Top 10: Wearable Devices

Wearable devices are attached or embedded sensors that can provide real-time tracking of health and wellbeing data.

They can help with health monitoring, disease diagnosis and treatment, allowing users to take control of their own health journey.

Devices can range from smart watches and activity trackers to AI-enabled tools, glucose monitors and ECG patches.

Healthcare Digital lists the top 10 wearable medical devices in the world, ranked by their company’s 2024 revenue.

10. Dexcom G7

Company: Dexcom
CEO: Jake Leach
Revenue: US$4bn

Dexcom G7 is the company’s smallest Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to date.

It provides accurate glucose data in real time on a smartphone, smartwatch or Dexcom receiver, without having to do regular finger pricks.

The system can connect directly to an Apple Watch, allowing users to go out without their phone while still being able to access glucose readings.

It can give alerts up to 20 minutes before the user’s glucose goes low or when it is high.

9. OMRON HeartGuide

Company: OMRON
CEO: Junta Tsujinaga
Revenue: US$5.3bn

OMRON’s HeartGuide is a portable blood pressure monitor that can also track heart, activity and sleep data.

It features an inflatable cuff within the watch band in order to take a blood pressure reading.

Its companion app, HeartAdvisor, can help users understand how their lifestyle impacts their heart.

HeartAdvisor can track trends over time using graphs, as well as compiling a health history and setting reminders throughout the day.

This data can be used and shared with doctors to help with treatments and testing.

8. Philips Health Watch

Company: Philips
CEO: Roy Jakobs
Revenue: US$19bn

The Philips Health Watch allows users to gain continuous insight into their cardio condition and calorie burn data by tracking heart rate, activity and sleep.

It is designed to provide personalised health guidance based on professional and medical guidelines, with advice on exercise and healthy eating.

The watch can connect to the Philips HealthSuite app, which uses data from the Philips range of connected health devices to provide health and wellbeing insights.

These devices include blood pressure monitors, a body analysis scale and an ear thermometer.

7. MiniMed Insulin Pump

Company: Medtronic
CEO: Geoff Martha
Revenue: US$32.4bn

Medtronic’s MiniMed insulin pump is an automated insulin delivery system which predicts the trajectory of a user’s glucose levels and determines how much insulin is needed.

It is the only insulin system with Meal Detection technology, which anticipates, adjusts and corrects insulin levels every five minutes, adapting to changing insulin needs while eating.

According to Medtronic, the system enables users to experience 96% fewer injections compared to multiple daily injections.

It automatically corrects high levels to account for undercounted carbs or a missed dose around a meal.

6. FreeStyle Libre

Company: Abbott Laboratories
CEO: Robert Ford
Revenue: US$42bn

The FreeStyle Libre systems take glucose readings every minute of the day and are able to monitor for up to 15 continuous days without a change.

It has more than five million users worldwide.

The system can send glucose alarms to smartphones or compatible devices to notify a user if their glucose level goes too high or low.

It can also create daily graphs showing the pattern and variability of sensor readings as well as the percentage of time spent above, below or within the target glucose range.

5. Xiaomi Smart Band

Company: Xiaomi
CEO: Lei Jun
Revenue: US$50.6bn

Xiaomi’s Smart Bands are able to measure fitness activities, with a highly precise motion sensor and enhanced professional algorithms.

It provides health and fitness tracking for users to monitor their wellness journeys.

The device comes with more than 150 sports modes, designed for each individual sporting activity.

These modes track key performance metrics like training load and recovery time to help people optimise their workouts.

It also has an accurate swimming mode with real-time underwater heart rate monitoring and AI-enhanced stroke recognition technology.

4. Huawei Watch

Company: Huawei
CEO: Ren Zhengfei
Revenue: US$118.3bn

Huawei Watches give comprehensive health checks, including providing a sleep score in the mornings.

It also provides insights on the user’s emotional wellbeing, with features for stress-relief purposes.

Users can interact with a virtual pet on the watch that can help them with mindfulness and calming behaviours.

The watch can also give medication reminders, as well as monitoring a user’s blood pressure over the course of a day.

There is a sensor on the side of the watch that can measure blood oxygen from a user’s fingertip.

3. Samsung Galaxy Watch

Company: Samsung
CEOs: Young Hyun Jun & TM Roh
Revenue: US$220bn

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 uses AI to optimise health tracking.

Its Galaxy AI analyses sleep patterns to assess the amount of rest the user needs and can send reminders for an optimal bedtime.

It collects sleep data, heart health and key metrics to create an Energy score, which creates a tailored coaching programme for the user to help them build healthier habits.

The Galaxy Watch8 regularly measures cardiovascular metrics during the night and compares them to the user’s baseline to detect signs of cardiovascular strain.

The watch can also monitor blood pressure, tracking trends in the data to help the user make informed health decisions.

2. Fitbit

Company: Alphabet
CEO: Sundar Pichai
Revenue: US$350bn

Fitbit’s activity trackers and smart watches keep track of a user’s data and help them see progress throughout their health and fitness journey.

The most recent model, the Fitbit Charge 6, features the company’s most accurate heart rate tracker on a device, designed to be precise for exercise and activities.

It can estimate a user’s fitness level by determining how well their body uses oxygen during exercise.

Like many other wearable devices, the Fitbit measures a user’s heart rate, using the data to calculate calorie burn, sleep stages and resting heart rate.

It also has more than 40 exercise modes, allowing for accurate activity monitoring and providing live stats on the device.

The Fitbit can give users a daily stress management score which shows how their body physically responds to stress, as well as offering routines to help manage stress levels.

1. Apple Watch

Company: Apple
CEO: Tim Cook
Revenue: US$391bn

The Apple Watch comes with a Heart Rate app, which can alert users to high or low heart rates, as well as irregular heart rhythms.

Users can also track lifestyle factors that could influence conditions such as atrial fibrillation.

The watch shows a user’s overnight health metrics, including heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen and sleep duration.

The Mindfulness app on the watch can offer opportunities to breathe mindfully and promote moments of reflection.

It can also help build emotional awareness and resilience by helping users identify their feelings.

Users can use this data to track their state of mind over a period of time, including lifestyle factors that could affect their mood.

The Apple watch can be used to track a user’s menstrual cycle, including flow information and associated symptoms.

The watch uses this information to estimate when the next period or fertile window is due to start.