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Pouches Getting Smarter

I ran across a very good article the other day about the growth of the Wearable Medical Device Market and it struck me as exciting, but also mildly amusing.  PRO-TECH Design has been sewing “wearable” items to hold medical devices for decades and we never used to think of a pouch, vest or belt as a “wearable”.

Yet, the Global Wearable Medical Device Market is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 26% between 2020 and 2027!*  Somehow, I don’t think the growth would be the same if the market was called the “Smarter Pouch” market.

Terminology aside, it does feel like we are on the cusp of something very exciting.  Wearable smart sensors that record patients’ glucose levels, physical activity, and heart rates among other things portend a very real change to how doctors assess and treat patient health.  If these smart devices can accurately and consistently measure important patient details, they can revolutionize the way that doctors interact with their patients and recommend specific treatment plans.

Now, sure, there are a lot of details to be worked out, like data security, sensor accuracy, doctor trust in the data, and the interpretation of LOTS of data.  However, lets focus on the non-technical side for a minute.  At a minimum, you need to have a willing patient for all of this to work.  And a key part of that willingness is whether the device and whatever “wearable” is holding it, fits into their lifestyle and is comfortable.  In other words, the human factors piece should not be overlooked in the technical equation.

For example, we have worked with continuous glucose monitoring devices for years and have created belts, pouches, leg bands, cases, you name it, to make sure that the patient has a variety of comfortable options that fit with different parts of their life. We have seen that you need distinct materials and styles for children, and you need certain colors and designs for people at work versus when they’re at home. The effectiveness of the device starts with understanding the people who will be wearing them and designing solutions that move cleanly with their body and have as few restrictions as possible.

We have seen that designing the wearable solution with the patient in mind right from the start results in user-friendly outcomes that provide more effective treatment because the patient is more likely to want to use it. So, maybe the term “wearable” is the key after all, because if no one wants to wear the device, all that “smart” data is pretty useless.

PRO-TECH Design is a family-owned contract manufacturer that specializes in wearable solutions for medical devices in addition to sterile packaging and assembly for the medical device industry.

One of the few contract sewing manufacturers in the industry that is also ISO 13485 certified, PRO-TECH Design has been developing and producing solutions that connect patients and devices safely and comfortably for 40 years.

Please contact us here or call 562-207-1680 to help with your next project.

*Source: MDDI Online article “Assessing the Global Wearable Medical Devices Market” –  Read article here