Wearable Devices a Key to the Management of Chronic Health Conditions

Featured article by Cher Zevala, Independent Technology Author

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic conditions account for about three quarters of all American deaths, and 86 percent of all health care costs. Managing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and others is a costly epidemic, and one that doctors are continually trying to find new ways to deal with.

One tool that many doctors are finding success with are wearable devices. Most of us are familiar with wearables to some extent — we might wear a FitBit or JawBone type device to gauge our physical activity throughout the day, for example. However, wearables as part of medical treatment is a relatively new concept, and one where many experts see a great deal of promise.

How Wearables Work

Most people think of wearable devices as essentially a fancy pedometer. And a few years ago, many of them were little more than that. However, the wearable devices being used in health care are far more advanced. But how do they even work?

Advanced wearable devices used to manage chronic conditions are equipped with a variety of sensors; in some models, you might find as many as 10. These sensors are usually analog devices that collect data, which is then converted to digital for interpretation later. Some of the most common sensors include:

1. This is what measures movement, usually counting steps. The accelerometer measures the orientation of the device and the force of movement, to determine whether the user is moving, how fast he or she is moving, and for how long. Accelerometers are also used to measure sleep; most devices determine sleep duration and quality when the device hasn’t moved for a certain amount of time.

Galvanic Skin Response Sensor. In addition to accelerometers, wearables can measure activity through the skin’s electric connectivity. In other words, when the sensors detect that you are sweating, from exercise or something else, it can provide insights into your activity and make recommendations for how to respond.

Optical Heart Rate Monitors. Heart rate is an important measure for patients being treated for heart disease, and most wearables use optical heart rate monitors to determine how fast your heart is beating. These monitors measure your heart rate using an LED light, which shines through your skin. An optical sensor measures the light that bounces back. Through a process called photoplethysmography, the changes in light levels can be translated into your heart rate. Generally, heart rate monitors worn on the chest or finger are more accurate than those worn on the wrist.

Thermometers. Maintaining a consistent body temperature is important to health.

Other common sensors in wearable devices include light sensors (particularly for UV light) and sensors for respiration (which use tiny electrodes to measure blood oxygen). Most send the data collected to a specific application — some even have the capability of transmitting directly to an electronic health record — giving a provider a more accurate picture of a patient’s health over time, rather than just a snapshot from an office visit.

Putting Wearables to Work

Wearable devices have a number of important applications for both managing and preventing illness. For example, doctors are using wearable blood pressure monitors for patients with hypertension, in order to closely monitor blood pressure and address any fluctuations. Because hypertension is a leading cause of heart disease, and consistent monitoring is a key part of treatment, wearable monitoring leads to more accurate and consistent readings. Wearables also help address the issues of “white coat” or masked hypertension, when blood pressure is higher or lower than normal when in the doctor’s office.

Designing wearables for medical use is different than consumer use, though. Experts point out that medical wearables need to be designed for constant wear, and therefore comfortable and lightweight as well as durable. Other physicians point out that in order to effectively manage chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes, you must collect multiple data points; for example, cardiac patients need to monitor blood pressure and heart rate, but also cholesterol and cortisol levels. For wearables to be truly useful in medicine, they need to be equipped to gauge the most relevant data for the condition.

Still, wearable devices hold a great deal of promise in the management of chronic conditions. Already, fitness monitors are encouraging more people to be active — and that’s always a good thing. Using the devices to stay ahead of disease is only more of a good thing.