DÜSSELDORF, Germany — The trick with smart devices is to use them intelligently. There is no trick at all to hard wiring a bathroom weight scale with Bluetooth so it can talk wirelessly to a smartphone. The intelligent thing is to make sense of what they are saying. To this point connected health is seen as a consumer electronics phenomenon confined to the sports-and-fitness enthusiasts or personal wellness.

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — If you could use a free ultrasound exam, this is the place. Ultrasound is ubiquitous at Medica, the world's largest exposition of medical devices, as easy to find as bratwurst and beer. And while the competition gets tougher with new players entering every year, the market also continues to expand.

Herb Bresler is a Senior Research Leader at Battelle (Columbus, Ohio). He spoke with Medical Device Daily about emerging trends influencing product design.