Wearable technology has been taking over the consumer world for health and fitness, and speculation has grown around the topic of utilizing the devices in clinical trials. First Post Business addressed the idea, along with input from Michael Shanler, research director at Gartner. Shanler predicts many limitations may arise with the use of the technology, such as challenging infrastructure, security and privacy, and protocol development issues. Gartner expects that within the next two years, a maximum of 10% of clinical trials will attempt to utilize wearable technology; however there are many indirect determining factors for success. First Post states that not only will the life science companies need to ensure positive health outcomes, they must trust the technologies to accurately collect and measure data.

The use of wearables within the industry for research purposes is still in its early days, and the future will depend on any market shifts and continuous technological advances. Until then, more questions will arise and must be addressed about data, calibration, compliance and performance before these technologies are prevalent in the industry.

Click here to access the First Post article.