The introduction of new and relatively affordable wearable technology provided a significant opportunity for an increase in the overall population’s wellbeing. Commonly used in the form of smart watches and fitness bracelets, wearable technology includes different sensors which allow comfortable and timely monitoring of an individual’s health. Motion activity sensors in wearable technology devices also provide accurate, detailed information about physical activity useful in weight loss programs. Thus, the general application of wearable technology is recommended for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and easier management of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart failure.
However, there are practices in health care that integrate the use of wearable technology to achieve better treatment results. For example, one of the primary areas more suited for the broad application of wearable technology is orthopedic health care. Orthopedic surgery requires accurate data about the patient’s physical activity and movement patterns. Furthermore, in some cases, the consultation with an orthopedist for the purpose of collecting data about the patient cannot be possible due to the patient’s distant location. According to Zarowin et al. (2020), data collected from wearable devices such as Lumo Run, Sensoria Socks, and 3D Labs Foot logger can provide sufficiently accurate information about the patient and his movements. The data can be used pre-operatively and postoperatively to monitor the patient’s recovery progress.
While now the experts discuss the future application of wearable technology in orthopedic care, wearable technology is integrated into current practices in other areas. According Maceira-Elvira et al. (2019), different devices such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), wearable electromyography (EMG) sensors, and conductive elastomer (CE) sensors are used for the treatment of patients with stroke. The technology allows accurate diagnosis and monitoring for patients with impairment of upper-limb motor functions.
References
Maceira-Elvira, P., Popa, T., Schmid, A., & Hummel, F. C. (2019). Wearable technology in stroke rehabilitation: towards improved diagnosis and treatment of upper-limb motor impairment. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 16(1), 1-18.
Zarowin, J., Warnick, E., Mangan, J., Nicholson, K., Goyal, D., Galetta, M. S., Fang, T., Schroeder, G. D., Kepler, C. K., & Vaccaro, A. R. (2020). Is wearable technology part of the future of orthopedic health care? Clinical Spine Surgery, 33(3), 99-101.