Technology has become a great ally for the healthcare sector. Nowadays, thanks to technological advances, we have new devices that allow us to obtain relevant information about our health.
Wearable devices are electronic gadgets that can be incorporated through accessories or in the clothing material itself. In this way, wearables are considered to be electronic devices that are usually incorporated on some part of our body in order to perform a specific task.
In other words, wearables are those comfortable electronic devices that calculate heart rate, blood pressure and daily activity. Likewise, they allow communication between patients and professionals, leading to excellent medical care and cost reduction.
Along with professionals´ expertise, these devices can help to discover heart problems, diabetes or vision impairments, for example.
In the medical field, wearable devices are useful tools to monitor patients and help the elderly or disabled, among other amazing uses. These devices can send data directly doctors, which allows them to better take care of dependent or chronic patients.
These devices are supposed to be a very significant progress, as medicine is increasingly geared towards patients optimizing their self-care. For that, they need data, and emerging technologies applies to wearable devices is a great option for that.
According to some specialists, the main challenge of these emerging technologies is to provide continuously increasing accurate data.
There are different kinds of wearables. As a somehow novel technology, it is still developing. Keep reading to learn about some popular types of wearable technologies (view).
Smart watches and bracelets
Smart watches and bracelets are undoubtedly the most popular devices and the ones that most people know and use. Through these, you can keep track of how many steps you´ve walked throughout the day along with how many calories you´ve burned and your glucose levels, as well as how many hours you´ve slept and your sleep quality, your heart rate, and even your blood pressure (most modern models). Also, it is significant to mention that all the information provided by these devices can be stored through specific mobile apps.
Smart clothes
Smart clothing such as smart t-shirts, are among the most popular wearables for practicing sports. In recent years, different clothing items have been developed which are capable of measuring body temperature and heart rate, for example.
In this way, these smart devices have not only become useful objects to obtain information during physical activity and exercise, but they have also become very useful wearables to better control people who suffer from heart problems.
“Sensory” clothing can be useful beyond its basic functions in order to measure burnt calories and exercise activities. Among its health applications, the smart shirt created by the Carlos III University of Madrid stands out. The device allows specialists to carry out daily monitoring in order to obtain a medical-quality electrocardiographic record, measure breathing rate, body temperature and even know if the patient is standing, walking, lying down, asleep or if he has fallen. With the contribution of the company Nuubo, the objective of the wearable is clear: to guarantee the safety of patients with heart problems while they exercise.
Smart glasses
Smart glasses are also extremely useful for the medical sector. Specifically, smart glasses have been developed so that health professionals can carry out more complex techniques by recreating surgeries thanks to virtual reality.
In addition, it is important to mention that scientists are developing new smart glasses that could help disabled people thanks to the development of an algorithm and Artificial Intelligence.
Sensors
Last but not least, sensors are also great wearables within the medical field. These are possibly the least known among all wearables, but they are also extremely useful. They adhere to the body with the aim of measuring body temperature, as well as other important variables and even brain activity. These sensors are discreet and breathable, so they do not cause any damage to the skin.
Other wearables
There are certain wearables that are difficult to classify due to their special singularity. Among them, a device that can detect depression, developed by researchers at Michigan University, in the United States. Thus, the chip is placed on the patient’s shoulder and, using radio waves, monitors habits such as eating, drinking, coughing or speaking. All this data is transmitted to a health professional and can provide very valuable information to detect depression such as eating disorders and even obesity, diabetes or asthma.
The future of wearable devices in healthcare
Despite the fact that in the previous section we have mentioned some practical use of wearables applied to healthcare, it is important to highlight its importance.
Wearable devices have been on the rise and constantly growing in the last few years. We can affirm that every year at least new amazing functionality emerges. This evolution is a direct consequence of how consumer habits are changing, as people have incorporated this type of devices into their daily routines and everyday life.
