Digital health products played a prominent role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and in helping caregivers and patients navigate their care in the past year. Going into 2022, remote monitoring, wearables, sensors, and other mobile health (mHealth) products are taking center stage in defining the future of medicine. "One of the clearest areas of excitement now and into the future is the sector of healthcare products referred to as wearables. These are devices like fitness trackers, heart monitors, and other devices that record in real time and communicate biometric data either directly to the user or to a connected platform for a variety of purposes, including coaching, intervention, analysis and even within clinical trials administration," notes a recent report from contract manufacturer Jabil, St. Petersburg, FL. The report, "Digital Health Technology Trends," finds that "the top three solution categories providers are developing or plan to develop are in patient monitoring, diagnostic equipment, and on-body or wearable devices (see Figure 1). As digital and mHealth capabilities have become an integral part of many medical devices and diagnostics, they have enabled a more agile and flexible healthcare system to emerge in the face of COVID-19. These products will continue to improve access to patient care. Digital transformation of healthcare is not just about adopting new digital technology, notes a recent position paper from medtech giant Philips. It's about reimagining healthcare for the digital age -- using the power of data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based platforms, and new business models to improve health outcomes, lower the cost of care, and improve the human care experience for patients and staff alike."

Droids, drones, and driverless technologies are fueling a supply chain revolution.

The agreement with Germany-based Traton marks TuSimple's first move into Europe. It follows a similar agreement TuSimple struck in July with Navistar International Corp. to jointly develop self-driving trucks, with the U.S. truck manufacturer also taking a minority stake in the startup. Traton, whose truck brands include Scania AB and MAN SE, holds about 17% of the shares in Navistar and is seeking to acquire the Lisle, Ill.-based manufacturer. Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. Traton and TuSimple didn't disclose the size of the stake the European manufacturer is taking in the company.

Don Monroe is a science and technology writer based in Boston, MA.