Wearable devices are the center of attraction for all discussions aimed at defining innovation in the Internet of Things. The wearable medical device market is expected to reach $14.41 billion by 2022 from $5.31 billion in 2016, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.3% over the forecast period (source). The technology has allowed users to constantly monitor their health indicators and has significantly reduced prevention and monitoring costs. Wearables are chosen for this task and are one of the most efficient integrations of telemedicine and telehealth outside of mobile. This article will explore some important aspects of this field.
Let's Get to Know Your Wearables Better
The most relevant definition of wearable electronics is "devices that can be worn or combined with human skin to continuously and closely monitor an individual's activities without interrupting the wearer's movements".
Today, the range of wearable systems, including micro-sensors, is seamlessly integrated into various industries such as textiles, consumer electronics, automatic watches, strap PCs, and eyeglasses. For this reason, it is now designed to serve a wide range of applications.
The combination of wearable and health monitoring systems aims to reduce the size of wearable devices, measure vital signs, and transmit safe and reliable data using smartphones. Thus, one of the obvious applications of wearable systems is the monitoring of physiological parameters in the mobile environment.
Application of Wearable Devices in Health Care
The hectic world has led to a life focused on switching between different tasks. This has caused most of us to ignore one of the most important aspects of our lives, 'health and fitness. A simple medical exam by a doctor requires many medical tests followed by time-consuming prescriptions and treatments. This is perhaps the most powerful reason why people only visit the doctor when they are sick. The very situation opens up avenues for finding alternatives, such as a device that can be worn on the body and has the ability to constantly monitor the health of the user in real-time. These devices should also provide users and clinicians with insight into various health standards. Wearable devices are often intended to achieve these goals in the healthcare system.
- 56% of Americans use some form of wearable technology.
- 88% of doctors want patients to monitor their health standards at home
- 35% of employers use wearable medical technology to improve the quality of health programs and reduce health insurance costs.
- Wearable technology reduces hospital costs by 16% in 5 years
Some other wearable IoT applications in healthcare can be listed below.
1. Motion Tracking
Tracking human movement has many valuable applications in sports, medicine, and other fields of study. These applications include assessment of fall risk, exercise rehabilitation, analysis of people's habits, and observation. Wearable trackers are gaining popularity all over the world for their ability to get all these tasks done, help users get their daily workouts done, and help them manage their activities at their fingertips. They also keep users updated with their daily movements, such as distance traveled, allowing them to track their activities and ensure a healthy life.
2. Monitor Vital Signs
This is one of the most important applications of the Internet of Things in medicine. Continuous monitoring made it possible to provide adequate health care to patients. More than half of wearable device users believe technology has improved mental health. Through the intelligent use and analysis of complex algorithms, wearables promote better medical care and patient care in remote areas or locations far from immediate medical assistance. Remote patient monitoring saves the healthcare system $200 billion over 25 years. Several wearable devices have been implemented to measure critical elements in the health monitoring ecosystem. These devices include names such as ECG and EEG measurements, skin temperature regulators, etc., and mark the efforts of the wearables to provide a multitasking measurement of vital signs.
3. Improve The Patient Experience
Seamless connection between devices has allowed patients to control room temperature, and electronic devices and even communicate with loved ones or seek medical help with just a few clicks. Even doctors can access patient information on the go through cloud availability. This, in turn, made it easier for patients and paramedics to enjoy optimally
Challenges Facing Wearable Devices in the Medical Internet of Things
IoT devices must be enabled with robust and easy-to-use access to applications. Worldwide, researchers have proposed several platforms and frameworks that formed the basis for commercially available devices for measuring biomedical parameters. However, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed. Here are the top four missing features from the major platforms.