Wearable Technology

Biobeat Technologies provide wearable devices for vital sign monitoring.

Wearable human-machine interface devices can be used to control machines, computers, music players, and other systems. A challenge for conventional human-machine interfaces is the presence of sweat on human skin. Scientists now describe their development of a type of human-machine interface that is stretchable, inexpensive, and waterproof. The device is based on a soft magnetoelastic sensor array that converts mechanical pressure from the press of a finger into an electrical signal.

Patients with severe respiratory or lung diseases require intensive treatment and their lung function needs to be monitored on a continuous basis. Researchers have developed a technology whereby noises in the lungs are recorded using a textile vest with integrated acoustic sensors. The signals are then converted and displayed visually using software. In this way, patients outside of intensive care units can still be monitored continuously. The technology increases the options for diagnosis and improves the patient's quality of life.

Orpyx has developed a smart insole technology designed to aid diabetics with peripheral neuropathy and prevent ulcers and reduce demand for surgical interventions. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed the VP of Marketing, Karen Smith.

A researcher is creating a portable, wearable device for rapid gas analysis that could detect illness immediately. Advancements in micro-gas chromatography in the past 20 years have demonstrated great potential for the development of powerful portable gas analysis devices. But it remains a challenge to achieve efficient separation and rapid detection for effective gas analysis in a highly integrated and cost-effective platform, as well as in a mobile device.

This premium article explores emerging applications for wearable motion sensors, particularly focusing on telemedicine and remote patient monitoring, digital physical therapy, wearables in clinical trials, and more.

IDTechEx attended the FLEX 2022 conference in San Francisco, USA. This premium article summarizes the main themes, along with the most interesting and/or commercially relevant presentations. Topics covered include emerging applications, materials, manufacturing methods, and wearable technology.

Researchers have figured out how to engineer a biofilm that harvests the energy in evaporation and converts it to electricity. This biofilm has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics.

Ecologists won't always need expensive and bulky equipment to measure vegetation in the wild. Scientists have discovered a modern heads-up display works pretty well. Researchers set up a Microsoft HoloLens as a mixed-reality sensor to feed VegSense, their application to measure understory vegetation, plant life that grows between the forest canopy and floor.

Eeonyx is a US-based company developing conductive textile technology.

This premium article gives an introduction to inertial measurement units (IMU) and explores the opportunities and challenges associated with MEMs-based IMUs.

New stamp-sized ultrasound adhesives produce clear images of heart, lungs, and other internal organs.

Wearable electronics, from health and fitness trackers to virtual reality headsets, are part of our everyday lives. But finding ways to continuously power these devices is a challenge. Researchers have developed an innovative solution: the first-of-its kind flexible, wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity. This device is soft and stretchable, yet sturdy and efficient — properties that can be challenging to combine.

This presentation was given by IDTechEx Technology Analyst Tess Skyrme at the CEA-Leti Innovation Days in June 2022.

Equivital provides wearable technology and other solutions to monitor vital signs, particularly heat stress for industrial and medical markets including emergency response and clinical trials/remote patient monitoring. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, interviewed Marketing Manager Sally Maclachlan.

When the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering at The University of Sheffield was looking for a way to accurately 3D print bioelectronic sensors, it reached out to Intertronics for support. The company supplied mixing and dispensing equipment to improve the consistency and quality of the mix, achieve better printing definition, and reduce blockages in the nozzle of the 3D printer.

Teveri develop liquid metal-based cabling and sensors for e-textiles. Tess Skyrme, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, spoke to the company's VP of Operations, Arup Roy.

Wrist-worn health devices can be combined with machine learning to detect COVID-19 infections as early as two days before symptoms appear,

Liquid Wire released a whitepaper in 2022 with an update on their "Device-Ready Stretchable Circuits Unlocking New Design Possibilities for Wearable Electronics".

CuteCircuit is a wearable technology fashion brand, with a focus on smart textiles and microelectronics.