OS.

“Right now we’re focused on finishing off development of the product, The Fossil Group will bring the product to market, across our full breadth of brands over time, and then in true Google fashion, the technology will be expanded across the industry over time to benefit all,” Greg McKelvey, EVP and chief strategy and digital officer of the Fossil Group, told Wareable.

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This sounds bigger than the Pixel Watch. If this tech is really game changer, It’ll make Wear OS stronger than Apple Watch or the Fitbit smartwatches.

While Apple, Fitbit and Samsung are doing very well in the fitness area, others like Garmin and Polar aren’t very far behind.

Though Google didn’t say much about the new technology, Fossil confirmed it came from the Misfit division of its business. Therefore, we can guess that Google is planning on something related to fitness since Misfit has always specialized in fitness, reports Tech Radar.

So far it looks like Google may be planning on something entirely new rather than releasing a Pixel Watch.

Fitbit and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched an initiative called the Fitbit Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) project. It’s the first digital health technology initiative for the All of Us research program, a precision medicine study hoping to improve the prevention and treatment of disease based on individual differences in lifestyle, environment and genetics.

Read more Fitbit CEO James Park Believes Wearables Are Vital for a Better Healthcare System

Fitbit users currently enrolled in the program can now choose to sync their Fitbit accounts to help researchers unlock deeper insights into the relationships between health indicators such as physical activity, heart rate, sleep and health outcomes. It is one of the world’s largest precision medicine studies, and Fitbit is the first wearable to be included in the program.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Fitbit users who choose to participate, to further contribute to one of the world’s largest research efforts by providing information that can help pave the way to a healthier future for all of us,” said Adam Pellegrini, general manager, Fitbit Health Solutions.

Participants will be invited to share various health information over time through surveys, electronic health records, physical measurements, biosamples and digital health technologies. Researchers will be able to access that data for a range of health studies. Strict safeguards will be put in place to protect the privacy of participants, Fitbit said in a press release.

“Collecting real-world, real-time data through digital technologies will become a fundamental part of the program,” said Eric Dishman, director of the All of Us Research Program. “This information in combination with many other data types will give us an unprecedented ability to better understand the impact of lifestyle and environment on health outcomes and, ultimately, develop better strategies for keeping people healthy in a very precise, individualized way.”

Read more Garmin Partners Up with Fitabase to Offer New Data Management for Wearable-Based Research

The first leg of the All of Us program was launched in May 2018; the second All of Us initiative will launch in 2019, which will involve providing up to 10,000 Fitbit devices to a diverse set of participants randomly invited to take part.

Google has named IBM MaaS360 with Watson as an Android Enterprise Recommended solution for BYOD, dedicated, and company-owned devices.

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A Google-run program Android Enterprise Recommended validates Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) product offerings that are built to an elevated set of solution standards using advanced Android Enterprise features that prioritize modern management methods to help business customers utilize the best of Android. Android Enterprise Recommended EMMs stay current with the latest platform features and work closely with Google to offer regularly trained staff, verified resources and trusted guidance to ensure a consistent, successful deployment, said a press release.

Traditionally, mobile device management (MDM) and EMM solutions have been used to help manage and secure mobile devices in the enterprise. With the advent of desktops, laptops, wearables and IoT devices, organizations need a platform that offers visibility and control over their endpoint and mobile environment: unified endpoint management (UEM). MaaS360 is the only platform that delivers an artificial intelligence approach to UEM to enable endpoints, end users, and everything in between – including apps, content, and data.

MaaS360 includes support for Android in the enterprise, Samsung Knox and Android version 2.2 and higher.

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“With significant Android Enterprise activations for MaaS360, we’ve prioritized not only the product roadmap to ensure our clients can adopt the Android Enterprise solution sets, but also training and enablement for the IBM sales and support organizations to best support the platform.” said John Nielsen, Offering Manager, MaaS360, IBM Security. “With the consistency that Android Enterprise provides clients across various Android manufacturers, we do not anticipate the adoption trend to slow down any time soon.”

Seismic, a Menlo Park, CA-based startup, is taking on the wearables market with their fashionable Powered Clothing.

