How wearable devices boost the domestic online healthcare industry in China

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China faces stark disparity in terms of medical resources and, as a result, the online healthcare market and telemedicine industry in the country are set to benefit from opportunities in ensuring that technology covers the gap. Additionally, the accelerated pace of growth in wearables and medical informatisation is set to boost the aforementioned sectors.

The China online healthcare market was valued at CNY 10.88 billion (£1.12bn) in 2014, with transaction revenue providing 90% of...

By Wearable Tech, 03 September 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Wearable could save millions of infants each year

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A new wearable device for infants created by a Cambridge-California social enterprise could be the key to preventing fatal or crippling ailments such as diarrhoea & malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and others. 

JustMilk is a device which attaches to a mother’s nipple when breastfeeding to deliver key antibiotics, antimalarials, antiretrovirals, vitamins, nutrients, and...

By Ryan Daws, 20 August 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Health & Wellness.

Research: Patients want more wearables in healthcare

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The use of wearables in healthcare is still in an infant stage, but research from TrustMarque points towards 81% of respondents wanting more use of connected devices in patient care. 

Benefits of wearables in healthcare are well-documented but include; remote monitoring to allow patients to go home earlier to improve their comfort, reduce the burden on manual hospital checks,...

By Ryan Daws, 11 August 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Opinion: Don’t bet against Apple in the self-care wearables space

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Apple, not surprisingly, has attracted plenty of headlines in recent weeks, whether it’s the rollout of Apple Pay, or the diminishing success of the Apple Watch. Indeed, recent figures revealed sales down 90% since the first week’s launch, while analysts at BMO Capital Markets noted they were “disappointed” with sales of the smartwatch and lowered its...

By James Bourne, 20 July 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Prescription-only wearables: “Maybe number is already up for Fitbits and Jawbones”

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Prescription-only wearables have the potential to be not merely life-changing, but life-critical to those who need them. Such devices are already known to be especially effective at monitoring chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes or epilepsy in ‘real time’, sending notifications and alerts every time the wearer enters a ‘danger zone’.

While many of these medical grade wearables start as single purpose devices (such as, for instance, the

By Diana Marian, 07 July 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Opinion.

The next step for wearable technology: A prescription-only wristband

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Wearables to assess, advise and improve health and wellbeing has long been one of the key use cases of the technology. Now, here’s a new idea which has come out of Google: a health-tracking wristband which is prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials.

As reported by Bloomberg the device, which is...

By James Bourne, 03 July 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

The revolution will be digitised: NHS floats idea for wearables in healthcare

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The NHS is unveiling plans to increase Wi-Fi adoption and tentatively examine the usage of wearable devices to monitor patients in hospital.

The proposals, announced following the Personalised Health and Care 2020 blueprint document published last November, mark “a key moment in the journey to making technology work for patients”, according to Britain’s healthcare service.

According to the NHS, the need for more expansive Wi-Fi is an important consideration....

By James Bourne, 17 June 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Fitbit under pressure from Xiaomi in latest IDC wearable shipment figures

Fitbit retains the number one position in the global wearable device market, but is under stiff competition from Chinese-based firm Xiaomi, according to the latest numbers from IDC.

The figures represent a stark closing in on Fitbit’s market dominance. The San Francisco-based company punts out 34.2% of the 11.4 million wearables shipped in the first quarter of 2015, compared with Xiaomi’s 2.8 million (24.6%).

Xiaomi’s first wearable device was announced in July 2014, which naturally...

By James Bourne, 09 June 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Ecosystems, Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Smartwatches.

Fitbit lines up a $100m IPO: Is the timing right?

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It’s official: San Francisco-based fitness wearable manufacturer Fitbit is preparing to go public.

The documents, issued on May 7, reveal a company which is, on the surface, in good health; quarterly revenue tripling year over year, from $108.8m in Q114 to $336.8m in Q115. The number of paid users has also rocketed comparatively; from 2.6m at the end of 2013, to 6.7m the same time the year after, and 9.5m by the end of Q115, while device numbers have grown from 4.5m to 10.9m...

By James Bourne, 11 May 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health & Wellness.

Three key ways that wearables can change lives

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Unless you spent the past month underneath a rock, you have probably heard enough buzz surrounding the Apple Watch’s unveiling to last a lifetime. Apple’s foray into the smart watch space is just the latest indication that the wearables market is forcing its way into the mainstream.

Recent research from Business Insider projects that the number of...