To say that the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the healthcare landscape is more than an understatement. When diagnosis can be achieved early and accurately, lives are saved. Through the use of smart phones and small sensor-based wearable technology, user symptoms can be monitored, analyzed and diagnosed easily and fast. Just looking at two health conditions —cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, it’s easy to see how wearables are rapidly changing diagnosis.
IoT Heart Attack Detection: Helping Identify Cardiovascular Disease
Currently the number one killer in the developed world, cardiovascular disease often remains undiagnosed until a heart attack occurs. And, even when there are signs indicating a potential event is imminent, many people will not go to a hospital before the event arrives. Unfortunately, an important correlation exists between the time it takes to get treatment and the blood flow restoration to the heart. The signs of a heart attack are not the same for everyone and can vary from what looks like fairly mild indigestion or heartburn to the stereotypical picture of an individual clutching their chest in pain. Studies, however, show that symptoms of even a serious heart attack show themselves for at least two hours before the event occurs.
For the healthcare industry, there are several goals related to heart attack identification. Foremost, is to correctly recognize a heart attack so that the patient can get treatment as soon as possible. Equally important goals, however, include minimizing false attacks that bring patients to emergency rooms and also eliminating the astronomical expense resulting from false-alert-caused trips to the hospital.
In 2007, NHS Northwest, using a handheld ECG device by Aerotel and a monitoring service by BroomWell, both in the UK, conducted a study that showed that 82% of individuals did not need visit the hospital following a chest-pain related test. The results showed a potential to save approximately 90,000 emergency room visits and 45,000 hospital admissions annually for a minimum savings of $69,943,460 USD, just by cutting out visits and admissions for false chest-pain symptoms.
While the handheld diagnostic tools used in the study still exist, with this technology the potential patient is not able to perform a non-invasive self-test based on non-invasive sensors, or one that does not have to be performed by a healthcare professional.
IoT Heart Attack Detection & Heart Rate Monitoring
Today, this scenario is rapidly fading into oblivion and replacing it are attractive, ultra-accurate, and functional wearables that detect heart attacks and more. It was not so long ago that sensor-based wearables with a fitness bent began to accurately measure changes in heart rate and rhythm based on exercise…and it worked so well, the potential for healthcare-based apps became obvious.
While the Apple Watch HealthKit does not carry FDA approval required for medical devices to be used as such, it is nearly as accurate as a bona fide electrocardiogram. A wearable monitor could not only be informative as to heart disease, but has the potential of predicting a stroke or a heart attack possibly days in advance. And the Apple Watch will be used in even more medical diagnostic roles. A recent teardown by iFixit found that the heart-rate sensor isn’t the typical optical module, but instead is a pulse oximeter that measures oxygen levels in the blood and how well oxygen is reaching areas of the body distant from the heart.
Apple is not alone. Google is also in the throes of research that will diagnose cancers, strokes and heart attacks at the early stages. The research involves the combination of a swallowed pill complete with disease detecting nanoparticles and a wrist-based sensor. Changes in biochemistry of the body will signal the beginnings of a myriad of diseases that will be monitored for by the Google technology.
ITBra & IoT Wearables for Breast Cancer Detection
Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in women. Today’s only way to offset the potential for the disease should a woman carry the gene that indicates an 87% likelihood of developing the disease is double mastectomy and, of course, to have regular mammograms and self-examination. Current methods outside of the mastectomy are not always able to catch cancer early.
Wearables, however, could provide an alternative to the radical operation. The American Cancer Society is predicting 1,658,370 new cancer cases in 2015 and 589,430 cancer deaths in the U.S.
Great strides are taking place in the creation of cancer detecting clothing able to detect breast cancer in the early stages. On such product is the iTBra, developed by Rob Royea. The device is a bra with embedded sensors that detect small temperature changes in breast tissue over time. Enthused with the possibilities, Cisco sponsored a film based on the technology, called Detected.
Figure 1. Seven sensors placed within the bra enable early breast-cancer detection.
Other research is in the works to detect lung and breast cancer by using a device that a patient breathes into. A sensor detects chemical compounds in the breath that indicate the presence of cancer.
Wearables are destined to become an important diagnostic tool in both cardiovascular and cancer detection. No doubt their use will explode into nearly every aspect of disease detection. The ability of the technology to be accurate, reliable and reasonably priced will make its use ubiquitous in short order.