Seismic, who was speaking at the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2018 USA in San Francisco, wants you to know that this is not an exoskeleton but instead fashionable clothing with a combination of robotics and sensor technology. The Powered Clothing made its first official appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt, followed up by CES 2019 in Las Vegas.

The Powered Clothing™ integrates discreet robotics, designed to help you move better by working in collaboration with your body to give you strength, stability, and power. The clothing is designed to help people with daily activities like, standing up, carrying and lifting items, extending standing, sitting down, walking and more.

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

Lightweight, breathable and comfortable; the apparel enables you to overcome limitations and achieve your full physical potential. It starts out simple, like getting dressed in the morning, but with a powerful processor and an integrated sensor matrix, the Powered Clothing is programmable, tailored to your body and your lifestyle.

The technology was originally developed at SRI International for a DARPA-funded program to reduce injury risk and enhance soldier endurance.

Seismic entered the occupational market in partnership with Cintas Corporation. Co-development plans between Cintas and Seismic will begin immediately in areas of product and distribution for service worker support in industries including food service, automotive, hospitality and others. Cintas and Seismic will collaborate to bring Powered Clothing to the workforce, said a press release.

Seismic has also entered into an agreement to begin co-developing next-generation industrial Powered Clothing with one of the largest construction organizations in Japan, Obayashi Corporation, a global team of 14,000 employees across 14 countries. The collaboration focuses on producing industry-specific clothing distributed and worn by Obayashi’s construction workforce. Seismic suits will be worn as a base layer to support workers’ core muscles to help augment strength when lifting, carrying or extended standing. This partnership aims to alleviate worksite fatigue.

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“We have strategically pursued different market verticals with significant partners that share our vision for impacting quality of life in their respective areas through Powered Clothing,” Seismic CEO and founder Rich Mahoney said. “I’m thrilled to open our programmable platform to our partners and enhance Powered Clothing’s utility in new ways to achieve unprecedented results in industries beyond personal wellness like occupational safety, wellness and lifestyle, and healthcare.”

When consumer wearables first hit the market, many hospitals and health systems resisted the technology and thought patient-generated health data (PGHD) generated by these devices might not be as reliable.

Read more Healthcare Wearables are Becoming Important for Staying Alive

But with the advancement of data analytics tools, healthcare providers now understand the benefits PGHD can have on patient care, according to a recent HIMSS report.

“Some myths around PGHD have been debunked while healthy skepticism and improved technology continue to push the conversation forward,” the report authors stated. “As a result, according to one recent survey, hospitals and health systems are no longer questioning the value – or desire – for PGHD. In fact, they are demanding it.”

The report titled “The Role of Wearables and PGHD in the Care Delivery Continuum” and sponsored by Fitbit found 79% of respondents agree that they would like to have more data about patients in between encounters and 72% agree that they need PGHD to make good decisions on chronic disease management.

“It’s encouraging news,” said John Sharpe, Senior Manager of the Personal Connected Health Alliance at HIMSS. “We are learning to trust the data. Furthermore, we’re learning how to make actual wearables and activity monitors more effective tools in both preventing disease and managing chronic disease.”

It’s certainly encouraging because the report found that 90% of those incorporating wearable devices in their workflow see it as a technology strategy that can positively impact chronic disease management.

Peoples suffering from chronic diseases like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity and smoking addiction need behavior and lifestyle changes to improve their condition. These habits – such as diet, exercise and medication adherence – are at the lowest rate of clinical control.

“These conditions lend themselves well to the value of wearable devices and PGHD because individuals need more constant guidance and self-reflection to succeed than can be provided with sporadic office visits,” says John Moore, MD, Medical Director at Fitbit.

New research also suggest that providers are going beyond chronic disease management, and are now integrating wearables and PGHD for disease prevention. The combination of wearables and health coaching can help to increase patient motivation and engagement with their care.

Read more Impact of Mobile Devices on Clinical Trial Data Collection

“Wearables and PGHD are not just able remind-ers. It’s more than just reminding patients to check their blood sugar and take their insulin. There’s complex psychology at work,” HIMSS senior director for Health Information Systems Rob Havasy said in the report.

That work will likely require combination of cutting-edge technology and poignancy to yield healthier outcomes, according to the report.