Wearable Device Innovations

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀? Because this breakthrough just raised the bar significantly. Researchers have developed a wearable device that monitors glucose levels through sweat – and it doesn't stop there. This disposable patch integrates real-time glucose monitoring with automated transdermal drug delivery for diabetes management. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: ✅ 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 – No more painful finger pricks ✅ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Real-time glucose data from sweat analysis ✅ 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 – Automated treatment response when glucose levels spike ✅ 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 & 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 – Practical for everyday use This isn't science fiction. It's soft bioelectronics on human skin, creating a closed-loop system that monitors AND treats diabetes simultaneously. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲? This technology represents the convergence of AI, wearables, and connected care – three pillars transforming healthcare delivery. We're moving from reactive treatment to proactive, personalized health management. For healthcare organizations exploring digital transformation, innovations like this answer the question: wearables aren't just living up to expectations – they're exceeding them by becoming active treatment devices, not just passive monitors. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲? What's your take? Are non-invasive biosensors the next frontier in chronic disease management? 📖 Research: Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601314) For more Wearables News and Expertise follow João Bocas #DigitalHealth #AIinHealthcare #Wearables #DiabetesCare #HealthTech #ConnectedCare #Innovation #HealthcareTransformation

Our recent study, published in PNAS, introduces a wearable near-infrared patch that employs machine learning to enhance noninvasive muscle-tracking technology. By utilizing the strong light-muscle interaction and deep penetration of near-infrared light, the device addresses key limitations of existing state-of-the-art methods, such as indirect measurements and the need for specialized adhesives. This innovation opens new avenues for monitoring disease progression, assessing treatment effectiveness, and supporting rehabilitation efforts. We are excited to further explore its clinical applications through more clinical trials. Congratulations to Yihan Liu, Arjun Putcha, Gavin Lyda, Nanqi Peng, Salil Pai, Tien Nguyen, Sicheng Xing, Shang Peng, Yiyang Fan, Yizhang Wu, Wanrong Xie! We are grateful for support from National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Science Foundation (NSF), and North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBiotech). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC Research Department of Applied Physical Sciences at The University of North Carolina Link to the paper: https://lnkd.in/efdRB2ZY

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 $𝟵𝟲𝗠 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗢𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. Yesterday, ŌURA announced it’s opening a new manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas to support its biggest customer, the Department of Defense. The DoD has already deployed tens of thousands of Oura Rings since 2019. In 2024, it signed a $96M contract to scale distribution further. Of course this is a big sales win, but it also ads to their product trust. Few professions outside the military can give health products more credibility. It’s as much a brand move as it is a business one. The Pentagon cares about a sleep wearable because Oura has proven it can deliver in extreme environments. 1️⃣ Fatigue risk management: After fatigue-related accidents killed 17 sailors in 2017, the Navy launched its largest fatigue study. Today, 1,600 sailors on the USS Gerald R. Ford wear Oura Rings so commanders can track readiness in real time and sailors can own their recovery. 2️⃣ Training prediction: The Army equipped 400+ soldiers with Oura Rings during field exercises. The data predicted which soldiers would pass equipment qualification on the first try, unlocking personalized training. 3️⃣ Early illness detection: The Defense Innovation Unit paired Oura with AI to create RATE, a system that flagged COVID-19 infections before symptoms. The model is now being applied to other illnesses that spread fast in close quarters. 4️⃣ Stress and resilience: The Air Force gave 1,000+ Oura Rings to new leaders to monitor stress. Instead of waiting for burnout, leadership gets objective data to intervene. Other wearables are also evolving beyond fitness: → The Apple Watch is FDA-cleared for EKGs and ran a 400,000-person heart study that caught atrial fibrillation early. → WHOOP straps were used in a six-month Army study in Alaska, helping squad leaders spot hidden burnout. → Empatica and BIOSTRAP supply medical-grade wearables to NIH and BARDA for real-time illness tracking and long COVID studies. → Hexoskin biometric shirts are worn by astronauts and fighter pilots, tracking ECG, respiration, and fatigue in harsh conditions. In 2019, fewer than 10% of wearables had FDA clearance. Today, it’s more than 25%. The market grew from about $17B in 2019 to over $45B in 2024, and could hit $70–80B by 2028. Clinical trials using wearables jumped from fewer than 20 in 2018 to more than 250 in 2023. Wearables keep moving beyond simple “lifestyle gadgets.” They now track HRV, skin temperature, oxygen levels, respiration, blood pressure, glucose, and early signs of infection or cognitive strain. They’re also becoming tools for leaders to keep teams healthy and performing at their best. Predictive, proactive readiness is becoming the standard. It proved consumer health tech can meet the highest bar of resilience, accuracy, and trust. This is where I believe the future of wearables is headed.

