Challenges, Lessons, and Why Your Dad’s “Banana Fingers” Matter
Once reserved for niche markets or sci-fi fantasies, wearable technology has quickly become an integral part of our lives—and a booming part of the healthcare industry. From smartwatches that track your heartbeat to sleeves that translate sign language into speech, wearables are no longer a novelty. They’re the future of accessible, real-time healthcare—and they’re already here.
What Are Wearables?
Edison’s coal miner’s headlamp? That was wearable tech. So was the early pager clipped to a doctor’s coat. But today’s wearables are a different beast entirely. We’re talking about smart socks that monitor circulation, patches that detect disease through sweat, and flexible batteries sewn into clothing.
According to Zion Market Research, the global wearable technology market was worth over $55 billion in 2022—and it’s predicted to grow to around $142 billion by the year 2030! But while the technology is impressive, success in the healthcare wearables market isn’t just about innovation. It’s about implementation.
At Kablooe, we’ve been designing wearable medical devices long enough to know one thing for sure: just because something is “wearable” doesn’t mean it’s useful. Especially in healthcare, where accuracy, simplicity, and user trust are non-negotiable, wearable device design requires a specialized approach.
Let’s explore what makes wearables successful in the healthcare wearables market—and why human-centered design is your best bet to create a product that helps people and makes it to market.
1. Design for Real People (Not Just Ideal Users)
The average user of a wearable medical device isn’t a trained professional in a controlled clinical setting. It’s a patient navigating daily life with arthritis, limited mobility, or memory challenges. It’s your dad with his “banana fingers” trying to twist on a smart sock while watching the news.
And here’s the hard truth: if your device is hard to use, it won’t be used at all. Patients can (and will) take it off, turn it off, or toss it in a drawer. That’s why wearable device design must prioritize human-centered usability from day one.
As experienced designers of healthcare wearables, we always ask:
- Can a senior put this on without help?
- Will a user know if it’s working correctly?
- What happens when the environment is wet, hot, or busy?
These aren’t just hypotheticals. They’re the real-world conditions your device will face every single day.
2. Design for the Wild (a.k.a. Environmental Abuse)
Devices that leave the clinic need to stand up to the world beyond white walls and hand sanitizer. That means designing for rain, sweat, shampoo, motor oil, accidental drops, curious pets, and wild toddlers.
These aren’t the typical challenges you’d expect in traditional medical environments, but they’re absolutely vital for wearable medical device design support. At Kablooe, we field-test ideas early and often, using simulated environments and real-world studies to refine everything from materials to enclosures to user interactions.
Whether it’s asphalt or ice cream, your wearable needs to survive anything and everything users throw at it. Because in healthcare, failure isn’t an option.
3. Design for Data Dilemmas (Garbage In, Garbage Out)
The promise of wearables is real-time, personalized data. But the reality? That data is only as good as its context—and its accuracy.
The placement of sensors, their durability, and user error can all introduce inconsistencies that compromise diagnoses or delay care. Getting good data from healthcare wearables isn’t easy, and interpreting it is even harder.
Designers of healthcare wearables must collaborate closely with clinicians, researchers, and engineers to build systems that filter out noise and surface what matters. Your wearable doesn’t just need to look smart—it needs to be smart, too.
4. Design for Widespread Adoption
Here’s a painful truth: if no one uses your device, it won’t matter how brilliant your tech is. Adoption is everything.
Device adoption starts with design. From button placement to battery life to app experience, every interaction is a chance to build trust—or lose it. That’s why we take the time to watch users in the wild, not just in the lab. We study how they engage with wearables while brushing their teeth, getting dressed, or rushing out the door. And we bring those insights back into every iteration.
Because at the end of the day, if your device isn’t intuitive, it’s not going to work.
Ready to Get It Right?
The healthcare wearables market is growing fast, and the demand for innovative solutions has never been greater. But getting it right takes more than inspiration—it takes collaboration, strategy, and insight.
That’s where Kablooe comes in. Our cross-functional team of designers, engineers, and usability experts specializes in wearable device design for the real world. We’re passionate about turning ambitious ideas into functional, manufacturable, and user-friendly solutions.
At Kablooe, we often say: “Start with the napkin sketch.” That’s because we’ve seen amazing ideas take shape from a simple scribble, then evolve into real products that change lives. But the path from sketch to shelf isn’t straightforward. It requires rigorous development, smart prototyping, regulatory awareness, and above all, empathy for the end user.
Whether your wearable monitors vitals, manages chronic conditions, or enhances mobility, we’re here to help you design it the right way—with the right tools, the right questions, and the right people. Contact us today and let’s create a wearable your users will love—and actually use.
Want to dive deeper? Download our free eBook on wearable device design now.
