As we all know smartwatches play an important role in people's lives in recent years. They are not only used as a fitness tracker but have become a lifestyle for the generation. But are smartwatches the only Smart wear you can use to track your health?
Well, let's see!
A smartwatch is a wearable computing device that closely resembles a wristwatch or other time-keeping device. It is a Bluetooth- capable accessory that monitors health parameters and transfers the data to a mobile phone.
There are also accessories and apparel which can be considered smart wear and it gives all the versatility of a phone and is worn by the user. Smart wear includes wristbands, t-shirts, hats, rings, body suits, etc. These wearables provide biometric data, such as pulse rate, temperature, muscle stretch, heart rhythm, and physical movement, and the data are transmitted via Bluetooth to an app in real time.
But the real question is, can these health-tracking devices actually save a person's life?
Let's find out.
Quantitative:
Currently, the accuracy of smart wearables varies from 70% to 90% based on different parameters and users. With innovations and newer technologies, industries are aiming to achieve more accuracy so that these products could be used as medical devices. Smart wearables function as good health and fitness trackers that help in locating and monitoring users' biorhythms which could help save their lives. They keep a track of the user’s blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, sleep cycle, and many such vitals. These new technologies and their promising features can also locate if anyone has fallen on the ground or into the water which can help cruise passengers and ships locate the user through life jackets. Geolocation through clothing could also be helpful in professions where workers are exposed to low- visibility hazards.
Qualitative
According to a story mentioned in The New York Times, an 87-year-old woman was feeling a little woozy, so she checked her ECG on her apple watch. The watch detected an abnormality in her heart’s electric rhythm and advised her to call her doctor. Later when she went to the hospital they provided her with a detailed readout about her situation and she was admitted to the cardiac care unit, where doctors implanted a pacemaker. What we can understand from this narrative is that newer technologies and innovations like smart- wearables in the healthcare sector can alert users about the irregularities in their health and hence prepare them for further intervention. But we also should know that not all irregularities are dangerous and these technologies have limitations that are designed with the intention to make people's life easy.
Conclusion
Continuously monitoring health and tracking fitness can boost a person's motivation to have an active lifestyle which results in good health that can help fight chronic diseases, also improving mental health consequences. Smart wearables are helping patients and for that matter, even healthy individuals to preventatively monitor their health from home.
While we are still, in the beginning, stages of innovation, smart wearables can put preventive care directly into the patient's hands. The future of these gadgets is promising and has a lot of undiscovered possibilities. The health implications alone can make smart wear worth it.
References
“Apple Heart and Movement Study.” Www.heart.org, https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/apple-heart-and-movement-study.
Epstein, Randi Hutter. “Can a Smartwatch Save Your Life?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 May 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/well/live/smartwatch-heart-rate-monitor.html.
Smart Wearable Sensors: Analysis of a Real Case Study | IEEE Conference ... https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8580729.
Ju, Naan, and Kyu-Hye Lee. “Consumer Resistance to Innovation: Smart Clothing - Fashion and Textiles.” SpringerOpen, Springer Singapore, 25 June 2020, https://fashionandtextiles.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40691-020-00210-z.
Ribbink, Kim. “Wearing Your Health: The Case for Smart Clothing.” PharmaVoice, 19 Nov. 2019, https://www.pharmavoice.com/news/2019-11-smart-clothing/612360/.
Charness, Neil, et al. “Metrics for Assessing the Reliability of a Telemedicine Remote Monitoring System.” Telemedicine Journal and e-Health : the Official Journal of the American Telemedicine Association, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 June 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662376/.
Do you think smart wearables can save lives?
Yes! They can definitely save lives.
No! It can be used just as an accessory
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