We couldn’t decide which title we liked best… so we included them both. There was an exciting news bit on medcitynews the other day talking about new applications of the Arduino (an open source microcontroller system) and 3d printers in fields like medical monitoring technology. Seeing this combined 2 of our most favorite things (Arduino and 3d Printers) we just had to report on it! Wearable technology isn’t all about step counters and LED suits dontcha know!

3D printers are perhaps one of the coolest new trends in recent years, and when combined with the up and coming Arduino system, you had better believe we’ll be seeing some very cool DIY wearable gadgets coming down the line soon. How about a bracelet that monitors the level of pollution in the air, a necklace that measures your vitals, earrings that constantly monitor your temperature and more! All of this is more than possible with current generation tech, and actually pretty darn easy to make if you are handy with a 3d printer and a soldering iron (ok… so it’s not like Pop Tarts easy… but it’s close).

Imagine your every day clothing being able to measure and monitor information about you and communicate it wherever you want without you even having to think about it. Your shirt could know that you were getting sick before you even did! A pair of contacts could tell diabetics their glucose levels! Says MedCityNews:

It’s a safe bet that mobile monitoring devices like those built on the Arduino platform will find their way into more and more patients’ hands in the coming years.

But that presents clinicians with a challenge that the health system will have to grapple with, Stokes said: Many of these devices that are likely to be adopted by consumers will fall outside the purview of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, so should that data be included in a patient’s medical record?

That’s not a question that needs an answer now, but it’s something clinicians and health IT leaders need to start thinking about.

Cheap DIY wearable mobile monitoring medical devices are just one of the many exciting new applications popping up in the wearable tech industry thanks the the growing ubiquitousness of 3d printers and Arduino. We can’t wait to see what other exciting innovations will be coming down the pipeline soon!