Can Wearable Devices Really Help You with Health Management?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of wearable medical technology and its use in healthcare. According to eMarketer estimates, more than one-fifth of the U.S. population, equivalent to 70 million people, used a smart wearable device in 2021, as people monitored their own health behaviors during the pandemic. Below are five of the most commonly used medical wearables.

Wearable Fitness Tracker

These bracelet devices are equipped with sensors to track the user's physical activity and heartbeat. Many fitness trackers provide health advice to the wearer by syncing to various smartphone apps.

Smart Health Watch

Once only used to count steps and time, smart watches have gradually transformed into a clinically feasible tool for health care, with Apple's push to integrate Apple Watch with health care. There were estimated to be 45.2 million smartwatch users in the U.S. in 2021, and it is estimated that there will be more than 50 million by 2024.

At Google I/O, which just ended, Google and Samsung announced that they would combine Wear OS and Tizen's smartwatch platforms into one operating system. Although most Wear OS watches don't really focus on health functions, with Google's inclusion of Fitbit and its strengthened cooperation with Samsung, the future is bound to strengthen the direction of smart health watches.

Wearable ECG Monitor

Wearable ECG monitors are at the forefront of consumer medical electronics. They measure electrocardiograms, which in turn help users track their heart rate, as well as measure other vital signs including blood pressure. For example: the FDA-cleared KardiaMobile 6L which detects atrial fibrillation (AF), bradycardia and tachycardia; the DuoEK, which can be worn as a chest strap, can record ECG continuously for up to 15 minutes and can detect arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, atrial fibrillation and other early signs of heard problems; VivaLNK was designed for clinic and remote patient monitoring (RPM) applications.

Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor

Omron Healthcare launched HeartGuide in 2019, the first wearable blood pressure monitor. It measures blood pressure and daily activities. Over the past few years, Omron has developed more wearable blood pressure monitors to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive field.

Wearable Biosensor

Wearable biosensors are still in their infancy in terms of mass development and adoption, but they have the potential to revolutionize telemedicine. They come in the form of gloves, clothing, bandages and implants. They create two-way feedback between user and physician and enable continuous, non-invasive disease diagnosis and health monitoring through body movement and biofluids. For example: Philips Wearable Biosensor is a self-adhesive biosensor that measures heartbeat, respiratory rate, skin temperature, body posture, fall detection, single lead ECG, R-R interval (RR-I) and step count.

There are many types of wearable devices, including glasses type, watch type, wearable type, etc. At present, the products that have been commercialized are still mainly smart watches and smart bracelets.

Wearable devices such as smart phones and sports bracelets have already become common. Wearable devices are a hot topic in the technology industry today but they are not exactly new products. Wearable devises can be traced back to 1966, when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States first invested in research on wearable devices. In1972, a Japanese watch manufacturer launched the first intelligent watch, however, limited by the technology at that time, this watch only had simple calculation functions.

After that, many computer technology and mobile phone manufacturers started to develop smart watches, but most were not well-received by the market due to the insufficient application of technology. In 2014, after one computer company released the smart watch, the boom of mobile devices was pushed to its peak. With the rise of people's awareness of self-health, "wearing technology on the body" became a popular trend.

Mainly Focus on Health Information Collecting

Smart bracelets with functions similar to smart watches have become popular. They mainly collect health information, such as calories burned, walking or running distance, sleep status, etc., They also have reminder functions such as an alarm clock, timer, weather alerts, mobile phone finders, etc. However, the smart watch has also seen added functions such as calling, taking pictures, recording, and mobile payment. Smart bracelets have lower power consumption than smart watches, and a smaller appearance. Smart watches are usually more expensive because of the emphasis on batteries, panels and sensing functions.

Whether watches or bracelets, what kind of benefits do these wearable devices provide to people's lives? The two main demands on such mobile devices are health protection and medical care. There are already smart bracelets and watches which provide personal health management support. Some also have auxiliary medical instruments included for medical treatment and nursing needs. These can be used in telemedicine and remote monitoring, etc., allowing physicians to track the patient's condition, help treat patients at home, and assist in early recovery.

Personal Self-Health Management Is Widely Used

Most of these medical-grade products are used by hospitals or medical facilities, and the development of these products is relatively simple, focusing on precise diagnosis and treatment. This type of market is not as multifunctional as the consumer electronics market. Medical devises must also undergo clinical trials, repeated tests and modifications, and must also be certified by national health agencies, such as the US FDA.

Wearable devices currently used in medical care include implantable and wearable medical devices such as brain nerve stimulators, gastric stimulators, cardiac defibrillators, insulin syringes, personal emergency callers, pedometer, health bracelets, etc.

Consumer-grade products, such as smart watches and health bracelets, etc. have become popular with professional or amateur athletes, as well as leisure and fitness office workers, etc. 

Although wearable devices claim that they can perform medical functions such as measuring blood sugar without needles, or measuring blood pressure, are these measurements accurate? In June 2014, Iowa State University in the United States monitored users of 8 different smart bracelets on the market, to observe whether measurements obtained from users with different body shapes or exercise habits was accurate. They found a significant gap in the accuracy of the measured values, indicating that there is still a gap to be overcome to produce wearable devises that can meet medical standards.

Whether it is a smart watch or a smart bracelet, user's physiological information obtained from these devises should not be used to replace a doctor’s evaluation or be used as a basis for treatment. These devices have not yet been certified to meet medical regulation standards.

Future Medical Research Is Worth Looking Forward To

Interestingly, with the rapid advancement of technology, in addition to the well-known entertainment and sports functions of wearable devices, many mobile phone manufacturers or technology companies have begun research and development for medical rehabilitation. For example, a technology company in the United States has developed a retinal prosthesis device, allowing the visually impaired to implant electrodes in the retina, and then transmit the image signals captured by a camera on a pair of eyeglasses to the electrodes to stimulate the optic nerve. Another technology company in Israel has also begun to develop eyeglasses that can recognize text and read aloud, helping the visually impaired to read.

Wearable devices are widely used in medical applications, but they are still in the testing stage and have not yet been commercialized. Manufacturers are hoping to launch smart contact lenses with embedded sensors, and monitors that can detect blood sugar through tears, but these are still in the development stage. Today's wearable technology is becoming increasingly miniaturized and is moving quickly toward the creating life-changing conveniences.

One mobile phone manufacturer has recently cooperated with large medical institutions to jointly develop application software, hoping to make the mobile phone platform a powerful tool to assist in medical research. In the future, with users’ permission, they can access users’ mobile phones to integrate third-party devices on the App to measure the user's physiological data, such as body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and even the usage of an asthma inhaler. One health bracelet can even detect whether you have cancer. The accumulation of more real time data can help further research to help find cures for diseases. In the future, if cancer can be detected through bracelets, cancer treatment can be considerable enhanced.

With the aging of society, medical needs have changed. It is foreseeable that more wearable devices with professional medical accessories will come out to meet the needs for medical treatment and self-health management. Bracelets, watches, or even clothes may be equipped with a variety of sensors and APPs to read users relevant health information, and manage people's health. In the future, wearable devices will become more and more user friendly, the data collected will become more and more diverse, and they will be able to provide doctors with accurate diagnosis and prediction, making future life safer.