Technologized Talk

In this study, the authors examine patient use of and feelings about wearable technologies for health attainment and management. Based on an online survey of 81 patients using wearable technologies to track and manage health, as well as interviews with three patients utilizing wearables for health management, the authors examine how wearable technologies are being used by patients to attain health, manage health, and/or prevent health issues, and what value users find in these wearable technologies. The authors also examine how such use is impacting communication between medical professionals and patients. Specifically, the authors explore how the inclusion of wearable technologies has changed the “rhetorical relationship” between patients and medical professionals. The study concludes with a discussion of the future of wearable devices in patient-medical practitioner relationships and clinical settings.

Explicating Consumers’ Adoption of Wearable Technologies

This research aims to determine the key antecedent factors in consumers’ adoption of and their intention to recommend smartwatch wearable technology. The proposed research model combines the current technology acceptance and innovation diffusion theories with perceived aesthetic and perceived privacy risk to explain individuals’ smartwatch adoption and subsequent recommendation to other people. Based on a sample of 299 completed individual online surveys, the research employed partial least squares (a variance-based analysis method) for the model and hypotheses testing. The results showed some similarities as well as differences from the previous literature. The study found that performance expectancy, habit, and perceived aesthetic were the main predictors of smartwatch adoption. Compatibility was the antecedent factor of performance expectancy, and innovativeness directly influenced user adoption and effort expectancy. Consequently, user smartwatch adoption usually led to recommendation.

Development of Flexible, Conductive and Biocompatible Chitosan-Based Miniaturized Bioelectrodes for Enzymatic Glucose Biofuel Cells

The need for new clean energy sources for portable devices in biomedical, agro-food industry and environmental related sectors boosts scientists towards the development of new strategies for energy harvesting for their application in biodevices development. In this sense, enzymatic biofuel cells (BFCs) have gained much attention in the last years. This work faces the challenge of develop new generation of BFCs able to be adapted to remote and personal monitoring devices within the framework of wearable technologies. To this aim, one of the main challenges consists of the development of conductive and biocompatible electrodes, which constitute a challenge itself due to the non-conductive capabilities of most of the biocompatible supports. Additionally, bioelectrodes may achieve good mechanical properties and resilience in order to be suitable for the envisioned application, which involves exposure to deformation during long-term use. Furthermore, it is desirable that the systems developed are versatile enough to be adapted to miniaturized supports for new personal wearable devices development. In the present work, self-standing chitosan-carbon black membranes have been synthesized and modified with suitable enzymes for the assembly of an enzymatic glucose BFC. The membranes have been adapted to be integrated in miniaturized interdigitated gold electrodes as the step forward to miniaturized systems, modified with enzymes and metallic particles clusters and tested for energy harvesting from glucose solutions. The miniaturized system produces a power density of 0.64 µW/cm2 that is enhanced to 2.75 µW/cm2 in the presence of the metallic clusters, which constitute a 76% incensement. Such preliminary demonstrations highlight the good response of metals in bioelectrode configuration. However, energy harvesting real application of the developed miniaturized electrodes need still improvements but pave the way for the use of BFC as an energy source in wearable technologies due to their good mechanical, electrical and biocompatible properties.

New Technologies to Support Adaptive Responding in Children and Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The chapter provides the reader with a narrative overview on the newest empirical evidence available on the use of new technologies to help individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Three main categories of studies were identified, namely (1) virtual reality, (2) mobile technologies, and (3) wearable technologies. Results were satisfactory although failures occurred. Findings were critically discussed, and different technological solutions were emphasized. Some useful insights for both future and practice were critically discussed.

CHIMERA

Wearable technologies draw on a range of disciplines, including fashion, textiles, HCI, and engineering. Due to differences in methodology, wearables researchers can experience gaps or breakdowns in values, goals, and vocabulary when collaborating. This situation makes wearables development challenging, even more so when technologies are in the early stages of development and their technological and cultural potential is not fully understood. We propose a common ground to enhance the accessibility of wearables-related resources. The objective is to raise awareness and create a convergent space for researchers and developers to both access and share information across domains. We present CHIMERA, an online search interface that allows users to explore wearable technologies beyond their discipline. CHIMERA is powered by a Wearables Taxonomy and a database of research, tutorials, aesthetic approaches, concepts, and patents. To validate CHIMERA, we used a design task with multidisciplinary designers, an open-ended usability study with experts, and a usability survey with students of a wearables design class. Our findings suggest that CHIMERA assists users with different mindsets and skillsets to engage with information, expand and share knowledge when developing wearables. It forges common ground across divergent disciplines, encourages creativity, and affords the formation of inclusive, multidisciplinary perspectives in wearables development.

Flexible, scalable, and efficient thermoelectric touch detector based on PDMS and Graphite flakes

This paper presents freestanding thermoelectric touch detectors consisting of graphite conductive flakes into a polydimethylsiloxane matrix. An optimal concentration of graphite flakes (45 wt%) lead to robust and homogeneous detectors that exhibited signal-noise ratio values up to 170 with rise and falling times below 1 s and 7 s, respectively. The detectors performance was stable over continuous operation and did not reveal significant degradation while bended under different curvature radii (45, 25 and 15 mm) and consecutive bending cycles. Moreover, the twist of the thermal gradient direction between the electrodes of the detector enables a Yes or No response which opens new usage possibilities. Therefore, this work provides an efficient way to develop robust, low-cost, and scalable thermal detectors with potential use in wearable technologies.