A Noticeable global demographic trend of our times is a rapid increase in the population aged 60 and over. People are living longer and remaining healthier and active in their later years. The extended life span also comes with a higher likelihood of chronic diseases and disability, creating changes in the lives of older persons and their families. Current trends show that most older people want to live independently in their own homes – or what is called “ageing in place”. Unfortunately, health and mobility challenges in older age create situations that might require them to live either with a family member or in an Assisted Care Community.

Fortunately, rapidly advancing technology can help them to stay independent as well as connected to health care providers. This is where Wearable Technologies come in. They are the future of our health and wellness care. They empower us with the ability to monitor our health and wellness before we develop illness and to stay proactively connected with our health care system. They motivate us to maintain our health, in turn helping to reduce hospital visits and admissions.

What are Some of the Common Medical Challenges of Ageing?

1. Heart-related conditions – e.g., high blood pressure; heart arrythmia; poor circulation; myocardial infarction leading to heart attack; reduced oxygen levels, etc.
2. Diabetes
3. Arthritis and mobility challenges due to degenerative issues of the spine, hips or knees; falls leading to fractures or other serious injuries requiring prolonged hospitalization.

What are Wearable Technologies?

In the healthcare and wellness industry, there have been important breakthroughs in mobile technology which have led to an increase in the development and use of portable devices. Wearable devices are evolving as outstanding health monitoring devices for medical care services, especially with increasing attention towards wellbeing, fitness, and disease prevention.

Wearable devices in healthcare include electronic devices that people can wear, such as smartwatches and Fitbits. These are designed to collect their users’ personal health data. They can send a users’ health information to a health care professional/provider in real time, leading to early intervention that can prevent hospitalization or serious illness.

Examples of Popular Wearable Devices in Health Care

1. Wearable Fitness Trackers

These are wristbands equipped with sensors to keep track of the user’s physical activity and heart rate. They also provide health and fitness recommendations by syncing to various smartphone applications.

2. Smart Health Watches

These have advanced very fast in the past five years as a clinically viable healthcare tool. For example, Apple launched it early version in 2017 for monitoring heart rates and heart arrythmia. The lates Smartwatch Apple Series 8 released in 2022 features advanced health sensors and apps, so one can take and Electrocardiogram (ECG)¹, measure heart rate and blood oxygen, track temperature changes, detect a crash or fall, track sleep stages, and provide advanced workout metrics. It helps one to stay active, health, safe, and connected. Smartwatches allow users to perform task they normally do on their phones, such as reading notifications, sending simple messages, making phone calls – while also offering some of the exercise and health-tracking benefits of fitness trackers.

3. Wearable ECG Monitors

Wearable ECG Monitors can measure electrocardiograms.

The Move ECG Monitor can measure an electrocardiogram and send the reading to user’s doctor, as well as detect atrial fibrillations². It is also able to track exercise pace, distance, elevation, as well as automatic tracking for walking, running, swimming, and biking.

4. Wearable Blood Pressure Monitors

Omron Healthcare launched Heart Guide in 2019, the first wearable blood pressure monitor. It looks like a typical Smartwatch, but it is also and oscillometer blood pressure monitor that can measure blood pressure and daily activity-like steps taken, distance travelled, and calories burned. Heart Guide can hold up to 100 readings in its memory and all readings can be transferred to a corresponding mobile app Heartadvisor, for review, comparison, and treatment optimization, so the user can store, track, and share the data with the physician while also learning how the personal habits affect blood pressure.

5. Glucose Monitoring Devices

Freestyle Libre is a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System that can check glucose levels, provide one’s doctor with data to adjust treatment and make better decisions and help manage glucose levels before the spike too high or drop too low.

Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System also helps to make better diabetes treatment diabetes management decisions with no fingerstick and no calibrations. It helps one to set an optimal range and get notified when the glucose levels get too high or too low and shares the information with the healthcare providers.

6. Biosensors

These are up and coming wearable medical devices that are very different from wrist trackers or Smartwatches. These devices are portable sensors that come in the form of gloves, clothing, bandages, and implants. They create two-way feedback between the users and their care providers and enable continuous and noninvasive disease diagnosis and health monitoring from physical motion to biofluids. There are also self-adhesive patches: the Phillips’ Wearable Biosensor is a self-adhesive patch that allows patients to move around while collecting data on their movement, heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, body posture, fall detection, step count. Among others.

Some Challenges/Barriers to Effective Use of Wearable Technology

• Inadequate health literacy skills
• Declining comprehension with age
• Inadequate understanding and perception of health-related motivation and behavior to improve the outcomes
• Limited ability to adequately use the Internet and to access health portals
• Unavailability of reliable Internet connections
• Concerns about privacy

The Future Landscape for Using Wearable Technology in Healthcare

Remote care using telehealth and wearable devices became a critical part of health operations, especially during the COViD-19 Pandemic and it is expected to continue being an important tool for patients and healthcare providers. The growth of wearables along with shortages of skilled caregivers has led to an emergent need for automatic, real-time personalized designs for in-place healthcare. Such designs require expertise in management of chronic illnesses, surgical outcomes, post-discharge care, and emotional wellbeing. The goal is to shift to more personalized care that empowers patients to be engaged in self-care and help caregivers to better support their loved ones. These technologies need to be simplified for ease of use by older adults for them to monitor their health, connect with their healthcare providers, and intervene early to manage their health, in turn requiring fewer visits to healthcare services. Ensuring the availability of reliable internet services and accessibility to health portals will be critical. Most importantly, use of wearable technologies will allow more older adults to age-in-place.

Footnotes:

1. A recording of the heart’s electrical activity.

2. An irregular, often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow.

First published in the Association of Former Staff Members of PAHO and WHO Newsletter, March 2023.