Wearable technology in healthcare aims to shake up the industry and empower patients with granular data that leads to actionable insights. With wearables, patients have the ability to collect their own health data and report it in a digital format, eliminating the need for in-person appointments. Insurers and providers have also bought into wearable technology, relying on data collected from health monitoring devices to inform more personalized and accurate health plans. Even companies have adopted wearables to encourage healthy habits among office workers and employees working from home.
What Is Wearable Technology in Healthcare?
Wearable technology in healthcare refers to devices that patients attach to their bodies to collect health and fitness data, which they may provide to doctors, health providers, insurers and other relevant parties. Examples include fitness trackers, blood pressure monitors and biosensors.
Because of these benefits, wearable medical devices — like fitness trackers, smart watches, electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors, blood pressure monitors and biosensors — have witnessed booming demand. The smart wearable health devices market was valued at $13.8 billion in 2020, and it’s expected to balloon to $37.4 billion by 2028.
Here are 13 companies driving this growth by reshaping the patient experience through wearable technology in healthcare.
Everyday Health Wearable Medical Devices
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
The healthtech company Silvertree offers a wearable — the Silvertree Reach — created to monitor health and safety for older active adults. The Reach wristband is meant to increase independence in older people and is bundled with a subscription connectivity service that allows the wearer to send an emergency notification. The device also comes with GPS tracking in case of emergency and detects falls. The Reach app counts steps, keeps medical records and digital ID available and facilitates communication with loved ones.
Location: Olathe, Kansas
Garmin makes a wide range of devices, including fitness and health tracking wearables for adults and children. Garmin also offers an all-day activity tracker that counts steps, distance, intensity and calories, helping users maintain health and fitness goals. The company’s wearable products like the Venu series track body patterns, sleep quality and heart rate while pairing with Apple and Android smartphones for added convenience.
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Headquartered in France, Withings is a health and wellness company whose products keep people connected to their health. Since creating the first WiFi scale, the company has developed connected wellness devices like health-enabled watches. Withings wearable trackers offer activity tracking and ECGs, as well as heart rate and sleep monitoring.
Location: San Francisco, California
Fitness and health wearables commonly come in the form of watches, but Motiv does things a little differently. The Motiv Ring slips onto a user’s finger to monitor activity, sleep and heart rate. The ring’s app lets users track and adjust their goals while saving data to Google Fit or Apple Health.
Wearable Technology for People With Hearing Loss
Location: New York, New York
Jabra Hearing is a hearing care telemedicine company that provides high-tech, direct-to-consumer hearing aids, remotely programmed for each client. Potential clients are screened for eligibility, then given a video orientation with Jabra audiologists, who cover how to wear, care for and adjust their hearing aids, which are then delivered to the client’s door.
Wearable Heart Monitoring
Location: Cupertino, California
In addition to many other use cases, Apple’s Apple Watch has a variety of health tracking features, such as heart rate notifications about irregular rhythms and heart rates that are too high or too low. The watch even has an ECG app and auto-enabled fall detection for users over 65. Between the Apple Watch and iPhone health features, users can monitor heart health and store important medical information that’s quickly accessible.
Location: Mountain View, California
KardiaMobile is a product made by AliveCor, a medical device and artificial intelligence company that is developing products for screening, diagnosis and treatment. KardiaMobile is an ECG that attaches to the back of mobile devices like iPhones and Androids. It tracks heart activity and transmits the activity to a mobile app through chest and finger sensors.
Wearable Women’s Health Tracking
Location: San Francisco, California
The Ava bracelet is a night-only wearable that helps women naturally track their cycles to understand more about their fertility, pregnancy and overall health. In addition to simple symptom, ovulation and period tracking, the wearable tracks and logs sleep, stress levels and resting heart rate, all within the Ava app.
Location: San Francisco, California
Fitbit does more than track steps, it also provides an entire health coaching platform that offers solutions for corporate wellness, healthcare systems and researchers. Fitibit’s smart watches work well with Apple and Android products, offering mobile services in the form of the Fitbit app. Users can also take advantage of the app’s ability to track menstrual cycles, periods and fertility information.
Wearable Health Monitoring Devices
Location: Cinncinnati, Ohio
PatientPoint’s product offerings for patient engagement include tech for remote patient monitoring, which is powered by remote care company Optimize Health. PatientPoint says it works with medical practices to verify which patients are eligible and then handles logistics for shipping devices to patients and getting them onboarded. The company says its monitoring programs allow medical staff to identify trends among a patient’s key metrics so that they can make appropriate adjustments to their treatment plans, with applications for patients who need preventative cardiac care, for example.
Location: Lehi, Utah
Owlet creates wearables and cameras for babies and infants that track heart rates and oxygen levels, measure sleep and have audio and video streaming capabilities for monitoring purposes. Owlet’s products are tracked via mobile app and provide weekly milestones in a baby’s progress.
Wearable Biosensor Technology
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Abbott provides a range of services to healthcare consumers and professionals in areas like physical movement, diabetes and cardiology. The company has also made notable strides in developing glucose sport biosensors. Known as Libre Sense, this biosensor attaches to the back of the upper arm and compiles data on glucose levels in athletes aged 16 and up. Libre Sense is also offered over the counter and collaborates with mobile apps to make its data accessible.
Location: Fully Remote
Made by L’Oreal brand La Roche-Posay, My Skin Track UV is a wearable sensor that pairs with a mobile app to track a user’s exposure to UV, pollen, humidity and pollution. It also provides users with actions they can take to address any harmful effects. The sensor requires no batteries and is available in the App Store.
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