Posted in Mobile Health by Brian Buntz on January 5, 2016
Critics of wearables have deemed them to be expensive toys. Some of the new wearable product offerings being announced may give fresh ammunition to that argument. Meanwhile, several companies continue to develop new types of health-related wearables, showing off their most recent technology at this year's CES.
Qmed Staff
Wearables are quickly becoming a staple technology at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This year's event includes a dedicated Wearables Marketplace
A Next-Gen Fitbit
Not content to let Apple have all of the smart watch fun, Fitbit has announced the Blaze wrist-worn fitness tracker. Despite its sleeker design, it apparently offers little new with respect to health tracking; it can monitor heart rate and detect certain types of activity automatically. And unlike the Apple Watch, the device does not offer all-purpose functions such as compatibility with non-fitness related apps. Apparently investors wanted more from Fitbit than a sleek design; the company's stock dropped on Tuesday by 18.45% to $24.27.
A Star Wars Wearable
Verge and other outlets were impressed with the Sphero's Star Wars watch that lets the user control a BB-8 droid using a wrist-based device. While the device has no health-tracking functionality, it is interesting that a toy-maker like Sphero is moving into the wearables space. To date, the device has arguably won more attention from press attending CES than more traditional health-related wearables.
A Smart Sock
The company Sensoria is launching a sock with sensors embedded into it. The sock functions as a textile circuit board, measuring pressure against the plantar area of the foot to help runners gain data about their workouts. The company also believes its technology can be used for an array of healthcare applications, including monitoring diabetic foot ulcers, detecting falls, rehab, and for monitoring prosthetics.
Misfit Keeps Up the Fashionable Trend
Misfit made a name for itself by making wearables sleek. With its aluminum activity tracker known as the Ray, the company intends its product to be worn by women like jewelry.
An FDA-Cleared Helmet to Grow Hair
And now for something completely different... The company iGrow offers a 510(k) cleared device shown to grow hair in a double-blind clinical trial. The device uses a technique known as low-level light therapy to help stimulate hair growth within the follicle.
Samsung's Welt
While Samsung has had difficulty commanding significant market share in the wearables market, it continues to introduce new prototypes for novel wearable devices and has the advantage of having one of the biggest R&D budgets of any company in the world. Shown below is its Welt belt-worn device, which is designed to monitor a user's waist size and monitor eating habits.
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