Another signal the future of wearables is moving beyond the wrist: smart-earring startup Lumia just raised $7M from J2 Ventures and BonAngels. Lumia is building smart earrings that measure blood flow to the head, a vastly cleaner physiological signal than the wrist. The ear has stronger arterial flow, less motion noise, and better temperature stability, meaning more accurate HR, HRV, oxygenation and even cognitive-stress markers. Why this matters: 1. The wearable stack is shifting to new form factors. Oura and Ultrahuman proved rings could beat watches on sleep + recovery. WHOOP proved straps could beat watches on continuous data. Now we’re seeing a wave of ear-based wearables aimed at cognitive and emotional biomarkers. 2. “Brain-adjacent biometrics” may be the next frontier. Better data → better insights on stress, focus, burnout, emotional volatility, and early neuro indicators. 3. Strong funding despite a crowded wearable category. Lumia’s $7M round adds to a big year in non-wrist wearables: Oura $350M+ WHOOP $400M+ Movano Evie $60M+ Ultrahuman $35M+ Earable $6M The thesis is clear: We’re heading toward form-factor-specific wearables rather than “one device fits all.” Sleep ring, fitness strap, glucose patch, cognitive earring, all feeding personalized health models.

China just bent the rules of electronics — literally. Facinating? Chinese and global researchers are advancing Metal-Polymer Conductors (MPCs) — circuits made from liquid metals like gallium–indium embedded in elastic polymers — that defy traditional rigid wiring by remaining conductive even when stretched up to 500% or more. Why this is a big deal: 🔹 High Stretchability: Certain liquid-metal conductors maintain electrical conductivity even when stretched 5× their original length. 🔹 Durability: Printable metal-polymer conductors can withstand over 10,000 cycles of stretching with minimal resistance change (<3%). 🔹 Conductivity: Hybrid conductors based on indium alloys can achieve extremely high conductivity (~2.98 × 10⁶ S/m) with minimal resistance change under extreme strain. 🔹 Fine Feature Sizes: Advanced techniques can pattern circuits as small as 5 micrometers, rivaling conventional PCBs. Market Insight: The global market for wearable and flexible devices is expected to surge into the hundreds of billions of dollars, with advanced stretchable materials at the core of the next wave of innovation. (Wearable tech projected >US$150B by 2026 in soft electronics growth — wearable industry data) Where AI Fits In: AI is not just hype — it’s accelerating how we design and discover materials like MPCs. AI/ML models help predict material properties — like conductivity and mechanical resilience — before physical prototypes are made. Computational simulations can evaluate thousands of polymer + metal combinations far faster than physical testing alone. AI-assisted optimization reduces lab iterations, cutting time and cost in early-stage development. In other words: AI + materials science = faster discovery of smarter, stretchable electronics. Potential Applications: Soft robotics that mimic human motion Wearables that feel like fabric Artificial skin with embedded sensing Health monitoring devices that conform to the body On-skin motion recognition and bioelectronics. The era of electronics you can twist, stretch, and wear is here — and AI is helping make it a reality. #FlexibleElectronics #MaterialsScience #AIinInnovation #SoftRobotics #WearableTech #DeepTech #FutureOfElectronics #Innovation

