In a world full of technical advancements, smartphones are becoming the major source of providing human ease. Over the use of smartphones, technical advancements are bringing various innovative solutions that are reshaping human requirements. Within the healthcare sector, the innovation of wearable technology is now becoming a global trend. This technology has witnessed a remarkable transformation and making people start taking care of their health analytics. Wearable technology-aided devices are covering the market with surprising features with different beneficiary impacts. This technology gives power to continuously monitor users’ health insights and tackle healthcare issues even being available on a daily basis.
The research data by Deloitte shows the healthcare insight categories and their beneficial aspects. As shown in the figure below these categories are step per day, workout performance, heart health, sleep quality and duration, calories burned, stress level, chronic health conditions, possible COVID-19 symptoms, and other measurable insights. The monitoring of all these insights can lead to different benefits from the transformative aspect of the future.
Source: Deloitte Connectivity & Mobile Trend Survey
This blog uncovers how wearable tech is poised to revolutionize healthcare, offering a plethora of benefits and advantages that extend far beyond the realms of traditional medical monitoring. Give this a quick read for devolving into the heart of this transformative technological revolution and discover how it’s shaping the future of healthcare for the better.
Wearable Technology and its In-Depth Classification
With the advancement of technology in every sector, healthcare is also getting advanced by implementing different technical advancements. The emergence of wearable devices comes in the same category. These technology-aided solutions are revolutionary assets for the healthcare sector and are currently classified within the below-mentioned categories.
1. Monitoring Chronic Conditions
Wearable devices are increasingly used to monitor chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. These devices can continuously track vital signs, blood glucose levels, and activity patterns, providing patients and healthcare providers with valuable data for timely intervention. For instance, the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems like the Dexcom G6 has transformed diabetes management by offering real-time glucose data, reducing the need for invasive fingerstick tests, and enhancing glycemic control.
2. Remote Patient Monitoring
Wearable tech enables remote patient monitoring, allowing healthcare providers to keep tabs on patients’ health status without the need for frequent in-person visits. An excellent example is the use of wearable ECG monitors like the Apple Watch Series 4 and later models, which can detect irregular heart rhythms and notify users and healthcare providers. These devices have the potential to prevent life-threatening events and reduce the burden on healthcare facilities.
3. Enhancing Rehabilitation
Wearables play a pivotal role in rehabilitation by providing precise data on patients’ movements and progress. Case in point: the use of smart sensors in physical therapy. These sensors, when integrated into clothing or attached to the body, can monitor patients’ movements during exercises and provide immediate feedback. This real-time data aids in optimizing rehabilitation programs and expedites recovery.
4. Improving Elderly Care
Wearable devices are instrumental in elderly care, ensuring the well-being of seniors living independently. Smartwatches with fall detection capabilities, like the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch, can automatically alert emergency contacts or medical professionals in the event of a fall. This technology provides peace of mind to both seniors and their families.
5. Case Studies in Effectiveness
Real-world case studies further exemplify the tangible benefits of wearable tech in healthcare. For instance, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the use of wearable defibrillators significantly improved the survival rate of patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. In another case, the integration of wearable fitness trackers into cardiac rehabilitation programs led to improved patient adherence and better outcomes.
Read more: How to develop a Healthcare App?
The Advantages of Wearable Tech: A Pioneering Perspective
After the innovation of wearable technology in the healthcare sector people started to prioritize their health more compared to the previous times. These smart devices avail of unique features that were not previously introduced within the market space. The major advantages of these devices are explained further.
1. Continuous Health Monitoring
Wearable devices offer the unique advantage of continuous health monitoring. Unlike sporadic visits to healthcare professionals, wearables provide a constant stream of real-time data. This continuous monitoring enables healthcare providers to gain a comprehensive understanding of patient’s health trends, allowing for early detection of abnormalities.
2. Early Detection and Intervention
One of the most significant advantages of wearable tech is its potential to detect health issues at an early stage. For example, smartwatches equipped with heart rate and ECG monitors can identify irregular heart rhythms promptly. This early detection can lead to timely interventions, potentially preventing life-threatening events such as strokes or heart attacks.
3. Personalized Healthcare
Wearable devices tailor healthcare to the individual. They take into account a person’s unique health data, activity levels, and even environmental factors. This personalized approach allows for the development of customized wellness plans and treatment strategies, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.
4. Improved Patient Engagement
Wearable tech engages patients in their own health management. Users actively participate in monitoring their well-being, fostering a sense of empowerment and responsibility. This engagement often translates into increased adherence to treatment plans and healthier lifestyle choices.
