With the wearables market continuing to boom, smart patches could become the next big focus area for tracking healthcare metrics, a medtech CEO anticipates.
“The wearables category is booming, with smart watches and rings now firmly a part of the mainstream,” says Richard Yang, CEO of Biolinq – a company specialising in diabetes biosensors.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Speaking to Medical Device Network, Yang adds: “But what happens after the wrist and the finger? In my view, it’s going to be smart patches.”
Biolinq secured a de novo classification from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Biolinq Shine biosensor as Class II medical device in September 2025, making it the first needle-free continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device to arrive on the US market.
To advance Shine’s market penetration in the US, Biolinq raised $100m in a Series C financing round in April 2025, bringing its total funding to date to around $300m.
According to a 2023 report from GlobalData, the wearable technology market is forecast to grow from $99.5bn in 2022 to $290.6bn in 2030.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe notable difference between smart patches and popular smartwatches is that while watches track digital biomarkers, smart patches track biomarkers intrinsically linked to the body’s internal chemistry.
Shine, indicated for glucose monitoring in people with type 2 diabetes not using insulin, is an example of a device that utilises advanced biosensing technology. Unlike traditional CGMs that use longer needles to reach the subcutaneous tissue, the San Diego-based company’s biosensor uses a microneedle array, resulting in a painless experience for users given the device only penetrates the skin’s top layer .By consolidating the tracking of glucose levels and metabolic activity into one device, Shine aims to support diabetics to remain within a standard target glucose range at least 70% of the time, the guideline time in range (TIR) for diabetics as outlined by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
While Shine’s first indication is in diabetes, Biolinq CEO Richard Yang notes that the consumer health domain is “hungry” and that the company intends to “quickly expand” beyond Shine’s initial indication in future.
Yang continued: “Everybody should have an opportunity to understand their relationship with the foods they like to eat, their diet, exercise, sleep, and if we can provide that all on a patch that doesn’t draw blood or hurt, it’s a big opportunity to bring more insights to consumers.”
For future applications, Yang highlights that with a semiconductor approach within Shine’s biosensor chips, multiple channels of information can be provided in a single wearable.
“In future, we could combine glucose with lactate and other biomarkers to get a multianalyte view in a single patch, with no incremental cost, and that represents the greatest advantage of all,” Yang concluded.
