Wearable Biometric Monitoring Devices:
Biomedical wearable devices are medical sensors that track biometric markers and information for patient testing and monitoring. This broad category of wearable devices can measure heart rate, respiration, movement, temperature, and other biometric information for diagnostics, research, or personal health. Stack-ups usually include flex circuits, PCB and battery assemblies, housings, and stick-to-skin adhesives to gather information which is either saved locally on the wearable device or sent wirelessly to the cloud.
Examples include pulse oximetry devices, blood pressure monitors, continuous glucose monitors (CGM), heart rate monitoring, and sleep trackers.
Transdermal Patches:
Transdermal patches are wearable devices that deliver extended-release pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and other medicines. Transdermal patches are often worn for extended periods of time, so patient comfort, adhesive hold, and breathability are important concerns. Transdermal patch designers tailor them to specific applications to ensure that adhesives, sealing, and other components don’t negatively interact with the released medicines or chemicals.
Microfluidic Diagnostic Devices:
Microfluidic diagnostic devices are small, intricate medical wearables used to monitor glucose, metabolites, pH levels, and other biomarkers from blood, sweat, or other fluids at the molecular level. Microfluidic diagnostic devices include sensors that receive data from the user, and are often made up of many intricate layers, including cover films, cushioning layers, printed flex circuits, hydrogel electrodes, battery and PCB assemblies, and more.
Examples include blood glucose strips, diabetic testing, diagnostic tapes, and in-vitro diagnostic equipment.
Ground Dressing and Electrode Wearables:
Ground dressing and electrode wearables use electrodes and grounding contacts along with stick-to-skin adhesives to measure electrical impulses for diagnostics or transfer electronic pulses to the body for electrotherapy. Like wearable biomedical and diagnostic devices, these can include complex stack-ups, but always include electrodes for electrical current sensing or stimulation. Biocompatibility, durability, and patient comfort are the primary considerations for biomedical and electrode wearables as they are often worn over long periods of time.
Examples include electrocardiography (ECG/EKG), electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and electrotherapy devices.