5. Enhanced Remote Care
In an era of telemedicine and remote patient care, wearables bridge the gap between patients and healthcare providers. They enable remote monitoring of patients, especially crucial for those with chronic conditions. A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that remote monitoring through wearable tech reduced hospital admissions by 44%.
6. Timely Alerts and Notifications
Many wearable devices are equipped with alert systems. They can notify users and healthcare professionals of critical health events or irregularities, ensuring swift responses. This feature can be life-saving, particularly for conditions requiring immediate attention.
7. Data-Driven Insights
Wearable tech generates vast amounts of data that can be analyzed to provide insights into a person’s health trends over time. This data-driven approach allows healthcare providers to make more informed decisions and adjustments to treatment plans.
8. Stress Management
Advanced wearable devices, like cutting-edge smartwatches, seamlessly integrate stress monitoring capabilities and continuously monitor stress levels throughout the day. This awareness can prompt users to engage in stress-reduction techniques and maintain better mental health.
9. Cost-Efficiency
Continuous monitoring through wearables can lead to cost savings in the healthcare system. Timely interventions and reduced hospitalizations can result in lower healthcare expenses for both individuals and healthcare providers.
10. Accessibility
Wearable technology is readily accessible and user-friendly. It’s not limited to hospital settings and can be used by individuals in the comfort of their homes, making healthcare more convenient and accessible to a broader population.
11. Holistic Well-Being
Beyond medical monitoring, wearables often incorporate features for tracking fitness, sleep, and overall well-being. This holistic approach to health encourages users to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
12. Early Disease Prevention
By continuously monitoring various health parameters, wearable tech has the potential to detect the early signs of diseases such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypertension. Early detection can lead to timely interventions and improved disease management.
Read more: Beyond Downloads: Strategies for Enhancing Mobile App User Retention
Technologies at the Heart of Healthcare Wearables
Wearable devices are now becoming common and most demanding products to be sold by healthcare app development company. The vast range of these devices shows the integration of different technologies behind these devices. The selection of software development technology is performed depending on the designed capabilities of the wearable device. In these scenarios, healthcare app developers can build software either based on a single technology or can customize the app in a collaborative using different technologies. The types of these programming technologies are explained further.
Java
Being the most renowned technology within the software development sector, Java is considered the most preferred programming language for mobile app development. It is the major healthcare app development services contributor when it comes to the Andriod operating systems and wearable devices. The object-oriented nature of this technology with the presence of extensive libraries provides various benefits. These are interactive devices with quick responses and top-notch functionality.
Swift
This is the programming language by which the implementation of the most demanding wearable devices is possible. Swift is utilized to form healthcare applications or software which operable within the iOS platform. It provides a secure and modern syntax for healthcare app developers to implement the most demanding wristwatches.
Embedded C/C++
This technology is considered the founding technology of wearable devices. The healthcare app development with embedded C/C++ languages provides features like precise memory management, making these devices ideal for resource-constrained microcontrollers and low-level hardware access to these small-sized wearable devices. Along with this, the involvement of C/C++ is capable of controlling operations like sensor control, power management, display formation, and effective performance management.
Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)
The development of these wearable devices is mainly performed for monitoring purposes that highlight the need for real-time processing. The emergence of RTOS for developing wearable devices provides different benefits. These are accurate real-time processing, low-latency responses, and efficient power. The integration of these operating systems offers tailored microcontrollers and accurate task scheduling to fulfill smooth timing requirements.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
The major demanding factor for the consumption of these wearable devices is the starting address, which is called smart. The integration of AI and ML works on making these devices commendable towards smartness. Both these technologies integrate the feature of automation while depending on the collected data insights. The healthcare app development process can involve different approaches based on these technologies. These are machine learning approaches for effective analysis of human behaviors, and deep learning approaches like conventional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, hybrid deep learning combinations, and long short-term networks.
Conclusive Outlines
This journey into the world of wearable technology in modern healthcare has revealed a realm filled with possibilities. From real-time health monitoring to effortless integration into our daily lives, wearables have redefined how we approach well-being. These devices empower individuals with actionable insights, transforming healthcare from a reactive to a proactive endeavor. The future of wearable tech in healthcare is undeniably promising, offering improved patient outcomes and efficient healthcare delivery. It is not a question of whether to embrace it, but how to maximize its potential. As individuals, patients, healthcare providers, and innovators, we all have a role in shaping this exciting future.
Amplework, driven by its unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, has accumulated substantial expertise in achieving impressive customer retention rates. With a combined industry experience exceeding 5 years, our organization has delivered a wide range of development services, successfully completing numerous projects and generating revenues surpassing more than 200 million dollars. Within this context, our proficiency extends to the evaluation of wearable technology.
