Medtech Winners of 2014: Clinical Wearables

Wearables landed on MD+DI’s 2013 loser’s list largely because of the overwhelming focus of wearables makers to create health and fitness-type consumer devices with scant regard for moving the needle on chronic disease management or in using wearables in a regulated, clinical environment. This year, however, major strides were made to incorporate wearable devices in clinical environments both by startups and established companies, while providers began to adopt them, too.

Chrono Therapeutics, based in Hayward, California raised $32 million to develop its SmartStop programmable transdermal drug delivery system to help patients quit smoking. The wearable device can deliver varying levels of nicotine as needed based on smoking craving patterns throughout the day while a companion mobile app provides real-time behavioral support.

Intel and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research are teaming up to leverage wearable technology and Big Data in the battle against Parkinson's Disease. The duo tracked 16 patients and nine volunteers wearing three wearable devices in a study that observed participants wearing wrist-worn devices during two clinic visits and at home over four days. Engineers at Intel will be comparing the device data to medical observations as well as information contained in patient's journals/diaries to test how accurate the devices are. That will help to develop algorithms to measure symptoms and disease progression.

Also, this year, Chino Valley Medical Center modified its patient safety protocols for some patients to require them to wear a device that prevents them from developing pressure ulcers.

Even Medtronic got into the wearables space by launching Seeq, an adhesive, wearable cardiac sensor that can be worn up to 30 days for continuous cardiac monitoring.

Continue to last year's medtech winners