WEARABLES – ISSUE NO. 240

Regular readers of this newsletter will not be surprised to learn that I attended this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last year, the hot topic was fitness gear - devices to monitor your heart rate, count your steps, calculate calories burned, etc. Well this year, many of the same devices were back, but in new skins. They are now called "wearables." Marketing is all about keeping it fresh, even when referring to the same stuff as last year. But technology does move forward. The successor to the devices of last year, are now faster, sleeker and smarter. There was even one device that claimed to be a "tricorder" of Star Trek fame. Looking something like a stethoscope attached to an iPod, the device could measure a number of vitals and inform the healthcare practitioner all at the same time. In the world of Decontam, we are concerned with wearables - PPE. They may not measure our heart rate, calculate calorie burn, or talk to our smart phone, but they keep us safe - and they do get better and safer over time. "Wearables" - a rose by any other name (and there will be a new one next year) would smell as sweet.