The medical wearables that are revolutionizing healthcare

Smart clothing, contact lenses to prevent diseases, bracelets capable of predicting epileptic seizures or pills that control drug overdoses, among the devices that are transforming healthcare

The growth of the wearables market continues to increase and during 2016 alone, sales of more than 102 million units were recorded worldwide, generating profits of $16 million according to an IDC report. Wearables are already part of our lives, although the real revolution comes from the hand of technologies and devices for medical use, which are in full development and are beginning to take hold, allowing a more effective and preventive medicine, through robotics, virtual reality or augmented reality.

This type of technology allows a closer doctor-patient relationship and provides improvements in the health of users by speeding up diagnosis times. They are key solutions in predictive and preventive medicine, becoming highly valuable tools in the monitoring, follow-up and assistance of elderly or disabled people, as well as dependent or chronic patients. They also represent a significant cost saving for the healthcare system.

“The use of wearables represents an important advance in the self-monitoring of our own health and in the ability to connect directly and 24h with specialists, which allows us to work with more agility, as well as with a greater amount of information from the data that these devices collect and provide to both patient and doctor”, explains Alberto E. Porciani, CEO of TibHealth.com®, the leading digital company in the identification of top doctors and medical centers. “The sector is undergoing a great revolution, in which the patient comes to dominate the situation and takes an active part in the management of his or her health.”

TibHealth.com takes a look at some of the main lines of research in wearables in the world of healthcare:

  • Smart clothing to control body data: the incorporation of technological devices or sensors into fabrics means that objects such as T-shirts, gloves or helmets become intelligent systems that help to improve the user’s health. One of the first prototypes aimed at commercialization was Ralph Lauren’s “Polo Tech”, capable of providing information on the individual’s body movements to IoT devices, with cardiovascular details, energy expenditure or stress levels, allowing the user to have a better control of their physical health.
  • Smart glasses that interact with the brain: the more than 4 million Spaniards who suffer from chronic insomnia now have a device capable of helping those who suffer from this disorder. The Sana Health glasses produce audiovisual stimulation to relax the brain and help the user to fall asleep.
  • Contact lenses to prevent glaucoma: 13.8% of Spaniards over the age of 18 have type 2 diabetes, which is equivalent to more than 5.3 million people with this pathology. Novartis and Google have reached an agreement to create contact lenses capable of measuring tear glucose with non-invasive sensors. The information recorded by this system is sent wirelessly to another device. Currently this system has not yet been tested on humans.
  • Embrace, a device to warn of an epileptic seizure: through a sensor located in the bracelet, the device determines electrodermal activity, helping to predict possible epileptic seizures and warn the patient to take the necessary measures in the event of a possible outbreak. The device can also send an SMS to a nearby person indicated by the patient so that he or she can come to the patient’s aid.
  • EVA, the bra to detect breast cancer: the bra contains biosensors capable of mapping the breast and detecting changes in texture, color or temperature. The information is received by both the medical team and the user. The use of this type of device reduces the time it takes to diagnose breast cancer by up to 90%.
  • Digital pills: there are wearables capable of controlling the consumption of the patient’s medication assigned by prescription. Helius mirochips, a sensor developed by Proteus Digital Health, detect and monitor the intake of medication doses and send the data via Bluetooth to a mobile application so that the user can give the information to his doctor.
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The digital revolution and transformation of the sector is unstoppable. Therefore, Top Doctors® (TibHealth.com), recommends consulting the different options and betting on the support of technological devices as a source of information and medical care for patients, as well as service optimization tools, and decision support for specialists.