by James Cavuoto, editor and Jeremy Koff, senior consulting editor
October 2025 issue
October 31, 2025 | The 2025 MedTech Conference, organized by the trade group AdvaMed, brought medical device industry professionals from around the world to San Diego, CA earlier this month. The four-day event featured a variety of sessions devoted to key topics such as reimbursement, international markets, investment, and patient engagement [see article, p3].
One of the most valuable features of this year’s conference was a series of investor forums organized by MedTech Innovator. Neurotech startup firms appeared on several product showcases, including sessions devoted to wearable, urology, neurology, brain health, and femtech. Among the neurotech firms to make presentations or participate on a panel were Sinaptica, MicroTransponder, Precisis, Reach Neuro, SynchNeuro, Juniper Medical, UNEEG, and Lungpacer Medical. Several strategic firms participated in a series of “reverse” pitches, in which business development professionals from large medtech firms offered advice to startups on how to approach them and indications of what they’re looking for. These firms included Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Stryker, J&J, and several others.
Liberate Medical CEO Angus McLachlan presented compelling progress on the company’s noninvasive VentFree respiratory muscle stimulator, designed to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. The Kentucky-based firm, a graduate of the XLerateHealth accelerator, is driving a major shift in respiratory care by targeting the often-overlooked expiratory muscles—the abdominal wall and accessory muscles that support cough and lung mechanics.
“Without strong expiratory muscles, it’s impossible to generate an effective cough,” McLachlan explained. “And without an effective cough, patients can’t clear secretions, putting them at high risk for pneumonia and atelectasis.”
A packed audience gathered for a panel titled The Future of Healthtech and Wearables, featuring leaders from Apple, Dexcom, Oura, and Nanowear. While the discussion centered on the rapid rise of consumer wearables, the deeper message was the dissolving boundary between lifestyle devices and regulated medical technologies and the acceleration and convergence of data sharing among devides. The session illustrated how this convergence could transform both wellness and clinical neuromodulation—implantable and wearable alike—by enabling personalized, continuous, and data-driven care.
Moderator Shaye Mandle, executive director of AdvaMed Digital, opened the session by citing projections that within four years, nearly every American will own a wearable device. The panelists—Ricky Bloomfield, chief marketing officer at Ouraring Inc.; David Amor, director of medical devices at Apple; Don Abbey, EVP of quality, regulatory, and medical at Dexcom; and Venk Varadan, CEO of Nanowear—spanned the spectrum from consumer electronics to regulated diagnostics. Their shared conviction: the future of health technology depends on interoperability and data collaboration among companies that once viewed one another as competitors.
Dexcom’s Abbey noted that Dexcom now counts more than 100 partnerships—including Apple, Oura, and multiple insulin delivery manufacturers—underscoring the company’s commitment to open ecosystems that allow users freedom of choice.
Oura’s Bloomfield highlighted a new collaboration with Dexcom that allows users of the Stelo over-the-counter glucose sensor to view glucose data directly in the Oura app, helping them understand how diet and activity affect blood sugar and behavior.
Apple’s Amor emphasized that regulated medical capabilities have become integral to Apple’s product design. The company has shipped ten medical devices globally and collaborates with regulators in over 150 regions, as well as with major research institutions such as Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health and Johnson & Johnson, to ensure its devices support evidence-based care.
Nanowear’s Varadan described how multi-parameter, textile-based sensors are bridging the gap between consumer wearables and clinical-grade diagnostics. He underscored that consumers now expect individualized insights rather than simple metrics like step counts or heart rate. Nanowear’s technology integrates cardiometabolic parameters—heart, lung, vascular, hemodynamic, and metabolic signals—to support a shift from reactive medicine to prevention.
Panelists repeatedly stressed that collecting data is only the first step. Bloomfield called healthcare a long-term, collaborative effort that no single company can solve alone. Amor noted that Apple’s approach centers on user-controlled privacy, with all data remaining on the device unless users choose to share it.
Oura’s Symptom Radar—originally developed with UCSF during COVID-19—detects deviations from a user’s baseline metrics, often days before symptoms appear. In one case, an Olympic athlete received an alert that led to the early detection of appendicitis, illustrating how wearables can function as an early-warning system for the body.
Varadan explained how Nanowear’s FDA-cleared textile-based sensor suite, combined with an AI-driven software-as-a-medical-device algorithm, enables continuous, cuffless blood pressure monitoring across all four stages of hypertension.
As wearables advance toward clinical adoption, panelists agreed that the major barrier is not technology but workflow integration—especially in primary care. Abbey cited Dexcom’s Clarity tool, designed to help physicians efficiently interpret patient data.
Amor described Apple’s collaboration with Johns Hopkins on the CORE App, which supports post–heart-attack patients. Among this high-risk population, readmission rates dropped from 20 percent to as low as 7 percent—demonstrating that wearable data can directly improve outcomes.
Varadan emphasized the importance of clinician feedback in product development. Cardiologists encouraged Nanowear to expand its system with ECG, respiration, and blood pressure sensors, recognizing the value of multimodal, continuous monitoring. He also urged startups to build rigorous design controls, traceability, and safety frameworks alongside user experience design to ensure both reliability and engagement.
Though the panel focused primarily on cardiometabolic health, the implications for neuromodulation were evident. Advances in biosensing, AI, and cloud-based analytics are laying the foundation for closed-loop neural systems that automatically adjust stimulation based on real-time feedback—mirroring how continuous glucose monitors already communicate with insulin pumps.
These same feedback architectures are now being applied to brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerve therapies. One example is the FDA-cleared Rune Labs StrivePD ecosystem—an Apple Watch–based platform for tracking Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremor and dyskinesia. Through integration with Medtronic’s Percept PC DBS system, StrivePD demonstrates how consumer-grade technologies can complement implanted neuromodulation devices and extend monitoring beyond the clinic.
The panel concluded with a shared vision of an integrated ecosystem linking consumer wearables, regulated diagnostics, and implantable devices. These technologies are driving new business models where prevention and early diagnosis align incentives for payers, providers, and employers—shifting healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive management.
Once dismissed as fitness novelties, wearables now stand at the center of a healthcare transformation. They monitor cardiac rhythms, assist with insulin regulation, and inform the design of neural interfaces, bridging the gap between wellness and medicine. The message from San Diego was unmistakable: data silos are disappearing, giving rise to a seamless continuum—from wearable rings to implantable sensors—where biosensors, algorithms, and clinical insight converge to deliver smarter, more connected care.
