10+ Best Wearable Technology In Healthcare 2021 [Pros & Cons]
Wearable fitness technology has been woven into a culture such that FitBits and smartwatches are regarded as normal, and there is no sign of slowing down in the future of wearable devices.
In the four years (2014–2018), the use of wearables by customers almost quadrupled, from just 9% in 2014 to 33% in 2018, according to an Accenture study. This can be due to the fact that a long way from their inception, these futuristic, smart devices of the future have come.
Over the next 25 years, wearable technology, fuelled by ultra-modern innovations such as Big Data, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence, will contribute to global healthcare cost savings of about $200 billion.
This increasing demand for wearable devices has developed a thriving market and now insurers and businesses are discovering how it benefits their customers and employees to deliver wearable healthcare technologies.
What is wearable healthcare technology?
Wearable technologies in healthcare include wearable devices that can be worn by individuals, such as Fitbits and smartwatches, and are intended to capture personal health and fitness data from consumers.
Wearable technology and the customer requirements for self-control have led to more accessible devices such as Fitbits, smartwatches, and wearable displays being produced by the medical sector, including insurers, suppliers, and technology firms.
1. Smart Hearing Aids
Hearing aids have come a long way since they began. They are today fitted with the latest sensor technology as “smart hearing aids.” The development of such futuristic wearables is an example of Starkey Hearing Technology and they aren’t just for people with hearing issues. The company launched Livio AI, a product that can filter noise selectively and focuses on some very unique sound sources. The auditory aid may also offer relief to ear ringing patients. The sensors and the AI in the wearable allow some important health metrics such as physical activity to be tracked and constructed in the future for heart rate measurement.
2. Wearable Fitness Trackers
Wearable fitness trackers are among the simplest, most original types of wearable technology and are bracelets fitted with sensors for monitoring physical activity and the cardiac. By syncing different mobile applications, they provide health and wellness guidelines for users.
For wearable technology users, The FitBit Flex was early and popular. With five indicator luminescences, the users were drawn to their stylish look and the opportunity to watch their progress all day long.
3. Smart Health Watches
Smartwatches have been used only once to count steps and specify the time and now have become clinically viable medical devices. In 2017 Apple released its Apple Heart Research app to track the heart rhythms of users and warn those who have atrial fibrillation.
The latest releases of the Movement Disorder API are also being produced by the company, which will help researchers gain new insights into Parkinson’s.
Smartwatches allow users to do tasks on their devices — read notes, send simple messages, make telephone calls — while also providing some of the health and exercise value of fitness trackers.
4. Wireless Patient Monitoring
For healthcare organizations, remote patient monitoring is at the top of the priority list. It reduces downtimes and costs for them. It’s a fact now with wearables that take the medical professionals out of their burden. For example, by providing patient wireless monitoring, Leaf Healthcare provides a unique solution. The Leaf patient monitoring system is the solution, and patient location and activity can be wirelessly tracked. This helps avoid many pressurized accidents and helps caregivers improve their patients’ safety and performance. Their website includes a 79 percent drop in specialty bed rental statistics. For the medical centers, it is a win-win situation!
5. Smart Glasses
The global demand for Smart Eyewear Technology in 2018 is estimated at approximately USD 5,847 million. This figure is projected to rise to approximately USD 123, 124 million by 2027.
Although there is a lot to do in the industry, a business based in the Netherlands is taking giant strides. 1Minuut Innovation aims to launch a mobile health contact app all-in-one and build much of the POV video-sharing virtual reality eyewear. Once this wearable is ready, we can see some big telehealth modifications being made. The so-called platform will integrate with the Vuzix Smart Glasses and help suppliers send safe videos and interact remotely with other specialists.
6. Wearable ECG Monitors
Wearable ECG devices are on the cutting edge of consumer electronics, and their ability to track electrocardiograms or ECGs is what sets these monitors apart from other smartwatches. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show with their Move ECG product, Business Insider recently reported on Withings winning Best Wearable.
An electrocardiogram can be calculated by the Move ECG and sent to the user’s doctor for reading, as well as for atrial fibrillation detection. It is also capable of tracking speed, distance, and elevation, as well as automated walking, running, swimming, and biking tracks.
7. Wearable Blood Pressure Monitors
In 2019, Omron Healthcare launched the HeartGuide, the first wearable monitor for blood pressure. HeartGuide is an oscillometric blood pressure monitor that can track blood pressure and everyday activity, such as steps taken, distances traveled, and calories burned, while it can look like a traditional smartwatch.
HeartGuide can retain up to 100 readings in memory, and all readings can be transferred for analysis, comparison, and treatment optimization to the corresponding smartphone app, HeartAdvisor. Users of HeartAdvisor have the ability to store, monitor, and exchange their information with their doctors while also gaining insights to decide how their blood pressure is influenced by personal behaviors.
8. SmartSleep Wearable
Philips SmartSleep is a sensor-wearable soft headband that helps people recognize their needs for sleep and provides clinically validated solutions. The wearable is an asleep analyzer that works wonders for individuals who want their sleep to change. Ergo, by tracking their sleep cycles, it helps people who do not get enough sleep or sleep too late / early. The handy wearable is also capable of generating audio tones that can help boost REM sleep depth and length. A linked wearable app helps to record the sleep-related measurements, along with providing feedback and tips for a good night’s rest. For many, this makes it a must-have healthcare device.
9. Bio Patch
Bio-Patches are the new non-invasive wearables that can help medical professionals monitor and measure the heart rate, ECG, the variability of heart rate, breathing rate, and movement of patients. The left side of the chest can be easily connected to one unique wearable of this kind by SEER. After this, the vital signs are determined using a multi-sensing algorithm. For the usage of clinical pathologists, it is then transmitted to the cloud, which can then read and interpret it on the go.
10. AVA — Focusing on Women’s Health
Tracking period cycles will provide deeper insights into the health of women, and AVA is all about that. The wearable-only night provides women with insights into their fertility, pregnancy, and general health. It helps monitor weight, sleep, and stress levels for pregnant women. In a clinical study at the University Hospital of Zurich, the wearable is known for its precision, reporting that the unit detected an “average of 5.3 fertile days per cycle with an accuracy of 89 percent.”
11. Biosensors
Biosensors, which are completely different from wrist trackers and smartwatches, are up and coming wearable medical devices. A self-adhesive patch that allows patients to travel about while gathering data on their breathing, heart rate, respiratory rate, and the temperature is the Philips wearable biosensor.
Research from Augusta University Medical Center has shown that this wearable system has decreased patient decline to preventable cardiac or respiratory arrest by 89 percent. This illustrates the potential of wearables to improve patient outcomes and potentially reduce the workload of employees.
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