Advances in Wearable Medical Devices
Medical devices come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re constantly adapting to better serve patients. Perhaps one of the most noticeable types of medical devices are the ones that are worn on the human body.
Over the past few years, this category has grown exponentially to include items that most people interact with on a daily basis. Our team took a look at some of the most commonly used and recognized wearable devices, along with possibilities for where this technology might be headed.
Fitness Trackers
If you walk into most offices in America, you’re bound to see multiple people wearing some sort of fitness device, and they are probably having weekly competitions to see who has the most steps. A few decades ago, these were restricted only to pedometers, but now it’s common to see devices that can track steps, diet, and more.
While the effectiveness of these devices is up for debate, their popularity is staggering. In fact, they’ve become so intrinsic to many people’s lives that they’ve become fashion accessories as well as devices.
As this technology becomes more advanced, it continues to collect important data that could be used to improve the tech. In the future, this may be used to monitor other health conditions, such as sleep apnea. Once these advances are made, they’ll blur the line between this category and the next.
Health Monitors
Some wearable medical devices are intended to monitor certain aspects of health, including heart rate, blood pressure, sleeping patterns, and more. These are useful for conditions that require constant monitoring, like some forms of diabetes.
These can be incredibly important for gathering data that may otherwise only be collectable in a hospital setting or at a medical practice. These allow for more advanced preventative and reactive responses to fluctuations in biometrics.
Wearable monitors aren’t limited to the above categories, either. This tech is being developed to be used in place of traditional scanning and diagnosing systems. In the future, patients may not need to undergo tests like MRIs because of wearable monitoring advances.
Other Wearable Devices
Medical devices are being made into wearables to help treat, diagnose, and prevent many other conditions. Breakthroughs in technology have allowed for wearable dialysis, sweat monitors, and more.
As medical researchers continue to develop more impactful technology, wearable medical devices will become more and more common in our day-to-day lives. It’s no wonder why, since they provide a level of autonomy and freedom that was impossible for many patients before. In many cases, wearable medical devices can improve patient care, which is essential to our industry.
Are you ready to work with a company that can help you design and create the medical devices of tomorrow? Reach out to us. We’d love to talk.
