modern health
institute
Joaquim Cardoso MSc.
Chief Research and Strategy Officer (CRSO),
Chief Editor and Senior Advisor
September 14, 2023
What is the message?
The healthcare diagnostics landscape is rapidly evolving with the emergence of innovative “smart” technologies.
These technologies are reshaping healthcare by allowing for earlier disease detection, monitoring, and intervention.
These advancements empower individuals to monitor their health more proactively and can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
What are the four smart technologies?
- Smart Contact Lenses: Developed by researchers at Stanford University and POSTECH, these lenses continuously monitor glucose levels non-invasively by using nanoparticles embedded in a hydrogel polymer, correlating glucose levels in tears and blood without the need for additional medical devices like glucometers.
- Smart Toilets: These futuristic bathroom fixtures collect bodily fluid samples and provide health data, potentially detecting disease markers for conditions such as colorectal or urological cancers. They offer valuable insights into one’s health and can be especially beneficial for individuals with a genetic predisposition to certain conditions.
- Smartwatches for Parkinson’s Detection: The growing smartwatch market has enabled the collection of data on daily habits, heart rate, and exercise routines. Researchers from Cardiff University believe that AI analysis of data from smartwatches, particularly data from accelerometers, can be used to detect Parkinson’s disease, including early-stage cases, by identifying specific patterns indicative of the condition.
- Shopping Trolley Sensors: These sensors are integrated into shopping trolley handles and are designed to detect atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm that increases the risk of stroke. Shoppers can undergo a quick scan by holding the handle for at least 60 seconds, potentially enabling early detection and intervention for this heart condition.
Infographic
Image: Deloitte
Image: Deloitte
Image: Deloitte
Image: Deloitte
DEEP DIVE
4 surprising ‘smart’ technologies transforming health diagnostics
From smart contacts to watches that can detect Parkinson’s, here’s how a range of new diagnostics technologies are reshaping how you’ll stay healthy
World Economic Forum
September 5, 2023
The medical diagnostics market is rapidly growing and becoming more high-tech. Image: Unsplash/nci
The adage “prevention is better than a cure” is never truer than when applied to healthcare.
And a growing diagnostics market is helping make that a reality. Healthcare systems around the world are increasingly adopting medical technologies that support intervention at an earlier stage. Diseases can be detected earlier, risk factors identified and addressed or mitigated, and treatments can be more targeted.
The use of these technologies is not restricted to hospitals and healthcare settings – people are increasingly monitoring their own health.
A good example of this is continuous glucose monitoring which is becoming more commonplace and allows diabetes patients to get on with their lives thanks to a device that tracks blood sugar levels. But a monitor on your arm might seem prosaic compared to some of the places diagnostic technologies are cropping up.
Image: Deloitte
1. Seeing the symptoms sooner – smart contact lenses
Researchers at Stanford University and POSTECH have developed a smart contact lens that can continuously monitor glucose levels. Using nanoparticles embedded in the polymer hydrogel that forms the lens, the device provides a non-invasive way to monitor for high or low sugar levels. It directly correlates glucose levels in tears and blood without needing another medical device like a glucometer.
Image: Deloitte
2. The secrets of your secretions – smart toilets
Your bodily fluids can tell physicians a lot about your health. And its continuous monitoring can help detect changes and biomarkers that may indicate less than optimum health.
In future, “smart” toilets could become a feature in your bathroom, collecting samples and feeding back data. They could help detect disease markers for illnesses such as colorectal or urological cancers. They could be helpful to those with a genetic predisposition to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, prostate cancer or kidney failure.
Image: Deloitte
In its Global Health and Healthcare Strategic Outlook, the World Economic Forum notes that home diagnostics is a growing trend. It also highlights the importance of diagnostics to help ensure equitable access to treatment and care.
3. A warning from your watch – smartwatches that detect Parkinson’s
The growth in the smartwatch market has provided researchers with a wealth of information about our daily habits, heart rate and exercise routines.
The data generated by wearable devices could also be used to detect Parkinson’s disease, researchers from Cardiff University believe. Parkinson’s is typified by motor changes that bring about tremors and slowness of movement, but non-motor changes can pre-date the onset of these symptoms by many years. Early diagnosis of the disease can be difficult.
However, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) analysis of data gathered from the accelerometers in smartwatches, scientists could distinguish people living with Parkinson’s, including those in the early stages, from the general population.
Image: Deloitte
4. Checking out your health – shopping trolley sensors
Atrial fibrillation causes an abnormal heart rhythm and can increase the risk of stroke. But if the condition is picked up early, treatment options are available.
A trial by researchers in the UK saw electrocardiogram sensors fitted in the handles of supermarket trolleys. Over 2,000 adults were scanned by holding the handle for at least 60 seconds, with some participants who were unaware they were affected subsequently contacted to arrange a follow-up appointment.
Although the inventive approach needs some refining, researchers could help pick up cases earlier.
Originally published at https://www.gavi.org
