The healthcare and wellness industry is moving towards regulated, personalized, and monitored healthcare. In a short period of time, the use of mobile devices has skyrocketed. With these advancements, Wearable Technology such as health tools, health monitors, fitness devices, and disease prevention devices have become increasingly important in healthcare.
Today, artificial intelligence, robotics, sensors, big data, radar technology, IoT, and digital wearables can manage and prevent disease. They can estimate blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and breathing, and point to risks such as declining health, worsening disease, and other threatening conditions, such as elevated blood pressure or breathing problems.
What is wearable technology?
First, let’s take a look at what wearable technology means. As the name suggests, wearable technology includes gadgets and devices that we can wear as accessories, or as implants a few times. These devices can take different forms, including jewelry, accessories, medical devices, watches, earbuds, bracelets, virtual and augmented reality technology, t-shirts, smart jackets, and more. These devices can even send a user’s health information to healthcare professionals in real time.
How is wearable technology used in healthcare today?
Track health
Through health monitoring devices, doctors can track and measure patients’ vital signs in real-time, such as heart rate, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, body temperature, etc.; these gadgets can transmit necessary patient data to doctors for further examination.
Therapeutic treatment
People with chronic diseases can receive timely treatment, such as getting an automatic insulin pump or medication, once the index exceeds the level. In addition, with these devices, doctors can better adjust the patient’s treatment plan by monitoring the patient’s condition.
Health and activity tracking
In addition to doctors monitoring the status of patients, wearable device users can track their health and follow a healthy lifestyle. This includes sleep pattern tracking, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen or SpO2 monitoring, calorie tracking, steps, swim tracking, and more. In the event of any abnormality, they can consult a qualified doctor to take preventive measures to prevent the development of any disease.
Other uses
Wearables can also help diagnose, screen, and monitor mental illnesses such as depression. It also improves the efficiency of patient management in the hospital. Additionally, wireless transmission in wearable systems allows researchers to develop new point-of-care diagnostic tools.
Top 5 Wearables in Healthcare
Wearable fitness tracker
Some of the simplest and most primitive forms of wearable technology, wearable fitness trackers, are sensor-equipped devices that track physical activity, heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and more. These devices provide health and fitness guidance to the wearer by syncing them. Various smartphone applications. Wearers can get a good idea of their health. Few wearable fitness monitors support setting daily fitness goals and showing progress against those goals.
Smart health watch
Smartwatches allow users to perform tasks they typically do on their phones—read notifications, send simple messages, and make phone calls—while also offering some of the workout and health-tracking benefits of fitness trackers. The smartwatch will send you a notification that you need more exercise, or it will alert you if you’re putting in too much effort. Having a smartwatch that can effectively monitor your heart rate is a great way to avoid hurting yourself.
Wearable ECG Monitor
Wearable ECG displays are at the forefront of consumer electronics, and these displays differ from some smartwatches in their ability to measure an electrocardiogram or EKG. Some EKG devices for personal use have a built-in screen so you can view your heart rhythm on the monitor. Other devices connect to a smartphone or computer app where you can record, view, store, and share your ECG readings.
Wearable blood pressure monitor
Wearable blood pressure monitors are devises you wear to easily and quickly measure your blood pressure levels. We’re all used to legacy devices that you can use now and then take out of your hands until you decide to use them again, but the industry is changing and people are coming up with all possible solutions. Well, this particular product is one of those possible and better solutions because you have the opportunity to check your blood pressure anytime, anywhere without any hassle. All you need to do is attach a device to your wrist that can take measurements for you.
Wearable Biosensors
Wearable Technology biosensors are portable electronic devices capable of real-time monitoring and feedback to users of various biological and physiological indicators. They can provide real-time measurements of various biological parameters, including blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, and activity level. They create two-way feedback between users and their physicians and enable continuous and non-invasive disease diagnosis and health monitoring through physical movement and biological fluids.
What are some popular wearable health apps?
Users of Wearable Technology can browse their newly discovered data through a health app. Here are some popular health apps:
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Google Fit
Google Fit focuses on two key metrics: general activity and heart rate to improve the user’s overall fitness. It also focuses on the user’s moving minutes to promote more movement and less relaxation in one place throughout the day. Google Fit’s interface and actionable coaching tips help you learn how to better achieve your daily goals. In order to track your eating habits, you can manually add your nutritional data.
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Apple Health App
With an Apple Watch or iPhone, the Apple Health app can be installed automatically. Apple Health automatically measures walking, running distance, and steps, and uses the wearer’s body measurements to calculate the number of calories they’ve burned. You can add other activities such as ride distance, pushes, exercise minutes, resting energy, and more to track in your favorites list. When connected to a fitness tracker or smartwatch, it records sleep cycles and heart rate.
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Samsung Health
Samsung Health is an interactive goal-oriented fitness app. It inspires you with its gaming skills. For example, you can compete with friends and even take part in global challenges to earn achievement badges. Provides detailed daily charts showing how your nutrition, sleep, stress levels, heart rate, and physical activity are progressing.
Integration of Wearables Data with EHR (Electronic Health Record)
Some patients are increasingly using wearable devices to help them collect basic data and better manage their health. The collection of these data is not sufficient. The transfer of data to a healthcare provider’s EHR is critical if the information is to be effectively incorporated into patient care management processes. Healthcare providers should establish a connection between their EHR and patients’ wearables to record their health progress. The interface between EHRs and wearables benefits both; patients undergoing primary care and chronic care.
The future of wearables in healthcare
The use of wearable devices for everyday needs is becoming a global trend. According to a study, the future of wearable health and connected devices will undergo a major shift in the next five years.
Here are some key points:
- Implantable medical devices are one of the key growth areas for Wearable Technology medical devices.
- Concerns about privacy and data security will increase, leading to increased opportunities for improvement in this area.
- Healthcare organizations will see a significant increase in the efficiency of remote data collection.
- With IoT and wearables, healthcare can become more context-based and automated.
In the future, the growing use of health digital will provide users with a wealth of information and choices, giving them a greater ability to track and monitor their health and, to some extent, even self-diagnose.
Generalize
Demand for fitness trackers and smartwatches has been growing for some time now. So healthcare isn’t just limited to these gadgets. Companies are constantly trying and finding new solutions
Growing end-user interest is driving the growth and advancement of the healthcare Wearable Technology market. Soon, we’ll see new and improved wearables from Medtech companies.
