The COVID-19 pandemic and the global lockdowns that ensued became the catalyst for multiple developments across the entire healthcare and wellness sector. Stress, overeating, a sedentary lifestyle, limited access to high-quality fresh produce and medical services, and other factors eventually lead to people experimenting and trying different kinds of workouts, which created a need to monitor changes to their health.

Wearables devices were a major growth driver in the healthcare tech industry from 2020 to 2022.

According to the CSS insight report, wearable smart device sales are expected to reach 380 million units by 2025.

This article aims to take a closer look at the internal dynamics of this market segment and the prospects of using wearable devices in healthcare.

• What is Wearable Health Technology?

Wearable health technology includes the electronic devices that are worn on a person’s body to send vital medical, biochemical, and exercise data to a database. Wearable Technology is at the forefront of the Internet of Things (IoT) due to its rapid adoption in smart devices and computers. Any portable devices, such as smartwatches, body patches, ear wearables, headbands, smart clothes, or smart glasses, are wearable devices.

Users can use these devices to record and monitor their health data, such as the number of steps they take, how many calories they burn, their heart rate, glucose levels, stress, sugar level, etc.

According to Insider Intelligence, US consumers’ use of wearables increased from 9% to 33% in just four years.

The Apple Watch and Fitbit are the best examples of wearable technology.

Wearable devices can improve the user’s working capacity and change the way they function in this fast-paced environment.

• Why it is Important?

Facing the consequences of the 2020 pandemic of COVID-19, medical researchers are focusing on boosting remote patient care like never before. Portable technology enables practitioners to receive relevant and accurate data instantly and act more quickly. Smart devices help to detect health problems early, allowing patients to receive better care.

Read the below benefits to know more about wearable technology.

• Benefits of Wearable Technology

The wearable health technology industry has grown rapidly over the last decade with products such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and even, smart clothes. Consumers and businesses are beginning to employ diverse wearable devices for a variety of purposes. As wearable technology continues to grow in popularity and influence society, let’s examine its benefits.

1. Track Activity and Increase Productivity

Today, tracking is an essential part of our routine as it helps us to organize our lives and duties better. Wearable devices, such as bands and smartwatches, are examples of wearable devices that can track users’ activity and health status. Moreover, wearable technologies are beneficial in large supply chains where workers must constantly monitor and evaluate the product streams since these devices increase efficiency.

2. Increased Efficiency

In an era where every second counts, no one can’t afford to spend time retrieving items from bulky gadgets. But how can one manage time and speed up the work? There is the best solution to this problem, and it is called wearable technology. Smart clothing, smartwatches, 5G-enabled gadgets, AR & VR wearables, and other wearable technologies are designed to improve speed.

3. Improve Patient Care 

Wearable technology in healthcare provides important information to surgeons and physicians to enhance decision-making and allows patients to interact with them more effectively. With Smart glasses, for example, one can view patient vitals and pertinent information during surgical procedures without looking away from the patient.

4. Prevention of diseases

Imagine a flu season when tons of citizens are rushing to hospitals, suspecting they have the flu. A portable device connected to a personal device can alert an individual about unwanted body activity and prevent epidemics by sending data to a united city/country database.

5. Encourages Proactive Healthcare

According to a report, proactive healthcare apps are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.0% from 2020 to 2027. Wearable technology in healthcare can provide a more proactive approach to healthcare. It can allow early intervention in health problems instead of resolving them after a health problem has begun to cause problems. When a person is predisposed to health issues, abnormalities can be recognized before they cause difficulties.

Now that we’ve seen some of wearable technology’s most well-known benefits, it’s time to look at the wearable technology trend of 2023.

• Top Wearable Technology Trends for 2023

What are the major wearable technology trends and debuts in 2023? We’re eagerly anticipating what promises to be another exciting year in the wearables industry. What will get us talking and break new ground for the electronics we wear on our wrists, ears, and other parts of our bodies? Let’s look at some of the most important wearable technology trends to keep an eye on in 2023.

1. Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor

A wearable Blood Pressure monitor allows you to measure your blood pressure levels easily and quickly. Well, this product is one of the best solutions since you can check your blood pressure wherever you are and without any trouble.

According to the WHO, one in four men and one in five women around the world have high blood pressure, or hypertension, which increases their risk of heart attack and stroke. Hypertension is normally detected using a blood pressure cuff equipped with sensors that measure how hard the blood must push on one’s arteries as it is pumped around the body.

However, medical personnel doesn’t always have the time to monitor blood pressure over multiple readings. Several other conditions result in elevated blood pressure and inaccurate readings. This new generation of wearable blood pressure monitors fills this gap by allowing users to measure their blood pressure over longer periods under different conditions and to share this data with their physicians.

According to a poll conducted by the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition in February 2021, the highest percentage of telehealth users are interested in monitoring chronic conditions, including high blood pressure. As wearable devices become more widely used for healthcare, blood pressure monitoring will become more popular.

2. Wearable ECG Monitors

ECG monitors are on the cutting edge of consumer electronics, and what makes them different from some other smartwatches is their ability to measure electrocardiograms. There are some ECG devices with built-in screens that show the rhythm of your heart. Using other devices, you can record, view, store, and share your ECG readings using a smartphone or computer application.
 
