Screen Printing - October/November 2019 - 23

MEDICAL DEVICES - SKIN PATCHES

AR/VR DEVICES

The Owlet Band for expectant mothers is made with DuPont Intexar smart
clothing technology. These extremely thin sensors are made with DuPont's
stretchable conductive inks on stretchable films and bonded into the Owlet's
stretchable knit fabric band. The Owlet Band features fetal heart rate tracking
and recording, wellness notifications, automated kick counting, contraction
tracking, and maternal sleep position indicators. (Courtesy of Owlet.)

The Teslasuit is a full-body AR/VR suit that can help improve the effectiveness
of virtual-reality training for hazardous environments, dangerous tasks, injury
rehabilitation, spaceflight, or athletic performance. The suit combines haptic
feedback, full-body motion capture, climate control, and biometry systems
so you can test your instincts, movements, stress levels, and reflexes in a
situation that feels as real as it looks. (Courtesy of Teslasuit.)

Gear for augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality
Skin patches for mobile cardiac telemetry and other data
n E-textiles, including smart clothing for biometric monitoring
n Hearing aids and headphones
n Other products such as smartwatches and activity trackers
n
n

Twenty of the 48 wearable technologies in the IDTechEx
report are medical devices and account for about one-third of
wearable device revenue in 2019.
Here are some examples of how wearables are used in
each of these five categories.

MEDICAL DEVICES AND SKIN PATCHES
The newest wearables for healthcare encourage healthier living,
support early diagnosis of treatable medical conditions, or
collect data for clinical trials. Some wearables have received
FDA approval and are more reliable than the first-generation
health-monitoring features in smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Sensors on medical wearable devices can detect and
report falls, monitor glucose levels for diabetics, or track
changes in heart rate, blood pressure, or respiration rate, or
exposure to harmful chemicals. The sensors can be bonded
to wrist bands or garments or attached directly to the skin
with Band-Aid-like adhesives.
Some types of medical wearable devices can help people
avoid unnecessary doctor visits. When medical attention is
required, the doctor can review a rich source of recent data
about the patient's condition.
A survey conducted by VivaLnk, a company specializing
in connected healthcare devices, found that 64 percent of
respondents over age 40 would wear a remote health-monitoring device if it could help them reduce the number of

times they had to physically visit a doctor's office
or hospital.
Some healthcare wearables and patches can help relieve
stress, pain, or anxiety.
The Owlet Band lets expectant mothers monitor the wellness of their developing infants during the second and third
trimesters of pregnancy. Specialized sensors in the fabric
band track fetal heart rate and kick counts and send the
real-time data to a smartphone. Owlet also sells a Smart Sock
that uses pulse oximetry technology to track a baby's oxygen
levels and heart rates during sleep.
Skin patches have been developed for health monitoring,
drug and cosmetic delivery, and pain relief. Some can deliver
pulse massages to neck, shoulder, leg, or back muscles.
The Enfasmart Feversense Continuous Monitoring Digital
Thermometer is a soft adhesive patch that sends temperature
readings wirelessly to an app on the caregiver's smartphone.
Marketed by Enfamil, the product can be purchased from
Walmart.com.
At the 2019 CES show, L'Oreal showcased a prototype
skin patch that can measure the pH level of the wearer's skin.
The data empowers consumers to find products that are
right for their skin-care needs. When the pH level of the skin
falls outside of the healthy range of 4.5 and 5.5, it can trigger
inflammatory responses that can cause or exacerbate skin
conditions such as dryness, eczema, and atopic dermatitis.
Expect to see a new wave of wearable medical devices at
CES 2020 in Las Vegas in January.

AR/VR DEVICES
One of the fastest-growing markets for augmented reality and
virtual reality devices is enterprise training. Pilots have been
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2019

http://www.Walmart.com

Screen Printing - October/November 2019

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