Wearable technology used to be for fitness buffs: step trackers, calorie counters, sleep apps. The kind of gadgets you bought in January and tossed in your junk drawer by March.
But those clunky trackers of the past have graduated from the gym aisle to the ICU. Hospitals are strapping sensors on ICU patients. Long-term care homes are running fall detection pilots. Post-op recovery plans now come with Bluetooth. And the market’s syncing up too.
Wearable Tech Growth is Steady and Backed by Real Demand
By 2030, the global wearable technology market is expected to reach $186 billion, with Canada’s slice climbing to $8.55 billion. Medical-grade devices are moving even faster, hitting an expected $69 billion by 2028.
But this growth isn’t fuelled by the latest fitness fad. It’s coming from hospital wards and long-term care homes, with devices that track blood flow, flag fall risks, and log brain activity.
The takeaway? Wearables are no longer fitness accessories. They’re at the forefront of preventive care.
Made in Canada: Wearable Tech Finding its Way into Daily Life
It’s one thing to build wearable tech. It’s another to see it used in an ICU hallway at 3 a.m. Across Canada, startups and scale-ups are doing exactly that, turning pilots into practice, and practice into results.
Muse (Toronto)
Muse launched with a meditation headband that reads brain activity using EEG (short for electroencephalography). It tracks your mental state in real time and nudges you back to calm with shifting nature sounds. Today, its technology has moved beyond living rooms and yoga studios, entering research labs at NASA, neurotherapy trials, and sleep clinics.
Hexoskin (Montreal)
Hexoskin began with smart shirts for athletes, tracking heart rate, breathing, and movement without bulky straps. But its biometric garments quickly caught the attention of researchers. Hexoskin and its space-grade cousin Astroskin are now being used in sleep studies, cardiac rehab, respiratory research, and even on the International Space Station.
Flosonics Medical (Sudbury)
Flosonics built FloPatch, a Doppler ultrasound patch that sticks to the neck and streams real-time blood flow data to clinicians. When sepsis strikes, it helps care teams fine-tune IV fluids on the spot. The device has already rolled out in six Sutter Health ICUs and emergency departments. And Riverside University is using it to improve sepsis outcomes.
NiaHealth (Edmonton)
NiaHealth pairs at-home blood testing with wearable data to provide a holistic view of personal health. The platform tracks dozens of biomarkers, links them with data from fitness devices, and delivers clinician-reviewed insights. With over 100,000 tests completed and more than 12,000 people on the waitlist, it’s gaining traction as a proactive alternative to the annual checkup.
Pulsetto (Vancouver)
Pulsetto makes a slim, neck-worn device that stimulates the vagus nerve (the internal highway that controls your stress, sleep, and recovery response). It sends low-frequency electrical pulses to help regulate the nervous system and shift the body into a “rest-and-digest” state. The device already has fans, including two-time Paralympic silver medalist Ryan Medrano, who uses it to reset between sessions and stay sharp on race day.
The Openings for Founders in Canada’s Wearable Tech Market
Muse began as a meditation tool and ended up in neurofeedback clinics. Hexoskin started with athletes and now runs experiments on the International Space Station. Both grew because the tech proved useful, and the applications kept multiplying.
That need hasn’t gone anywhere. Canada’s population is aging, hospitals are stretched, and more care is shifting onto caregivers with limited support.
Here’s where new founders can step in to fill that gap.
- Design for aging in place, without the hospital vibes: Boomers don’t want hospital-grade gear sitting in their living rooms. They want independence without tech that screams patient. That opens space for passive health sensors that blend into daily life. Think invisible fall detection, sleep apnea monitors, or pill reminders disguised as everyday objects.
- Help for kids with chronic conditions: In classrooms, kids with asthma, ADHD, or anxiety often carry the burden themselves. Or parents patch together workarounds. A wearable could ease that load, giving teachers real-time cues when symptoms spike, without putting pressure on kids to speak up.
- Bridging recovery deserts: Whether it’s for post-op care, stroke rehab, or postpartum recovery, follow-up is critical. But outside major cities, that support is harder to get. Wearables could help bridge that gap, tracking fatigue, strain, or progress during recovery and sending simple data back to care teams who can’t be there in person.
- Smart uniforms for risky work: Not every job ends at five. Construction crews, firefighters, and long-haul drivers face constant strain. Building wearables straight into uniforms could flag fatigue, dehydration, or toxic air before it turns into an emergency. With safety incentives and insurance backing, adoption could come quickly.
The Future of Wearable Tech Starts Now
Flosonics built a patch nurses can trust in the middle of a code blue. NiaHealth turned the annual checkup into something people can track year-round. Pulsetto made a nervous system device discreet enough to slip under a shirt collar.
These companies stand out because they solved specific problems with tools people could adopt easily: patches, tests, slim devices that work when they’re needed most.
For Canada’s next wave of founders, that’s the bar. And TBDC can help you get there. Learn about how our programs can help you scale your wearable tech startup in North America.
