1. Can you tell us more about Shimmer Research?
Shimmer is a division of Realtime Technologies, a contract electronics manufacturer headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Shimmer’s original technology was licensed from Intel, which wanted to make its state-of-the-art sensor technology available to the research community. Since then, Shimmer has improved the technology a number of times and built a large base of research customers in more than 75 countries. More than 20 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) also incorporate Shimmer technology into their products. In 2018, Shimmer launched the NeuroLynQ platform tailored to the specific needs of the consumer neuroscience industry. In 2019, we launched Verisense™, a platform specifically designed from the ground up for the clinical trials business.
2. What do the two GHP International Life Sciences Awards (Best Clinical Trials Wearable Sensor Technology Company USA, and Best Researcher Wearable Wireless Technology Provider 2019) mean to Shimmer Research?
Winning two awards, one for clinical trials and the other for research, is an incredible honor and a tribute to the hard work of our team. The recognition for our work in clinical trials is especially gratifying given how recently we entered that market. We are really proud that with these two awards and the IDTechEx award for Best New Wearable Technology Device last November, all three of our businesses have won awards in the past year.
3. What of your products have been recognized for those awards?
The Best Clinical Trials Wearable Sensor Technology Company USA recognizes our newly-introduced Verisense platform for clinical research. Best Researcher Wearable Wireless Technology Provider recognizes the Shimmer3 platform for academic researchers.
4. What products/platforms are you currently focusing on most? Why?
Verisense will be our primary focus for the next year or two. Not only does it address the largest market, but we will be building it out to address a wide variety of application needs and building relationships with a new set of customers. That being said, there is tremendous synergy among our three businesses and we anticipate a lot of the developments on Verisense will transfer to our other product lines.
5. Where do you see the wearable sensor industry in the next 5 years?
The big story over the next five years will be the widespread adoption of wearables in clinical trials. More than two million people are participating in clinical trials at any given time, and with a large service component, this segment will rival the consumer segment in terms of size. We had been monitoring this opportunity for several years and about two years ago we started to see a significant uptick. It was for this reason that we developed the Verisense platform from the ground up to address the specialized needs of clinical trials. During the next five years, we expect to see explosive growth in this segment.
6. What recommendations would you like to provide those interested in entering the wearable sensor industry?
Choose your market segments carefully, understand them thoroughly, and develop your products specifically to meet the needs of the market segments you are targeting. General purpose sensors are unlikely to meet the needs of any particular segment.
This interview has been sponsored by Shimmer
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