Research

The survey with 1,000 respondents was commissioned by The Society for Participatory Medicine and healthcare technology company Biotricity.

Researchers at University of Toronto also examined the cyber-security of fitness tracking devices, and have found room for improvements.

The Apple Watch didn't slow down sales of fitness trackers last year, and Fitbit is still the leading wearable device maker with 79% of the market.

Rock Health argues that digital biomarkers can extend the collection of population level health data and introduce longitudinal data for individual consumers.

Of those that have an activity tracker and use it to manage their heart risk, 74% report the device is helping them cope with their heart condition.

Other chronic conditions mobile app developers pursue include obesity (38%), depression (23%) and chronic heart diseases (16%).

Having a balanced number of men and women on leadership teams allows for a diversified set of opinions and perspectives that impact a company's bottom line.

At the end of 2019, the situation will look different with 110 million people using fitness wearables, and 130 million - smartwatches.

In sharp contrast, Android Wear shipments comprised less than 10% of sales for the year; consumers are having hard time imagining use cases for smartwatches.

Among the top investors were Y Combinator, DreamIt, Rock Health, Qualcomm Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Rockstart, TechStars and Google Ventures.