How are wearable devices impacting the health sector?
Wearable sensor technology is constantly growing and extending its usability to a wide range of apps that help assess the wearer’s health. They usually used to detect human activity and quantified self-assessment. Wearable devices are employed to monitor patient health, provide immediate assistance, and ensure rapid and effective diagnosis. They also help predict outcomes with patient history and improve life-threatening results. Healthcare providers are known to use self-report questionnaires when patient display symptoms and assist them under failure of functional ability, while at home.
So undoubtedly, wearable devices are creating a wave of better treatment with a higher rate of patient health improvement.
Data measurement using wearable devices.
When it becomes extremely easy to monitor a patient and their physical activities, it is easy to understand the physiological rhythms and biochemical parameters of the patient’s daily lives. Some of the most commonly measured data includes vital signs such as the following:
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- Body temperature
- Blood oxygen saturation
- Posture
- Physical activity
Wearable devices can be attached to everyday accessories like shoes, earrings, eye glasses, clothing, gloves, and other articles the patient carries around everyday.
Gait assessments using wearable devices.
Some devices can be worn as skin-attachable devices. In such cases, sensors are also embedded into articles like chairs and mattresses around the patient. The combined collection of this data, data analysis algorithms and other factors are what helps with gait assessments.
The innovative variety of wearable devices
Designing devices
- To prevent diseases
- To maintain health, control weight and monitor physical activity
- For patient management
- For patient rehabilitation
The data retrieved from the wearable devices are both an advantage and a challenge for researchers, who in the future could analyse the data better with enhanced AI technology. The issues faced, security of data, ethical influence, and big data concerns are all elements that need addressing to enhance the usability of the devices.
