At this year’s MEDICA in Dusseldorf, visitors can get a picture of Datwyler’s solutions and developments in the field of wearables and medical solutions. The trade fair serves as an opportunity for businesses, opinion leaders, trade visitors, decision-makers, and experts to connect, network, and exchange opinions, knowledge and information in order to create the future of the medical sector.
Major trends for tomorrow’s healthcare market: digital health and wearables
Digital health and especially wearable solutions have been a major focus for the healthcare industry in recent years. Wearables have rightfully become one of the big topics of discussion due to their high potential for future developments. Datwyler, the Swiss-based industrial supplier of state-of-the-art solutions for drug packaging and medical devices, produces over 16 billion high-quality components for healthcare applications each year and has been exploring the field of digital health since 2014. By entering emerging markets, leveraging lean production processes, and building upon an optimized supply chain, Datwyler is prepared to master the challenges of tomorrow’s global healthcare industry. For this forward approach, strategic partnerships and co-operations with international innovative hubs, companies or universities are key for Datwyler. "Our co-operations and partnerships create synergies and result in high-quality, future-proof medical products — and therefore an improved offering for our customers", says Stefan Sevens, Vice President Medical Solutions at Datwyler.
Innovative solution for long-term EEG
In 2018, Datwyler presented its latest solution in the field of wearables: The innovative soft dry electrodes, which are based on a flexible conductive polymer and a customisable design. The soft dry electrodes allow dry signal acquisition which eliminates the use of gels and decreases skin irritation significantly. The specific design and characteristics enable usage without special skin preparation and freedom of area for monitoring. This leads to a simplified correct placement and the opportunity for patients to apply the electrodes outside the hospital, which substantially increases their convenience. Furthermore, the electrodes are very robust, can be cleaned easily and repeatedly used. "The soft dry electrodes are our proposition for long-term bio-signal monitoring as they significantly improve the treatment comfort for patients", says Stefan Sevens, Vice President Medical Solutions at Datwyler. "The higher comfort leads to a higher degree of relaxation, which in most therapies is of utmost importance", he adds.
Several application areas for an improved treatment comfort for patients
Datwyler's soft dry electrodes can be used for electrocardiograms (ECG), electroencephalograms (EEG), electromyograms (EMG) and electrooculograms (EOG). Using the brain activity EEG, it is possible to detect and monitor early Alzheimer's symptoms. Furthermore, neurofeedback exercises for relaxation, and concussion symptoms detection in the playing field are enabled. The heart activity ECG can be used to monitor the fetal heartbeat and detect possible cardiac arrhythmias. In addition, soft dry electrodes can also be used for EMG, including muscle movement monitoring, to monitor the correct performance of exercises. Especially during a long-term EEG, patients need to wear the electrodes for several days or even weeks. Datwyler’s electrodes offer high wearing comfort, are waterproof, flexible and biocompatible, thus leading to greater treatment comfort for patients. However, the electrodes are not only used in a purely medical environment: With the eye movement EOG, neuromarketing research is possible by tracking a person's visual path.
