Healthcare-associated infections (HAI), also known as hospital-acquired infections, are a major problem healthcare systems face worldwide. Each year, millions of patients contract infectious diseases while in hospital.

Sony recently announced 'Project Q', comprising the development of a hand-held PlayStation and corresponding high-end earbuds. The inclusion of earbuds initially seems surprising since headphones and earphones are amongst the most mature in the near hundred billion-dollar wearables market.

Wednesday 5 July 2023 - Learnings From the COVID-19 Pandemic. What are the key antimicrobial technologies on the market today? What are the key applications for antimicrobial technologies, and what are the drivers? How do antimicrobial technologies work? How do they provide residual protection against microorganisms? What product and market trends were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic? What can we expect in the next global pandemic?

IDTechEx have recently published the market research report "Antiviral and Antimicrobial Technology Market 2023-2033", covering additives and coatings that can provide residual antimicrobial protection to surfaces.

Wednesday 28 June - Where Metamaterials Meet Tele-Communications. What is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and why are they likely to be needed for high frequency telecommunications.; The different types of RIS (passive, semi-passive, active) and where they are likely to be deployed; Manufacturing processes and materials required for RIS production.

Consumer technology available today is impressive but still not as cool as promised by many classic sci-fi movies. Our dreams of hoverboards and holograms have been replaced by stagnating smartphone designs and doom-scrolling. Yet things look set to change.

Thursday 27 April 2023 - What is the status and outlook for the wearables industry as a whole? How do the opportunities and challenges vary between wearable sensors and actuators? How is the role of wearables in healthcare evolving? Why wearables for drug-free health management and which technologies have the most commercial potential?

Thursday 13 April 2023 - This webinar will explore these lessons in depth through discussions on; Market trends across key applications for e-textiles; Manufacturing methods and how materials choice for e-textiles have evolved over the years; Examples from notable relevant companies; A review of the current state of the e-textiles market; Potential opportunities and challenges for the industry

Wearable technology is threatening to disrupt aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, with the latest technology offering a drug-free alternative to health management. But which of these competing wearable technologies are the promising candidates to lead the healthcare revolution?

Electronic skin patches have made remarkable progress in the field of healthcare. These wearable electronic devices feature adhesive pads designed to be worn directly on the skin, enabling convenient and non-invasive monitoring of vital signs and biomarkers.

A shirt that can track a person's heart rate, a shoe that can measure gait - the integration of electronic components with textiles to form e-textiles has been a significant research interest for several years.

Wednesday 8 February 2023 - Technological Developments and Applications. Contents that will be covered in this webinar include: An overview of PIC technology; Drivers of increased data demands from data centres; PIC trends in the communications industry; and PIC adoption in other markets

As high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, and even consumers become increasingly data-hungry, hardware struggles to keep pace. In addition, the need for real-time assessments of moving data points - such as for the accurate velocity-mapping of other objects in autonomous systems and facial recognition for security systems - is crucial to an increasingly hands-free society.

Having been largely confined to the realm of academia for many years, metamaterials are now set for commercialization in several major applications.

Thursday 8 December 2022 - Introduction to electromagnetic metamaterials and key opportunities for the market; technology for electromagnetic metamaterials across various applications; review of the current state of the market for electromagnetic metamaterials; and much more!

Thursday 1 December 2022 - The value of wearable electronic skin patches in healthcare; Electronic skin patches 2022 roundup; Emerging applications of electronic skin patches; and Electronic skin patches outlook for 2023 and beyond

The world of healthcare is undergoing significant change. The stress test of the pandemic, a growing global population, and increasing chronic disease prevalence is pushing care to be more efficient and robust.

IDTechEx's new research report, "Metamaterials Markets 2023-2043: Optical and Radio-Frequency", analyses the technology and markets for both classes of electromagnetic metamaterials. Defined as materials that utilize periodic structures to achieve potentially revolutionary capabilities, metamaterials have drawn much attention due to their applications across telecommunications, consumer electronics, and aerospace.

As the world adopts more wearable technology into our daily lives, the next generation of electronic wearables are ascending: the electronic skin patch. In diabetes and heart monitoring, electronic skin patches have already transformed the industry. These devices may well enable a revolution for the rest of healthcare and beyond.