Wearables

Sensor Technology Detects Life-Threatening Complications After Intestinal Surgery

An interdisciplinary research team has developed a bioresorbable sensor film that is inserted directly into the intestinal suture during surgery. It continuously measures parameters such as tissue impedance and temperature, providing real-time information on the condition of the healing region for the first time. Read on to learn more.

Sweat-Powered Sticker Turns Drinking Cup Into a Health Sensor

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed an electronic sticker that can monitor a person’s vitamin C levels using the sweat from their fingertips — no blood draws, lab visits, or batteries required. Read on to learn more about it.

Wearable Monitors Heart Rate Recovery to Predict Risk

Scientists used a “smart” shirt equipped with an electrocardiogram to track participants’ heart-rate recovery after exercise and developed a tool for analyzing the data to predict...

Highly Sensitive Wearable Pressure Sensors Inspired by Cat Whiskers

This bioinspired design marks a significant step toward development of eco-friendly and highly sensitive wearable sensors, with broad potential in sports analytics and biomedical monitoring. Read on to learn more.

Center to Develop Wearable Ultrasound Imaging for Real-Time Monitoring of Chronic Conditions

The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology has launched a new collaborative research project — Wearable Imaging for Transforming Elderly Care (WITEC). Read on to learn more about it.

Stryker's Robert Cohen Named Chair of AdvaMed’s Digital Health Tech Division Board of Directors 

Robert Cohen, vice president, innovation and technology, orthopaedic group at Stryker, has been named the next chair of the AdvaMed Digital Health Tech Board of Directors. He succeeds Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, global chief science and technology officer at GE HealthCare, who served as the inaugural chair of the board overseeing the then-newly created division. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Health Tech Brings Research to People

Researchers are exploring new ways to utilize microwave technology in monitoring and assessing health conditions. The results of experiments conducted with realistic models are promising. Bras that detect breast cancer, leg sleeves that identify blood clots, and a helmet that monitors the effects of radiation therapy offer a glimpse into what future healthcare might look like. Read on to learn more.

Wearables: Controlling Machines on the Move

Engineers have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures — even while running, riding in a car, or floating on turbulent ocean waves. Read on to learn more about it.

Multifunctional ANF/Mxene-Enhanced Hydrogels for Flexible EMI Shielding and Wearable Sensing Applications

Researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology and their collaborators have developed a multifunctional polyelectrolyte hydrogel reinforced with aramid nanofibers (ANFs) and MXene nanosheets, achieving outstanding performance in absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and wearable sensing. Read on to learn more.

Wireless Patch Enables Early Cancer Detection

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking, battery-free wearable patch that could help detect skin cancer earlier and more accurately, potentially saving lives by making screening more...

2025 Product of the Year

Voting for Medical Design Briefs’ 2025 Annual Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Awards is now closed. Winners will be announced in the March issue of Medical Design Briefs magazine.

The Promise and Challenge of On-Body Biosensors: A Perspective on Clinical Utility and Commercial Viability in Patient Management

On-body biosensors have crossed the threshold from technological novelty to clinical tool driving medical decisions. The most successful devices share common traits: They provide clinically actionable information, reliably measure rapidly changing biomarkers, account for confounding variables, and utilize established reimbursement pathways. Read on to learn more about them.

3D Printed Smart Pen Helps Diagnose Parkinson’s

Researchers have developed a smart, self-powered magnetoelastic pen that could help detect early signs of Parkinson’s by analyzing a person’s handwriting. The highly sensitive diagnostic pen features a soft, silicon magnetoelastic tip and ferrofluid ink — a special liquid containing tiny magnetic particles. Read on to learn more about it.

The Impact of Wearables on Healthcare

Listen to the new season of the Medical Design Briefs podcast. These four episodes focus on the impact of wearables on healthcare.

Infant Wearable Uses Artificial Intelligence for At-Home Assessments

During the first two years of life, the motor development of children is monitored closely, as motion is the natural base for their other development and interaction with the environment. Current methods do not allow accurate developmental monitoring throughout early childhood. MAIJU (Motor Assessment of Infants with a Jumpsuit) is designed to solve these problems. Read on to learn more about it.

Self-Cleaning Sweat Sensors Offer Comfortable Monitoring

Researchers have developed novel ISM-based sweat sensors that feature enhanced signal stability and performance and avoid skin contact, while also being reusable, making them practical for daily use. Read on to learn more.

Smart Patch Runs Tests Using Sweat Instead of Blood

A KAIST research team has developed a smart patch that can precisely observe internal changes through sweat when simply attached to the body. This is expected to greatly contribute to the advancement of chronic disease management and personalized healthcare technologies. Read on to learn more.

Metamaterial Could Transform Ingestible and Implantable Medical Devices

Researchers, led by Rice University’s Yong Lin Kong, have developed a soft but strong metamaterial that can be controlled remotely to rapidly transform its size and shape. The invention, published in Science Advances, represents a significant advancement that can potentially transform ingestible and implantable medical devices. Read on to learn more about it.

Science

What wearable medical device uses tumor-treating fields delivered through adhesive transducer arrays to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer?

The New Medtech Frontier

The next phase of medical device innovation will be defined by systems that are not only responsive but also autonomous and personalized. Read on to learn more.

Smart Wound Monitor Poised to Improve Chronic Infection Care

Researchers have developed a wearable wound monitoring device with integrated sensors that could reduce infection risks by minimizing the need for frequent physical contact. The proof-of-concept device is designed for reuse, making it more cost-effective and practical than disposable smart bandages and other emerging wound monitoring technologies. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Sensor Could Help Patients with Bipolar Disorder Track Medication Levels Through Sweat

Although lithium is highly effective to treat bipolar disorder, the chemical has a narrow therapeutic window — too high a dose can be toxic to patients, causing kidney damage, thyroid damage, or even death, while too low a dose renders the treatment ineffective. Read on to learn how a wearable sensor may thwart this issue.

Regulatory

What consumer technology device became the first FDA-approved over-the-counter (OTC) assistive hearing device for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss?

Balancing Miniaturization, Power, and Compliance in Sensor Design

In this Q&A with Medical Design Briefs, Michael Klitzke, principal system architect at TE Connectivity, discusses how advances in sensor miniaturization, packaging,...

Magnetoelastic Smart Pen May Help Diagnose Parkinson’s

A smart, self-powered magnetoelastic pen could help detect early signs of Parkinson’s by analyzing a person’s handwriting. The highly sensitive diagnostic pen features a soft,...

Painless Diabetes Care: Smarter Drug Delivery

A wearable technology enables real-time, noninvasive tracking and optimized treatment for diabetic patients. It enables precise drug dosing through continuous, real-time monitoring of disease...

Creating Wearables for Preventative Healthcare

Wearables detect early signs of health issues, paving the way for transforming preventative healthcare.

Privacy and Data Security in the Era of Medical Wearables

As we continue to explore the impact of wearables on healthcare, this episode focuses on privacy and data security in the era of medical wearables. Wearables are collecting vast...