With the rapid changes undergoing within the healthcare sector, AI-powered wearables have proven to be much more than revolutionary in the way they assist in real-time monitoring of patients. Let’s take a quick peak from Dr Abhishek Sharma, a Senior Lecturer and Research & Innovation Manager at Institute of Health & Management (IHM) Australia, to gain some better insights into this revolutionary trend. He has a rich background in User Experience (UX) and emerging technologies.
Your career path is quite unique, and the work you’ve been involved in. What drew you to merge technology with healthcare?
I began my career in engineering and later earned a Master’s degree in International Business Management, which sparked my interest in consumer experiences and behaviours. During my doctoral studies at Swinburne University of Technology, I explored on how emotions can influence consumer decision-making power. Later, as my interest in technology grew, I started researching how IOT applications/wearable technologies, along with assistive robots can help users improve their health and well-being, particularly in healthcare. I really found out that these advances in technologies have a great impact on enhancing the user experience and their overall well-being.
What changes has the advancement of IOT sensors and AI brought about in healthcare wearables?
Advancements in IOT-enabled healthcare technology and artificial intelligence have been phenomenal in the healthcare field. In fact, these technologies are utilised as wearable devices which provides real-time data that allows clinicians to make effective decision-making. More precisely, wearable technologies within the healthcare sector have been classified as fitness wearables and medical wearables. On the one hand, medical wearables are devices that allow healthcare experts to track patients and monitor the level of chronic diseases. However, Fitness wearables, on the other hand, have evolved from being primarily used for personal communication and fitness tracking to becoming powerful tools that are completely changing the way healthcare is administered and managed. These IOT sensors/wearable devices are embedded in patients and have wireless connectivity features, allowing them to track their activity (i.e., heart rate, calories, sleep, and steps) taken within the whole day. For example, it does not just record your sleep movements, but it may advise how to enhance sleep patterns and alert you with unusual patterns which might be a sign of a concern for individual. What has been made more user-friendly through AI is that it reduced false alarms and has improved the information reliability.
Can you provide some actual examples of AI wearables that are really helping in health monitoring?
Of course! There are some just fantastic AI-powered wearables out there that are really changing the game:
Electrocardiography Sensors (ECG): Smartwatches with AI-enhanced ECG sensors allows healthcare professionals to monitor heart rhythms and point out issues such as arrhythmias or atrial fibrillation may be right on the pulse and provide lifesaving real-time alerts.
Electroencephalography Sensors (EEG): EEG sensors allows healthcare professionals to capture brain signals that reflect motor and cognitive activities of the patients. They can be utilised to track neurological well-being, for instance in analysing sleep patterns, and diseases of the mind.
Electromyography Sensors (EMG): Wearables with EMG technology allows healthcare professionals to capture activity in muscles and nerves of patients. Their most important application is in the management of movement disorders and rehabilitation, especially in disease conditions like Parkinson’s.
Photoplethysmography Sensors (PPG): PPG wearables enable healthcare professionals to detect changes in blood volume and track stress, anxiety, and even oxygen levels among patients. They are excellent at detecting problems early on, such as sleep apnea. These devices are extremely valuable for remote health monitoring, allowing healthcare professionals to provide proactive care and detect problems before they become critical for an individual.
How do healthcare wearables connect with other digital health technologies to improve patient care?
Healthcare wearables have changed the way in which physiological data for patients are managed and monitored. These wearables have the capability to be well-integrated with several systems such as the Electronic health records (EHRs), Telemedicine, and Mobile health applications which enables healthcare professionals to make data driven decisions. This personalised healthcare data enables us to provide continuous monitoring to patients in order to detect health issues caused by lifestyle choices.
This integration of wearable technology along with cloud platforms and digital platforms enables healthcare professionals to design patient centric treatment plans. For example, ECG-wearable can give a holistic view of the condition of a heart and thereby have a better course of treatment and strict adherence to medication. Furthermore, telemedicine benefits from direct access to accurate data, which expands the concept of healthcare being accessible and reachable even from remote regions. This means that, with the growing usage of mobile health apps, individuals can become more interactively involved in their care, encouraging them to better manage themselves and make lifestyle changes.
What are some key challenges when using AI-powered wearables?
There are advantages and disadvantages to every technology. However, the rapid adoption of these wearable devices has raised significant concerns, particularly regarding data privacy and security. More precisely, the most critical concern lies around the data and its privacy that is collected and transmitted over cloud-based platforms which store critical information that is related to patients. With increase possibility of data breaches, it should be ensured that these wearable devices have strict encryption protocols in place. Yet, it can be seen that several wearables in the existing marketplace are lacking robust safety standards, leaving patients to the risks of cyberattacks.
Another key concern is revolving around compliance with regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). From my perspective, these wearable devices appear to lack clarity in how they store information, resulting in gaps in regulatory compliance and patient privacy protection.
Lastly, one of the most significant challenges lies within the battery life and the comfort level that is associated with the adoption of wearable devices. Moreover, it can be understood that lower battery life could limit wearability, and if devices are either uncomfortable to wear or sore on the skin, users will tend to avoid using them. As a result, it is essential to prioritise and design wearables that allows users to have higher levels of durability, comfort, and performance for monitoring an individuals’ information.
What future developments in AI and wearable technology are expected to drive growth in the healthcare sector?
Within the landscape of wearable technology and its integration of AI in healthcare, the future definitely looks promising. In detail, the rapid developments should focus towards integration of precise diagnostics which can then lead towards the development of personalised treatment plans. Therefore, we can see innovations in AI which may include incorporation of predictive analytics into systems analysing complex data from wearables, perhaps identified health issues before symptoms arise.
Wearables will probably get even more complicated, merging different sensors to offer full health monitoring. AI-driven insight will also be applied to highly personalised care plans, especially in chronic diseases. As a result, Telemedicine will benefit from AI decision support systems as it could make virtual consultations more precise and more predictive. For one, we can expect AI-based virtual health assistants that guide the user on his or her journey to wellness, allowing early interventions in lifestyle and genetic factors.
In a nutshell, the synergy of wearable technology with IOT Sensors and AI will forever change patient care, improve outcomes, and make healthcare a much more efficient process. Dr Sharma’s insights give a glimpse of how technology weaves into health and creates a more connected, proactive healthcare system.
Pull Quote:
“Advancements in IOT-enabled healthcare technology and artificial intelligence have been phenomenal in the healthcare field. In fact, these technologies are utilised as wearable devices which provides real-time data that allows clinicians to make effective decision-making.”