The Next Frontier in Digital Health

Digital health was prominently displayed at CES this year with lots of floor space dedicated to the industry and a cornucopia of health and fitness-focused wearable devices debuting in Las Vegas.

The declining costs of hardware components, the ubiquity of smartphones and the need for consumers to cut their medical costs is spurring innovation in many areas of digital health.  Given these trends, the line between health and fitness devices is blurring.   Every consumer electronics company from Sony to LG to Samsung is either getting into the game or thinking about it.  But as activity tracking becomes increasingly more commoditized, health device makers need to step-up their offerings and focus on disease management and improving outcomes.   Every patient consumer wants simple interfaces that engage them and allows them to gain valuable insights into their health and wellbeing – not achieved by the current cadre of activity sensors.

Health device makers and wellness apps wanting to provide real value for their customers are moving beyond step counting and integrating into connected health services in the cloud.  These services use a holistic approach to engaging the provider and patient in managing adherence and compliance and by extension – outcomes.    Incorporating physicians, pharmacists, therapists and trainers as part of an integrated “care-team” allows for meaningful patient engagement easing compliance and allowing patients to become “emotionally” accountable for using the app or device as directed by their care-team.   For healthcare providers, this same integration made possible by ubiquitous connectivity – allows them to think and engage beyond the practical aspects of care – the exam, laboratory test or simple disease management.

The past year has proved that many pieces are in place (desire, policy, market demand, innovation, investment, etc.) for a radical transformation in healthcare. We’re beginning to see many aspects of our health and wellness reimagined.  There is now a growing community of stakeholders who understand that change is not only possible, but inevitable, and best of all are taking action to see those changes come true.  The next step in this tectonic shift, is leveraging a higher level of connectivity where data, devices and humans are optimally connected to enable good care decisions – shifting the cost curve and encouraging accountability and adherence beyond what’s offered by today’s consumer health devices.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine
Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Google Unveils Smart Contact Lens

Google unveiled a contact lens that monitors glucose levels in tears, a potential reprieve for millions of diabetics who have to jab their finger to draw their own blood as many as 10 times a day.  The lens uses a minuscule glucose sensor and a wireless transmitter to help the 382 million diabetics around the world that need need insulin and who keep a close watch of their sugar levels.
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Source: Google
Source: Google

 

Why Wearable Devices Will Never Be As Disruptive As Smartphones

Wearables moved from the buzz idea of 2013 into a tangle of clips, bands, badges, brooches, glasses, earpieces and headsets. It’s all too easy to be cynical about the products launched at this annual tech frenzy in the Mojave Desert, but here’s a skeptical case between the tech crowd’s boosterism and the casual scoffing. Let’s step back and try to separate the potential from the hyperbole. Read more

Source: Jawbone
Source: Jawbone

Athlete’s Cap Sends Out Alerts About Head Injuries

Research shows that repeated hard knocks to the head during impact sports can cause long-term brain injury. But it can be hard for coaches watching from the sidelines to tell how hard a blow really was.

That’s why MC10 developed a skullcap to be worn alone or underneath a helmet that detects how hard a player’s skull is hit. Depending on the severity of the impact, different colored LEDs light up on the back of the cap for all to see.

Reebok Checklight - Source: IEEE
Reebok Checklight – Source: IEEE

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Let’s Open the Door to Point-of-Patient Health Sensing Technologies

There’s a significant shift going on in how health care is delivered today, due to several key developments:

  1. Payment models that reward providers for patient outcomes rather than traditional, per-procedure methods or number of visits;
  2. The imposition of penalties for hospital readmissions; and
  3. The rapid adoption of smartphone and sensor technologies.

Health sensing technologies, data analytics and visualization tools enable continuous monitoring and assessment of patients anywhere at any time. These technologies have the power to decentralize health care by challenging traditional delivery systems currently centered around hospitals, clinics and physician offices. Such technology engages patients and caregivers by providing them with the most timely, actionable and relevant data at point-of-patient – the home, office or wherever the patient is located.

Xprize Foundation
Image: XPrize & Huffington Post

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Healthcare, Consumerized

‘Consumerization’ is happening in the healthcare market – an ongoing trend of turning patients into consumers. Patients are increasingly using their smartphones and tablets to access and manage healthcare information from anywhere at any time. These devices enable them to take a more active role in their care experience and empower them to choose their own care alternatives.

Image: Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE
Image: Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE

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