As more and more wearable Health Tech solutions appear on the market, have you ever stopped to consider the technology that makes these possible? Sure, some of the concepts and devices have been developed by the companies themselves, but for the most part, they draw heavily on the materials and products made available by others. In many cases, these include off-the-shelf devices made for other industries, such as the accelerometers and gyroscopes that are so readily available at low cost due to their development for the smartphone market.
But there are other segments that aren’t so noticeable. One company exhibiting at CES 2015 was Scapa Healthcare. This company creates adhesives to adhere devices to the skin, which seems a simple task until you consider the complications. It cannot cause irritation. It must be able to withstand various levels of activity, as well as moisture levels. And depending on the application, it may have to remain in place for anywhere from minutes to weeks.
For example, the company has a series of MEDIFIX Solutions designed specifically for medical devices. These can be used for attaching stand-alone sensors to the body, or electrical leads to measuring devices. They also can be used for wearable drug delivery systems. Their systems are used for all sorts of monitoring devices, including pulse oximetry, glucose measurement, blood pressure, and temperature. Scapa can help customer companies with every step, from product design and material selection, to coating, printing, packaging, sterilizing, and service. Being able to draw on their expertise and range of solutions can help a company launch a new product in a fraction of the time that it would have taken to do it on their own.
As wearable Health Tech continues to “disappear” into our lives, we will depend more and more on companies like Scapa to provide the foundation on which these new products and services will be built.
