Wearable technology is going home – back to its origins and back to the sector that led to its development in the first place; the medical industry. While on-trend designers are focused on the aesthetics of wearables, there are those developers who are more interested in the health benefits that wearables could offer both patients and doctors. Here are three of the top medical wearables:
1. Exoskeletons
Let’s start with the ultimate: the real headline grabber and the one that everyone thinks is ‘cool’ – the exoskeleton. Honours have to be shared on the development of this between the military and the medical profession, although its medical benefits are what interest us here. Exoskeletons have also recently had a boost in that the ReWalking exoskeleton has just received FDA approval in the US, meaning that now anyone can theoretically buy one and use it at home.
Argo Medical Technologies, who manufacture the ReWalking suit, believe that this approval could revolutionise the lives of thousands of paraplegics, allowing them to “…maximise on the physiological and psychological benefits we have observed in clinical trials”. The exoskeletons help patients to walk on their own, as well as improving strength and stamina too.
2. Home Diagnostics
Ask any healthcare professional and they will tell you that prevention is better than cure. So the shift is moving away from reactionary developments and more towards preventative ones, such as home diagnostic care. This incorporates wearable sensors that transmit information in real time to healthcare workers sometimes tens of miles away, via the quiet miracle of Bluetooth.
The result is that a patient’s condition can be monitored in minute detail and their preventative care adapted accordingly. And it’s all thanks to wafer-thin sensors developed with flexible plastic technology from companies such as Plastic Logic. “Plastic Logic’s flexible plastic displays are completely transformational in terms of product interaction,” says Plastic Logic CEO Indro Mukerjee. “Our ability to create flexible, transmissive backplanes has led us not only to co-develop a flexible sensor, but is also key to flexible OLED displays as well as shatterproof LCDs.”
3. X-Ray Specs
No, really, we mean it! The stuff of childhood fantasy (and even the name of a band in the 1970s and ‘80s) X-Ray specs are now a reality. The new Eyes-On Glasses System developed by Evena is designed to let doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers locate veins more easily for intravenous (IV) treatments. This is one of the first uses of Augmented Reality in the medical field, and is a remarkable step forward for the whole concept of ‘smart glasses’. The company believes that it will make life much easier for healthcare professionals and result in better treatment for patients.
Why are wearables so important?
Wearables have had a strong presence in the medical sector from the outset, and indeed many of the commercially available technology that is currently hitting the market has its roots in healthcare. As the concept of preventative rather than reactionary medical treatment becomes more prevalent in the industry, homecare and community support rather than prolonged stays in institutions such as hospitals and care homes will become the norm.
In this arena, wearables have a crucial role to play, supporting the medical profession by providing real-time data on a patient’s condition (even from a distance). It also gives patients the reassurance that even while they’re at home (a location much more conducive to rehabilitation and recovery), they are being monitored by their healthcare team. Wearables could be crucial to the way we care for the most vulnerable people in our communities in the future.
About the author
Charlotte blogs about gadgets and technology, covering everything from the latest mobile advancements to display technology. When she’s not online Charlotte enjoys swimming, cycling and travelling the world.
