What’s Inside Your Wearable Device?
What’s Inside your wearable health device? Wearable tech no longer just counts your steps–it can save your life. The wearables industry is growing at a dizzying rate, and innovation is generating an incredible number of patents. To take just one example, a medical alert watch is a small, smart health device that’s full of IP. We look at what’s inside.
Patented electronics, communications, and medical technologies that contribute to a smart watch include:
- Microcontrollers
- Semiconductors
- Waterproof design
- Motion detectors
- Activity sensors
- Step counters
- Medical Reminders
- 24/7 emergency help button
- Phone connectivity
- In-home hub processing medical data
Wearable have been determined to be critical to the future of healthcare:
- Healthcare providers spend 85% on chronic condition management
- 79% of doctors believe mobile devices can help coordinate better care
- 66% of physicians would prescribe an app to help patients manage chronic diseases
- The risk of hospitalization for chronic conditions is reduced by 47%
Wearables are powering a new wave of IP:
- 41,301 electronics patents have been issued since 2010
- 140,926 patents have been issues for printed, flexible, and organic electronics since 2010
- The most common applications for wearables patents support consumer communications, health monitoring, and athletics.
The wearables revolution is just beginning, with a projected 24.5% annual market growth rate contributing to a predicted $70 billion industry by 2025.
