LAS VEGAS -- Healthcare technology is a core trend here at CES 2016 this week, along with smart home gadgets and connected cars.
As you might expect, fitness trackers are popular products to showcase at CES. Familiar consumer brands such as Under Armour, Garmin, and Fitbit are demonstrating their new technologies. Total unit sales of wearable devices, smartwatches, and fitness bands are expected to top 38 million in 2016, according to a Jan. 4 report from the Consumer Technology Association.
While wristbands that record steps and calories are popular, these devices give a one-sided picture of the wearer's health. There are plenty of devices for tracking activity, but there are fewer for measuring blood pressure and vision.
An interesting trend at CES 2016 is the discussion around health wearables designed to do more than track activity and calories. Some of these devices are available to consumers. Others, like a smart electrocardiogram, can only be distributed by a doctor.
[Check out these smartwatches announced at CES 2016.]
Several companies are on the show floor with products such as smart hearing aids, blood pressure monitors, and devices designed to relieve pain with infrared technology. Some devices take fitness tracking to a new level with smart t-shirts and exercise monitors.
Over the next 12 months, these devices will help redefine what we think of as the Internet of Things.
Read on to learn more about the health technology innovation we're seeing on the show floor this year. What do you think? Are there any devices you'd like to see on the market that aren't there yet? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
(All images: Kelly Sheridan/InformationWeek)
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