7 wearable and sensor developments you should know about this month: 🔘identifyHer’s new wearable,Peri, tracks physiological patterns linked to perimenopause, giving users real-time insight into hot flashes, sleep shifts and mood changes in a space where clinical-grade tools have been scarce. 🔘 Lampsy Health has developed a smart lamp that uses AI to detect epileptic seizures with over 99% accuracy, reducing false alarms and moving seizure monitoring into everyday environments. 🔘 Withings BeamO has received FDA clearance for its handheld device that combines a thermometer, ECG and digital stethoscope, enabling basic heart, lung and temperature checks at home in about a minute. 🔘 Lumia™ has launched Lumia 2, smart earrings with in-ear sensors that track blood flow to the head to capture signals around energy, focus, mental clarity, temperature and sleep. 🔘 Kohler Health has introduced Dekoda, a sensor-enabled toilet accessory that uses AI to analyse urine and stool, flagging hydration issues, gut-health changes and potential blood. 🔘 Apple is reportedly developing Apple Health+, an AI health-coaching layer for the Health app. Samsung and Google have moved early here, but Apple’s entry usually signals a category shift toward mainstream adoption. 🔘 Researchers at UC San Diego have built a battery-free electronic sticker that turns any drinking cup into a sensor by analysing vitamin C from fingertip sweat, a modest biomarker, but an interesting signal for near-frictionless diagnostics 👇links to news in comments #digitalhealth #ai #wearables

The development of wearable technology has all attracted a lot of hype, but ultimately has felt a bit underwhelming and gimmicky. Back in 2019, researchers at the Fonds Clinatec laboratory in Grenoble created an exo-skeleton, which paralysed users could control with their mind in order to help them move both their arms and legs. This was a phenomenal step forward, but it will be years before such innovations could be integrated into everyday clothing. However, things have taken a big step forward through a collaboration between outdoor brand Arc'teryx and Google spinoff Skip, who have developed a pair of hiking trousers with an inbuilt exo-skeleton that provides stability and a 40% power boost when walking uphill. Targeting consumers with mobility challenges, the MO/GO pant uses motors that augment the quadricep and hamstring muscles with its “horsepower”, absorbing the impact of each step on the knee joints. The motors motor kicks in when tackling elevation - the time your knees would normally be working their hardest and require the most support. Think it like a wearable e-bike. Like many great founders, Kathryn Zealand and Anna Roumiantseva had seen how family member’s lives were affected by mobility challenges, prompting them find a solution using wearable robotics and artificial intelligence. They initiated the project whilst working at GoogleX, and went on to establish Skip in 2023, launching the exoskeleton technology with bespoke carbon fibre support structures that spread force from the motor across the leg while hiking. In partnership with Arc'teryx, this has been incorporated into a lightweight hiking pant, to create a first-of-its-kind product. "MO/GO feels like a natural extension of the body, enhancing mobility without drawing attention to itself. This sleek, slimline design sets it far apart from the medicalised devices available to date." A pocket in the back of the trousers holds a battery that provides over three hours of maximum assistance when walking uphill and recharges automatically when walking downhill. A suite of sensors linked to a computer module also makes real-time adjustments based on terrain and walking style. At a time when a lot of fashion feels superfluous and out of touch, products like these just feel epic and lifechanging, enabling the wearer to participate in activities which were previously impossible. The range will also be able to rent as well as buy, making the technology more accessible, essential given the financial pressures often experienced by the disabled community. Much like how e-bikes opened cycling up to a broader demographic, these pants could deliver the same democracy to hiking and long distance walking. DHR Global #adaptivefashion #wearabletech

Your Wardrobe Goes Online From step counters to fart monitors, wearables are changing the epistemology of medicine itself We began with step counters. Then heart rhythms. Then sleep cycles. Then blood oxygen. Then glucose. Now? Farts. Scientists at the University of Maryland are piloting what they jokingly call a "Fitbit for farts"—a tiny hydrogen sensor worn discreetly on the body that continuously measures flatulence. It sounds like late-night comedy. It is, in fact, serious #gastroenterology. And it signals something much larger. This device sits at the crossroads of three powerful trends: extreme miniaturization, continuous monitoring, and edge computing. The same supply chains that gave us smart rings, smart watches, and wireless earbuds now enable a battery-powered sensor small enough to measure something we've never systematically measured before: baseline digestive patterns. Forty percent of American adults report regular digestive disruption. Fiber-rich diets, which reduce colon cancer risk, are often abandoned because of bloating and gas. Yet in 2026, we still don't know how often the average person passes gas in a day. Early data offers a hint at the range: one participant logged 175 emissions. For decades, digestive health relied on self-reporting and invasive lab work. Now we are entering an era of passive, ambient #health telemetry. The #AppleWatch moved the cardiology ward to your wrist. Continuous glucose monitors brought the endocrinology lab to your arm. Each time, the shift was the same: from episodic snapshot to living dashboard. When you move from occasional measurement to continuous signal detection, you don't just gather more data—you change the epistemology of medicine itself. Patterns that were previously invisible become legible. Causation, not just correlation, becomes possible. This is just the beginning. Imagine clothing that tracks inflammatory markers. Glasses that monitor neurological drift. Belts—we make a few of those at Randa Apparel & Accessories—that detect posture, waist measurement, and metabolic change. Fabrics embedded with biosensors that surface early-stage disease before symptoms arrive. Your wardrobe becomes diagnostic infrastructure. Real questions follow: #data ownership, #privacy, psychological burden, the quiet anxiety of living with a dashboard of yourself. Continuous monitoring can empower patients, or produce a nation of worried well, over-interpreting every signal. These are not small concerns. But the direction is unmistakable. #Healthcare is migrating from hospitals to homes to bodies. From appointments to algorithms. From episodic to continuous. Technology has always moved closer, first to our pockets with smartphones, then our wrists. Now it is woven into the textiles we wear and clipped discreetly where biology actually happens. Fitbit (now part of Google) and ŌURA are not the destination. They are the prologue. Walt Whitman sang the body electric. We're adding sensors.

