The second Wearable Health Equity Workshop was held on October 30, 2025, at the Georgia Tech Marcus Nanotechnology Building. The workshop presented some of the latest wearable health technologies and offered practical solutions for advancing rural healthcare.

The all-day workshop was sponsored by the Georgia Tech Wearable Intelligent Systems and Healthcare Center (WISH Center), the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT), and the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS). 

Academic, clinical, and industry leaders gathered to learn about some of the most exciting wearable technologies and explore proven, practical solutions for improving health in underserved rural areas. Medical professionals from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Albany, Georgia shared real-world solutions to providing more effective healthcare in their regional, rural areas.

The morning keynote speaker was Philipp Gutruf, Ph.D., an associate professor and associate department head of biomedical engineering at the University of Arizona. Gutruf’s research focuses on creating devices that intimately integrate with biological systems, developing wireless, battery-free, and fully implantable platforms for biosignal monitoring, neurostimulation, and biointerfaces.

The afternoon keynote speaker was Kimberlee McKay, M.D., with Avera Medical Group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. McKay is a physician-leader in women’s health who has redefined how obstetrics and gynecology are delivered across rural and underserved communities. 

A technology panel moderated by Alexander Adams, Ph.D., assistant professor, in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech included:
* Andrea Braden, M.D., Founder & CEO of Lybbie and medical director of the Atlanta Birth Center
* Farrokh Ayazi, Ph.D., director of the Georgia Tech Analog Consortium, Regents Entrepreneur, and Ken Byers Professorship in Microsystems
* Rosa Arriaga, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing at Georgia Tech
* Steve Xu, M.D., CEO Sibel Health, medical director at Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics Northwestern University was scheduled, but was unable to attend.

In the afternoon, a rural health panel was moderated by Rudolph Gleason, Ph.D., professor in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech. 
Those panelists were:
* Shelly Spires, M.S.M., CEO Albany Area Primary Health Care, Inc.
* W. Brad Jones, Ph.D., CEO Life Well Promotions
* Ruwanthi Ekanayake, M.D./Ph.D. candidate, Emory University - Rollins School of Public Health and Emory School of Medicine

The best poster awards were won by postdoctoral research fellow Jimin Lee, Ph.D., and mechanical engineering doctoral student Garan Byun. The best rapid talk award winner was Ramy Ghanim, a doctoral student in chemical engineering.

Key faculty organizers of this year’s event included W. Hong Yeo, director of the WISH Center and professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Clint Zeagler, director of strategic partnerships in IPaT; Josh Lee, research program manager in the WISH Center; Alexander Adams, assistant professor, School of Interactive Computing; and Rudy Gleason, professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.