Over the past 10 years, wearable tech has progressed from a passing trend to a healthcare revolution. What started as step counters and basic fitness trackers has transformed into comprehensive health monitoring applications that can capture unusual heart rhythms, monitor blood glucose levels, and even predict health related events from a wide variety of user data.
This example of wearables moving from fitness to preventive health, chronic disease monitoring and overall health improvement starts a new chapter. Wearables have the potential to reshape huge portions of our current health delivery system.
In this blog, we are going to examine how next generation wearables in shaping health care, their advantages, real examples of use and what the future may (or may not) look like.
The Evolution of Wearable Technology
Wearable devices first came into the world as fitness bands (Fitbit, Jawbone anyone?) to track activity behavior. We were undeniably able to see that there was a need (therefore demand) for real time health data in the initial devices and then health monitoring smartwatches came with sensors to track things like heart rate, sleep, and calories.
As it became clear the demand also could be even broader from consumers, so too did the technology and companies began migrating faster toward devices appropriate for the medical space that measure real health data and not just fitness metrics – again, it was meeting a need. In all, the trend seems to acknowledge a growing understanding that monitoring constantly is a far more prudent approach for making accurate diagnosis, treatment and absolute life decisions.
Why Wearables Are Moving Beyond Fitness
There are various drivers advancing wearable technology into healthcare
- Chronic Disease Management – Chronic disease states such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension require daily and ongoing monitoring and wearables can monitor vital signs and inform the user or physician.
- Preventative Healthcare – The importance of timely recognition and early detection to prevent serious health issues cannot be understated. The technology now available in more advanced wearables can detect these issues like atrial fibrillation (AF) and sleep apnea, sometimes months before someone is diagnosed.
- Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) – With the emergence of telemedicine and its dramatic rise in recent years, physicians can use these wearable health devices to evaluate their patients outside of clinic locations. RPM could alter periodic in-person visits to potentially eliminate hospital visits altogether and therefore cost.
- Consumer Awareness – More than ever consumers are taking a bigger role in their health and the demand for wearables as health monitors reflects the growing desire for consumers to be in charge of their health.
Key Innovations in Next-Generation Wearable Health Tech
Wearable technology today is blending artificial intelligence (AI), biosensors, and cloud connectivity to expand capabilities. Below are some of the areas that innovations are addressing:
1. Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Wearable sensors now enable real-time glucose monitoring for patients with diabetes without regular finger pricks, and companies are even combining CGM with smartwatches and alerting users to spikes or declines. It has yet to be a cure-all, but can assist daily management.
2. ECG and cardiac health
The Apple Watch and Withings ScanWatch both have the capacity to record an electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing and detect irregular rhythms including atrial fibrillation, sharing those results with the patients physician if needed for early intervention.
3. Blood Oxygen and Respiratory Rate
All wearables now have a pulse oximeter so you can understand your oxygen saturation (SpO2). This, while not helpful at the time was in early assessments of COVID-19 since low oxygen saturation was typically a card for more serious problems and typically would arise ahead of respiratory distress.
4. Sleep and Stress
Some advanced devices offer even the analysis of sleep stages, the evaluation of heart rate variability to gauge stress levels, and related breathing patterns, which have led to identifying issues like insomnia or sleep apnea.
5. Wearable biosensors and smart clothes
The expansion of biosensor patches and smart fabric is spreading beyond a bracelet or watch-style wearable, trackers that can monitor hydration, temperature, and hormones (the latter being something to understand better body performance).
The Role of AI and Data Analytics
The effectiveness of next-generation wearables is not just in data collection. It’s in the smart data interpretation. AI-based algorithms analyze continuous streams of health metrics to offer deep insights tailored specifically for each user. For instance:
- Predicting possible heart issues based on subtle changes in ECG values.
- Identifying early signs of mental fatigue and burnout.
- Recommending lifestyle changes based on long-term health patterns.
I think your data can be safely shared with your healthcare providers by connecting through the cloud in order to enhance a more proactive and bespoke approach to your health treatment plans.
Benefits of Wearable Health Monitoring
The movement toward health-based wearables is driving real value for individuals, health care providers, and even insurers.
- For individuals: Portable health monitoring allows users to get real-time feedback to make informed lifestyle choices and take preventive measures.
- For health care providers: Continuous monitoring provides patient data that is usually more accurate than a snapshot data point from an occasional clinical appointment.
- For insurers: If companies can get their customers use wearables, they can divert claims away from the healthcare system to prevent disease onset.
Real-World Applications of Wearable Health Tech
- Cardiovascular – Patients discharged from the hospital equipped with ECG wearables for the purpose of careful monitoring of cardiac irregularities will be useful in reducing hospital readmission rates.
- Diabetes – Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) are wearable devices that will provide diabetic patients information regarding their glucose levels in their body, which over time can reduce complications and health problems in long-term.
- Elderly Care – Wearable devices that can alert caregivers to a change in vital signs, or a fall, allows elderly individuals a greater sense of independence and safety.
- Sports and Performance – Wearable devices for athletes have warning signals for symptoms like dehydration and overexertion, but they will also distinguish their training routines to avoid injury.
- Mental Health Monitoring – Biometric data signals from wearables can help the user and therapist with insight into their stress and anxiety levels, and keep on top of management plans for mental health.
Challenges and Concerns
Though promising, there are challenges with wearables. Data Privacy Sensitive health information must be secured so there is no opportunity for misuse. Not all devices can have clinical grade accuracy and this can cause misdirection in treatment in some cases.
Cost & Accessibility Many of the advanced wearables can be expensive and will only make their way into the larger public market if they are highly adopted.
User Compliance Continuous use requires a habit that is not necessarily sustainable for those that try it. These issues must be overcome for wearable health technology devices to have long-term and future success.
The Future of Wearable Health Monitoring
The next era of wearable health monitoring will allow us to wear the devices seamlessly in our lives. The future possibilities are:
- Non-Invasive BP Monitoring: Cuff-less, continuous BP monitoring
- Smart Implants: Devices that are inserted under the skin to monitor chronic conditions
- Predictive Health: AI models that can predict diseases before we become symptomatic
- EHR Integration: Doctors will be able to see and utilize information from wearables in their EHRs, in their clinical workflows
- Personalized Medicine: Delivering treatment and recommendations based on wearables’ long-term data trends
We will continue to see the line blur between manufacturing health care devices and manufacturing consumer electronics with the help of advancements in nanotech and biosensors.
Conclusion
Wearable technology for health outside of fitness is not going to be futuristic – it already is today. Continuous glucose monitoring and predictive health insights driven by A.I. provide opportunities to better manage health and enable healthcare providers to deliver proactive, personalized care.
Wearing technology has come a long way from measuring steps and calories – it’s now saving lives and preventing diseases. Although there are challenges like data privacy and accessibility, the potential upside of a wearable health monitor is too compelling to ignore. Wearable health monitoring is one of the most exciting innovations of our time.
In the future, wearables will be the next generation health & wellness platform; unobtrusive, accurate, and part of our daily lives. The future of health is no longer simply a digital interface – it is a wearable one.