Flexible batteries highlight how technological progress can serve human well-being, since their adaptability opens new paths for implants and wearable devices that blend naturally with the body while supporting longer, safer, and more connected healthcare. This perspective becomes tangible when we look at how these energy systems can reduce bulk, conform to tissue, and follow the body’s natural motion without disrupting sensitive medical sensors. Engineers gain more freedom to design discreet solutions, and patients benefit from devices that extend operating life while minimizing the need for interventions. Their biocompatible structure lowers the risk of rejection in long-term implant scenarios, while their lightness and efficiency make them suitable for wearable technologies that monitor health in real time. The integration with AI-driven platforms adds another layer of value, enabling continuous tracking and smarter care pathways. I see this evolution as a step that reflects the convergence of advanced materials science and human-centric medical innovation. The question that remains open is how quickly healthcare systems and regulators will embrace these possibilities for the benefit of patients worldwide. #MedicalTechnology #DigitalHealth #Innovation #Healthcare

🚨 Wearables vs. Regulators: The Next Chapter This week Apple announced that the new Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 will soon be able to flag possible hypertension and deliver detailed sleep quality scores. Sounds simple? Not quite. Behind every “notification” is a regulatory strategy as carefully designed as the device itself. 🔹 The playbook Apple uses Sleep Apnea Notifications → already FDA 510(k) cleared (Class II). Wording is intentional: “possible moderate-to-severe sleep apnea” nudges users to seek medical care rather than self-diagnose. Hypertension Notifications → awaiting FDA green light. The watch tracks optical signals over 30 days, but Apple won’t switch it on in the U.S. until clearance arrives. Globally, they’ll stage rollout to 150+ regions. Sleep Score → stays firmly in the wellness category. General lifestyle insights = no regulatory review. This careful separation of wellness vs. medical device claims is what keeps innovation moving without tripping compliance wires. 🔹 How competitors fared Samsung scored the first De Novo for sleep apnea but still can’t launch its cuffless blood pressure app in the U.S. (only abroad with cuff calibration). WHOOP had its BP Insights feature called out by FDA in a 2025 Warning Letter—proof that “insights” can quickly cross the line into “regulated device.” 🔹 What this means globally In the U.S., hypertension wearables now have a precedent (Aktiia’s clearance), but FDA expects robust validation across skin tones, motion, and long-term drift. In the EU, the MDR treats these apps as Medical Device Software (likely Class IIa+) once they claim to detect disease risk. Wellness features can remain outside MDR. Other markets (Canada, Korea, Brazil) are already authorizing apnea tools—regulatory convergence is accelerating. 💡 My takeaway: Apple isn’t just building features—it’s building regulatory strategies. By separating wellness from medical, validating algorithms against emerging standards, and choreographing global launches, they’ve created a blueprint for the next era of digital health. The real story? Wearables are no longer “nice-to-have trackers.” They’re becoming front-line screening tools—and regulators are writing the rules in real time. 👉 Curious to hear: do you think wearables will replace traditional screening tools like home BP cuffs and sleep studies, or will they remain companions to clinical care? #DigitalHealth #RegulatoryAffairs #AppleWatch #SaMD #Wearables