Wearable ECG monitors use flashing LEDs to penetrate the skin, measure blood flow through sensors, and produce heart rate data. Apple Watch was one of the first smartwatches to monitor ECG, and now other smartwatches such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and the Fitbit Sense are using the technology.
 
According to the Deloitte March 2021 report, among US adults who own and use a fitness tracker, smartwatch, or both, 59% used these devices to track their steps, while 42% tracked their workouts, and 37% measured their heart health.
 
Heart health monitoring devices will continue to gain popularity as more seniors embrace digital tools to track and treat chronic illnesses. According to a survey conducted by heathinsurance.com 60% of Medicare-eligible seniors say they’ve embraced technology more amid the pandemic.

3. Smart Health Watches

4. Wearable Fitness Trackers

The wearable fitness tracker is equipped with sensors that measure physical activity, heart rate, oxygen level, blood pressure, and many other parameters. These provide wearers with health and fitness guidance by syncing with various smartphone apps. Most wearable fitness monitors support the setting of daily fitness goals and show the progress made on those goals.

Recently Google acquired Fitbit and invested in the wearable technology space as well. According to an exclusive Insider report, Google reshuffled their talent to shift all more employees to their Fitbit group, demonstrating that they, like Apple, see the potential for long-term growth in this industry. 

Explore our latest blog to find out about Digital Transformation Trends In The Healthcare Industry In 2023

5. Wearable Biosensors

Wearable biosensors are portable electronic devices that monitor and provide feedback to the user on various biological and physiological indicators. They can provide real-time measurements of various biological parameters, such as blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, and activity levels. The devices provide two-way feedback to the user and their doctor and enable continuous and non-invasive disease diagnosis and health monitoring from physical motion and biofluids.

Examples of Healthcare Interoperability Challenges That Can Be Solved with Wearable Technology

Here are a few ways that innovative tech solutions can help you overcome the most common problems. Patient identification is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges when it comes to treatment. In the USA alone, 10 out of 17 medical errors lead to deaths because patients cannot identify them correctly. Heartlands Hospital in the UK suggested that this issue could be easily solved if all the patients had radio frequency identification wristbands.

A major challenge for new doctors has always been a lack of practical knowledge rather than theoretical knowledge. With the help of Google Augmented Reality Glass, a student from anywhere in the world can be present at real operations streamed online and learn from the best doctors.

Finally, portable devices such as smart glasses, wristbands, and other tiny devices connected to a huge database will enable effective collaboration between medical institutions. As a result, this in turn significantly boosts patient care, as doctors will have access to patient’s records at any place and at any time.

• Health and Fitness Wearable Tech: Apps and Devices That Are Already Booming

1. Kardio Mobile

An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a device designed by AliveCor to track and diagnose heart issues. The devices attach to the back of the iPhone and Android mobile devices to monitor heart activity through chest and finger sensors to the mobile itself. 

2. PIP

This teeny device is designed to monitor your level of stress and help you calm down when needed. The device monitors your electrodermal activity and then sends signals to your mobile app based on the changes.

3. TempTraq

A revolutionizing digital thermometer.  It has a soft and comfortable patch that can be adjusted to the body up to 48 hours to continuously monitor the body temperature. This device is connected to your mobile device to send alerts and notifications. As a result, its gaining massive popularity among parents, as it’s easy to measure a child’s temperature without disrupting a kid while manually and stressfully taking it several times.

4. Philips SmartSleep

Philips has designed a Headband to boost the deep sleep quality. It was developed by researchers and doctors to help people struggling with sleep problems. With the help of sensors, the headband monitors the body’s activity during different stages of sleep and then sends the information to a mobile application. The mobile application will show you the metrics and provide suggestions to make your sleep better.

5. Withing’s Blood Pressure

It Checks your heart and examines your blood pressure as accurately as your doctor will do. It performs three measurements to provide the average and the most accurate results. Plus, it sends the information via Bluetooth to the application on your phone.

The future is truly exciting — wearable technology in healthcare is just one example of how IT solutions are shaping our world to make it a better place to live.

• What Lies Ahead?

The use of wearable technology in healthcare is on the rise as people begin to prioritize their health and fitness. Technology advances have made wearable technology far superior to five years ago. Those, as mentioned earlier, are some of the best wearable technology trends, which will improve the working capacity and provide a way to check the user’s health status with these devices.

A recent study predicted that the global wearable devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2019 to 2025 to reach $62,82 billion by 2025.

There are a variety of wearable technology trends, ranging from smart wearable clothing to smart helmets, smart glasses to smart rings, and smartwatches to smart implantable, that can purchase to make the routine more seamless.

Moreover, improvements in microprocessors, user interfaces (UI), and operating systems (OS), as well as the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data, will contribute to the best solutions, so driving demand for wearable devices even further.

Wrapping Up:

The advancement of Wearable healthcare technologies continues to evolve at an impressive rate. From ubiquitous smartwatches and wristbands to intelligent implants, connected medicine dispensers, connected patches, in-hospital monitoring solutions and multiple other types of wearable products, this category of healthcare products is rapidly changing the industry by delivering diagnostic tools directly to the patient.

Techspian offers end-to-end wearable device engineering services, pharmaceutical software development services, and general software engineering services for healthcare start-ups and established medical companies seeking to launch ground-breaking medical devices most cost-effectively. Talk to our expert for more details.

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