What if you had a little device on your wrist that could keep a check on potential health issues and monitor chronic conditions? This could have been something straight out of science fiction a few decades back. But advancements in technology have now made it possible in the form of medical wearables.
Medical wearables are rapidly becoming an essential part of personalized medicine. This blog explains what medical wearables are, their benefits, and which companies are spearheading the charge into the medical wearables market.
Medical wearables are health-related devices that can be worn on the body that monitor, collect and sometimes even analyze data in real-time. Medical wearables often combine with smartphones to provide users and healthcare professionals with additional metrics. These include heart rate, blood pressure, glucose level, and various other metrics.
Medical wearables can be put in two general categories:
Sedentary lifestyles and unhealthful dietary practices have led to increased prevalence of chronic health conditions. This has resulted in the increased use of wrist wearable devices. Our latest analysis reveals the wearable medical devices market to witness sustained growth. The market for these devices stood at USD 35.8 billion in 2024. It is projected to account for a CAGR of 14.90% between 2025 and 2034.
Early Detection and Prevention
Medical wearables can sense irregularities before patients experience symptoms, permitting the early diagnosis of arrhythmia, sleep apnea, or complications due to diabetes.
Personalized Healthcare
Everyone is different when it comes to healthcare, and medical wearables provide a continuum of real-time information to create personalized options for healthcare.
Improved Clinical Research
Wearables are electronic devices that have the potential to increase the volume of data available for clinical trials and medical research. They facilitate the acquisition of normative longitudinal biometric data sets and, as such, provide unique perspectives on pharmacotherapies and treatment regimens that may affect quality of life.
Many companies are leading innovations in medical wearables. Let’s examine several important players influencing this industry:
Abbott
In the year 1888, Abbott Laboratories was founded in Ravenswood, Chicago, USA. The headquarters of the company are presently situated at Abbott Park in Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA. A leader in diabetes care, Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre is a revolutionary CGM system from the continuous glucose monitoring device market that allows diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels painlessly and in real time.
Apple
With its Apple Watch, Apple is a leader in wellness wearables. Apple's headquarters is located at 1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino, California, USA. Apple was founded in 1976. Recent models include features like ECG monitoring, blood oxygen measurement, and even fall detection, bridging the gap between fitness tracking and medical monitoring.
Dexcom
Dexcom is another big name in continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) across the globe. Headquartered in San Diego, California, USA, Dexcom was founded in 1999. It is well known for offering wearable devices that provide glucose readings every five minutes, empowering users with diabetes to make informed decisions about their health.
Fitbit (Owned by Google)
Fitbit was founded in San Francisco, California, USA in 2007. The company's headquarters are based in San Francisco, California, USA. Fitbit was originally called Healthy Metrics Research, Inc. It was named Fitbit in 2007. Fitbit devices have evolved from basic fitness trackers to sophisticated wearables that measure heart rate, sleep patterns, and stress levels. Fitbit is also exploring FDA approval for its more advanced health-monitoring features.
Medtronic
Medtronic’s legal headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, and its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, USA. Medtronic is among the market leaders in terms of medical devices globally. The company was founded in 1949 in Minneapolis, USA. Medtronic focuses on clinical wearables, including insulin pumps and other devices that help manage chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiac conditions.
Other key medical wearables market companies are:
AiQ Smart Clothing: The company combines electronics with fabrics to create "smart clothing" for healthcare, sports, and industrial applications.
Koninklijke Philips N.V: Koninklijke Philips N.V integrates medical wearables into its healthcare solutions through its products and partnerships with companies.
OMRON Healthcare: The company offers medical wearables primarily focused on cardiovascular health. Its solutions include wrist-based and combination blood pressure and ECG monitors.
Samsung: Samsung offers a range of wearables that provide advanced health-monitoring features for personal wellness
Sonova: The company creates medical wearables through its leading hearing aid and cochlear implant brands, Phonak and Advanced Bionics.
Monitoring Heart Health
Devices that monitor heart rate and provide alerts for abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), such as ECG-capable smartwatches, are examples of wearable medical devices. Some devices can even identify heart rhythm variability.
Diabetes Care
Wearable medical devices can assist by monitoring glucose levels and automatically delivering insulin, helping individuals with diabetes self-manage their condition. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) can track blood glucose levels in real time, eliminating the need for repeated finger sticks.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a new trend that involves monitoring patient health from a distance using a wearable medical device. RPM devices monitor and send the relevant health data automatically and at proximate real time to the patient's care team.
Continuous and Invasive Monitoring
Implantable devices and sensors from the biosensors market are the current gold standard for continuous, invasive monitoring. These types of medical wearables can track relevant health data in near real-time, enabling effective, timely health management.
The future of the medical wearables market lies in increased sophistication and integration with other technologies. Here are a few trends to watch:
Incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The incorporation of Artificial intelligence is anticipated to improve data analytics that will help implement predictive diagnostics and customized care programs. Wearables enabled with AI will also help patients manage their health by providing real-time feedback and reminders.
Telehealth Integration
Telehealth integration in medical wearables allows patients to remotely monitor their health data and share it with their healthcare providers. This can help improve patient outcomes and reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Sustainability
Electronic biomaterials pave the route for creating sustainable wearable technologies. Body-adaptive devices enable ongoing assessment of health-related metrics. Biomechanical sensors align with body energy harvesters to decrease energy usage.
Holistic Health Solutions
Future wearables in medicine will probably integrate monitoring for physical, mental, and emotional health into a single device.
Medical wearables extend beyond being devices, but are sparks for a revolution in healthcare. They empower people, improve preventive care, and enhance chronic disease management, all while making healthcare more accessible and personalized. Companies like Apple, Abbott, and Medtronic are leading the charge and finding new frontiers in health tech. As the medical wearables market expands, it is clear that these devices are here to stay, and their potential to transform lives is only just beginning.