Medical News
No limit to wearables ’ health smarts
Medical use has taken over as primary purpose of smartwatches and body monitors
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et another medical use has been identified for a wearable device after Apple researchers tested an Apple Watch that can remotely monitor fluctuations in resting tremor and involuntary movement in Parkinson ’ s patients .
The team examined the efficacy of a new system , the Motor Fluctuations Monitor for Parkinson ’ s Disease , which uses the Apple Watch ’ s accelerometer and gyroscope data to continuously track changes in those two movement disorders associated with Parkinson ’ s .
“ The hope is that some of this technological innovation will help in the areas of better tracking medications , better tracking symptoms and having more real-time control over this because it ’ s complicated ,” Dr Michael Okun , medical advisor to the Parkinson ’ s Foundation , said in a statement after the research had been published .
This is just the latest medical use for wearable devices , like smartwatches and other sensors placed on the body , which are quickly becoming recognised for their benefits to healthcare .
Indeed , the wearables category is now in the midst of an unstoppable transition towards medical devices . According to an estimate by Health Europa , the market for medical wearables will be worth US $ 27.1 billion by next year .
While wearables have been on the scene for around a decade , innovators are now finding ever more purposes for the new technology in ways that the early smartwatch pioneers like Fitbit could hardly have predicted .
Diabetes tracking alone accounts for about a fifth of the wearable medical device market , with blood-sugar trackers , general lifestyle management monitors , and automatic injection systems now readily available .
Interesting applications for tracking other diseases include a smart insole that monitors gait and motor control , which both act as indicators of Alzheimer ’ s . Unusual cardiac activity and abnormal sleep patterns often displayed by sufferers can also be detected and recorded by sensors worn on the body .
American researchers have developed a wearable device that can detect cancer by continuously examining circulating tumour cells in the blood , avoiding the need for blood tests and invasive biopsies .
In the Asia-Pacific , Singapore is now at the cutting edge of wearables research and development . Led by government initiatives , it is investing heavily in development , with some US $ 740 million of public funds set aside for new technologies that will aid Singapore ’ s transformation into a smart nation .
Homegrown AWAK Technologies , for example , has been honoured by Singapore ’ s Intellectual Property Office for its wearable kidney dialysis device .
Another Singaporean company , KaHa , has been working with the country ’ s Agency for Science , Technology and Research to develop a sensor patch to measure degrees of swelling during blood infusions .
“ This will help the early detection of complications , particularly in babies and children ,” its chief technology officer , Sudheendra Shantnaram , told Global Health Asia-Pacific .
“ It is breathtaking how fast all this development has come online , and there ’ s so much more on the horizon that ’ s destined to play a central role in our leisure , business , and health .”
28 APRIL 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com