Hong Kong health-tech start-ups innovate with digital wearables for ageing population
With a regulatory approach that expands the market for such devices to the Greater Bay Area, local companies see opportunity for growth
An ageing population and the rapid advancement of digital technology have given Hong Kong health and medical technology start-ups ample opportunities to develop wearable devices that help with disease diagnosis and in-home rehabilitation.
Comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine southern Guangdong cities, the bay area has a population of 86 million that is ageing rapidly. For example, the proportion of Hong Kong people aged 65 and over will rise to 36 per cent in 2046 from 20.5 per cent in 2021, according to government projections.
“In China, the government has a vision to have 97 per cent of the elderly cared for at home and in nearby community facilities, and [only] 3 per cent in care homes,” Kow Ping, co-founder of WBD, said on the sidelines of the Asia Health Innovation Summit in Hong Kong on October 24. “Wearable monitoring devices are one solution to facilitate this. After all, we can’t build hospitals and add beds infinitely.”
WBD collaborates with Hong Kong universities and hospitals on research and clinical trials for its wearable devices, to facilitate sales in the bay area and eventually in other parts of China after obtaining regulatory approvals, he added.
As of the end of August, 40 drugs and 40 medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals had been cleared for use in 45 designated bay area healthcare institutions through the fast-tracking mechanism.
