Analog Devices provides entrepreneurs with sensing, measurement, and intelligence at the node to create platforms of personalized, correlative data to serve patients better than ever before.
Health care professionals have long realized the value of health management and disease prevention in addition to treatment, both for the physical wellbeing of the patient and the economic benefits derived from reduced hospital visits. Because of the inefficiencies involved in patient monitoring outside of a health care setting, effective health management and disease prevention has historically been difficult to achieve, but recent advances in sensing, measurement, and data conversion technologies from Analog Devices are enabling Smart Health innovations that can provide the desired advancements in health monitoring and disease prevention.
Disease prevention requires individuals to engage in behavioral change to improve wellbeing. Some changes are straightforward, such as diet and exercise, while others, like sleep quality, might be less obvious. Increasingly, behavior is being influenced by portable, wearable devices that can provide users with proactive monitoring and accurate, actionable data. Similarly, patient management can benefit from technology that enables real-time monitoring of patient compliance in the home. This can reduce relapses, prevent return trips to the hospital, and improve overall outcomes. These are the next generation of Smart Health solutions—those that best leverage IoT technology to improve patient care and health.
Sensing, measurement, and correlating data are integral for effective Smart Health technology. Analog Devices has the sensor and measurement expertise to enable IoT solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of patients as they seek preventative care and navigate the difficult world of long-term recovery.
Disease Prevention
The development of smart-wearable sensors offers substantial promise in preventative health care. A key will be creating devices capable of going beyond only gathering and delivering single-variable data points. Next-generation wearable health monitors that can add intelligence to sensing and measurement in the device itself will help paint a better picture of patient health.
For example, advanced sensing and measurement technology from Analog Devices, such as the ADXL362 ultralow power accelerometer, ADPD105/7 photometric front end, and AD8233 integrated biopotential measurement solution, can be used for tracking and correlating multiple physiological parameters that go beyond simple heart rate measurement. As a result, it is possible for Smart Health devices to measure sleep phases, sleep quality, blood pressure, and energy expenditure, as well as stress markers such as heart variability and changes in skin impedance. Additional Analog Devices technology, such as the ADUCM3029 low power, high performance MCU can help process the data to provide far deeper and more meaningful insight into a patient’s health, which can lead to improved prevention and more timely responses.
Patient Treatment Management
For many patients, treatment after their hospitalization is as crucial to their recovery as their in-patient stay. The key to a successful recovery or long-term disease management depends on proper adherence to the post-operative regimen. But to a large extent, the patients themselves are responsible for the management of their conditions, and that often leads to less than desired results.
In a hospital setting, patients have an entire staff of physicians, nurses, and medical personnel administering all aspects of their health care. When these patients return home, that comprehensive support is removed. In addition, when patients are first discharged from hospital care they are often overwhelmed by medication schedules, therapy appointments, and other components of their treatment plans. All at a time when they are still recovering and ill-equipped to handle all of it. That is why the time immediately after discharge from the hospital is when health risks are often highest.
This is creating opportunities for Smart Health innovators. Remote patient monitoring that leverages IoT technology can enable a level of care approaching that of an in-patient stay right in the patient’s home. While remote patient monitoring can provide part of the solution to tracking patient welfare post discharge, it is not yet able to provide a 360° view of a patient’s wellbeing. Data without context is just data. However, data with context is information – and this is where IoT will play a major role in the reduction of inpatient re-admission in the future. As homes become “smarter,” data becomes more abundant. This can provide useful context to be layered onto health parameters to better inform physiological metrics. For example, imagine in-home cameras that offer both privacy and versatility to provide around–the-clock monitoring, not only of the patient but also of the patient’s environment. Using the ADPD105 photometric front end, these cameras could identify potential obstacles and hazards, which would be especially valuable for elderly care. In terms of patient compliance, smart pill dispensers could ensure proper dosage amounts and reduce the chance of missing or repeating a dose. At the same time, wearable devices could continuously monitor the effects of medications and other physiological parameters to help offsite medical personnel evaluate and adjust treatment as needed.
Essential to these types of Smart Health solutions is bringing sensing, measuring and intelligence to edge. Many modern solutions rely solely on the cloud for data gathering and processing, but while cloud computing does offer advantages, it also requires more time and power from the device. When intelligence is enabled at the node, important decisions can be made sooner, including corrective actions that might mean the difference between recovery and relapse.
Analog Devices has a wide portfolio of low-power, high-performance solutions for gathering and processing data, including low-noise monitors and precision low-power microcontrollers engineered for connected home applications. These solutions deliver more accurate, reliable, and complete data where data quality is mission critical, such as Smart Health. This, in turn, enables intelligence at the node that allows for better accuracy, reliability, speed, and security. In addition, Analog Devices leverages a deep understanding of these measurement challenges to approach the whole problem and develop unique system-level solutions.
Smart Health is predicated on prevention and disease management. By leveraging advances in IoT connected technology, Smart Health applications can provide higher quality data that ultimately provide better insight. Analog Devices is a pioneer in Smart Health with years of experience serving the unique product demands of the healthcare industry. They can provide entrepreneurs and start-ups with the sensing, measurement, and intelligence at the node to create platforms of personalized, correlative data to serve patients better than ever before.
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