Wearable: How far is it from cool to medical?

[If wearable consumer goods are to make life simpler, medical devices should retain their functionality on a simpler basis]

Wearable markets are developing rapidly in the 2015. However, the first jump out of the mind of the "smart watch = watch + Pedometer" is really the best epitome of this industry? The answer may be negative. The future use of wearable equipment in medical applications will be much more limited.

In the eyes of business acumen, building a bridge to the distance is the new business opportunities, there are already medical equipment manufacturers are trying to change. "If wearable consumer goods are to make life simpler, then medical devices will have to retain their functionality on a simpler basis," said Dai Yifei, managing director of the UK's IDC China. ”

Find the most viscous users

Internet companies have been exploring the integration of multimedia, sensors, wireless communications and other technologies directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories equipment. On wearable devices, they are undoubtedly the furthest away.

More wearable products appeared on the 2015 CES (International Consumer Electronics Show), and sports-healthy features became standard. As manufacturers update, functions are no longer limited to "steps", vital capacity, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate, including sleep records, calories are in control.

This kind of enterprise's service object often is the physical fitness healthy normal person, provides the health service medical treatment level to have the not small disparity. But this has already met the basic needs of some users.

"I know my body is not a big problem, usually wear a bracelet to see how much exercise a day." Mr Liang, who is a "delicacy" sports bracelet, told reporters he usually worked out his fitness plan to see if he could accomplish his goals. But he admits that not every run would have thought of wearing a bracelet.

Perhaps the business should be more concerned about who will have the incentive to stick to wearable devices for long periods of time, the average person, or those who maintain special attention to their physical health for a specific period of time, such as pregnant women and chronically ill patients?

According to Imediaresearch data, 2012 China can wear medical equipment market size of 420 million yuan, is expected to 2015 this market will reach 1.2 billion yuan, 2017 will reach 4.77 billion yuan, the annual composite growth rate of 60%.

"In Shanghai, many rehabilitation centers have started using smart devices, such as using interactive techniques to train patients ' responses and grip strength," said Sheichenguan, who works at a three-person hospital in Shanghai, told the first financial daily. More often than not, however, these treatments are far from being wearable. ”

The agency predicts that applications for remote patient monitoring and online professional medical care will account for 20% of the overall wearable wireless device market in 2017. The mobile medical market will grow from $9.8 billion trillion in 2010 to $23 billion in 2015, with a compound growth rate of about 20%.

Shanghai Securities and medical industry analyst Zhao told reporters: "Wearable medical equipment for the detection of the disease is very helpful, but did not have a change in the medical industry and impact, will be widely used in the future." ”

Medical Pie Breaking Ice

Wearable equipment in the medical school is mainly medical portable equipment manufacturers, with specialized programs to provide blood pressure, heart rate and other medical signs of detection and treatment, and even have appeared manufacturers to subdivide the disease of the crowd to pay attention to. Dai Yifei told reporters that a company focused on medical devices and personal health products, working with their company, is doing just that.

The reporter learned from the rehabilitation Department of a hospital that the traditional method of rehabilitation is to use bandages and stents to fix the foot of the patient, supplemented by the corresponding intensity of training. "In addition to the compulsory exercise need to have a person to guide, such a fixed can also be carried out at home, to facilitate patient practice, but the angle needs to be adjusted artificially, the patient's family will bring some trouble." A nurse told reporters so.

Wear a not mentioned company products in the second generation of research and development is still located in the use of the hospital, the product is composed of gait analysis collector, host, bandage, electrode line, conductive adhesive skin electrodes, foot sensors, neuromuscular locator, CD (equipped with host computer software). With the help of the doctor's guidance, the nerve-stimulating electrode plate is fixed on the deformed bandage and worn on the patient's leg, and the gait information is transmitted to the host by the sensor for intelligent calculation to control the intensity and frequency of the current stimulation.

Since it is for patients and not for normal people to use, why not more convenient? In this design, the company was again modified to remove the locator and the foot of a group of sensors, without the help of doctors, can be worn by the patient's own single hand, and the operation and use of one-click, the third generation of products in the weight from the original 200g to 90g, And the device can be full of electricity in about 2.5 hours, to achieve continuous work 10 hours, become a convenient personal use of wearable medical equipment.

"We and Shenzhen Fonton cooperation of the foot-drop treatment instrument, through the intelligent algorithm corresponding to the patient's gait analysis of functional electrical stimulation to help walk, and constantly collect data on the patient's rehabilitation, attention to change." Data can also be uploaded to the computer via USB to form personal electronic medical records, and then to the hospital to use the corresponding development of software analysis and measurement. "Dai Yifei said.

As a new mobile medical experience terminal, wearable medical equipment can be used in addition to the usual characteristics of cool product collection data, and it also has the function of actual treatment. This is the previous many advertised "health management" of wearable equipment is not available. Compared with the general portable medical equipment, it also lays the foundation of collecting data and forming electronic medical records for the future remote interrogation.

Real problem

"There is such a device that is very advanced, but for the same disease, each hospital will have a different scale to measure, such as the foot sag there are some recognized indicators such as ankle activity angle, muscle strength, more signs may be based on the hospital standards to determine, but also to see whether the data collected by the hospital approved. "Sheichenguan said.

This reflects the promotion of intelligent medical devices is not easy. In addition to enterprises have the will to invest in research and development for production, wearable medical equipment is also faced with manufacturing, sales, and a series of problems.

Design problem manufacturers can solve. The product is designed to consider ergonomics, but also to consider the appearance. "For example, our products for the leg of the affected, by allowing the shape of the device and leg bone can be found in the need to stimulate the nerves, in order to reduce weight, we also go to find new materials, does not affect the beauty of normal clothing." "Dai Yifei said.

Sales are not that simple. Usually wearable medical products will be more targeted, the earliest from the relevant medical forum to recommend, mainly to take hospital channels. However, this does not mean that the retail channel is not in touch with this price of 5000 yuan of products. The reporter Taobao several pharmacies in the official flagship store and Jingdong Mall on the search for this product, but few buyers.

"For medical equipment, the health care system, the insurance system, and including the hospital, pharmacies outside the sales channels have a significant impact on product sales, in the foreign aid instrument has been incorporated into the health care system, but in China there is no such a sound channel, if the product can be included in health care, More patients can be used to promote real big data collection. The future will achieve the Internet, telemedicine and terminal use of the combination of the situation, to large data analysis and management is an inevitable trend. "In Dai Yifei's view, the support needed to really play the role of wearable medical equipment is multifaceted: investment, policy, hospital and patient coordination, and time to collect data adequately."

Zhao that the change in the development prospects of the entire medical industry remains controversial, but one thing is certain, "the growth period of wearable medical equipment is at present." According to the 2015 China Internet Medical Development Report, the first four areas of China's Internet medical investment in 2014 were genetic testing, pharmaceutical electronics, wearable equipment, and mobile medical applications, which occurred most in the area of wearable equipment.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)