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Catching the wearable device wave

Commercial products and technology developments in clinical trials offer potential for disruptive change in treating patients.

Braebon's DentiTrac® is an integrated wearable micro-recorder and web cloud portal combination for the objective measurement of oral appliance compliance measurement for sleep apnea.
Braebon's DentiTrac® is an integrated wearable micro-recorder and web cloud portal combination for the objective measurement of oral appliance compliance measurement for sleep apnea.

A skeptic to the growing media buzz over wearable medical device technologies might argue that people have been “wearing” medical devices for decades, be they pacemakers, insulin pumps, perhaps even organ transplants.

But as the development and use of smartwatches, smartphones, and digital and wireless technology increases, it could enhance traditional patient/physician communication, improve patient adherence to medication regimens, and ideally lead to better health outcomes. Wearable devices can also administer medications directly into patients.

The Marketing Research Assn. says, “A wearable medical device may be defined as a biosensor that monitors physiological data, usually with remote/wireless communication, as part of any wearable item that attaches to the body. Activity monitors, smart watches, smart clothing, and patches are examples.”

In promoting its new “Healthcare Information Technology,” report, BCC Research  recently issued a press release with the headline, “Mobile and Wearable Devices Emerging to Be the Next Big Thing in the U.S. Healthcare IT Industry.”

The release said, “The boundary between clinical and consumer health IT technologies is becoming increasingly blurred. For example, there is a growing interest in the healthcare industry in being able to import some of individual consumers’ self-monitoring data from their mobile devices to their Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Some healthcare practitioners also envision providing follow-up recommendations and other health-related information to consumers via their self-monitoring applications.”

The global medical wearable electronics market is expected to surpass $8.3 billion by 2019, according to Mordor Intelligence’s report, “Global Wearable Medical Device Market—Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2014-2019).” That would represent a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 17.7% between last year’s $2.8 billion in revenues and forecast revenues in 2019.

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