Each year at the IDTechEx Show!, two companies are honoured for their achievements in developing and commercialising different aspects of wearable technology. The awards are judged by industry peers from some of the leading companies in the space.
As the technology and product ecosystems for different wearable products begin to increasingly diverge and mature, it is exciting to see the next generation of materials, components and products that will be the future of this industry. The entrants for the awards in wearable technology were increasingly diverse and impressive, covering a variety of different challenges which, when solved, are excellent opportunities for growth.
A summary of the award winners is as follows:
Best New Materials of Component Development
Heraeus Medical Components LLC - Tecticoat Conducting Polymer Dry Electrode Materials
Comments: Wearable devices for cardiovascular monitoring via skin patches are familiar to many, and already have a market size of nearly $2bn per year. As these products evolve, some of the properties that could be improved are around the user comfort and the wear time of the device (e.g. a skin patch). With these in mind, there has been a significant amount of effort to move from "wet" hydrogel-based electrodes to newer "dry" options. This offering from Heraeus is an impressive material option enabling a new type of component that many in the industry have been calling for and developing towards for some time. It's a very impressive and important step in the right direction, and we're pleased to honour it with this award.
Best New Wearable Technology Device
Cardiomo Care - AI-based breakthrough solution in Patient Monitoring
Comments: Despite the breadth of the field, by chance, the second award also falls to a company involved in cardiovascular monitoring. Beyond the materials development mentioned previously, another important part of the development of patient monitoring devices is in the algorithmic and software side of products. Cardiomo Care have demonstrated an excellent solution, integrating new technology options to enable them to do more with the data from the product once created, which represents an essential step towards smarter products with better efficacy.
Join us again for the next editions of the IDTechEx Show which will take place in Berlin, Germany on 13-14 May 2020, and in Santa Clara, CA, USA on 18-19 November 2020.