Wearable health devices: The future looks bright

Just by wearing a bracelet, you can know how many steps you have walked in a day. Wearing it while sleeping can even tell you your sleeping condition, when you fell asleep, whether you are in deep sleep or light sleep, and how many times you turned over. In addition, for new parents, some similar devices can also monitor children's body temperature and automatically issue an early warning when the fever reaches the critical temperature. Do these pictures feel so beautiful that you "dare not look at"? With the help of wearable health devices, all of this seems to be possible. What exactly is a wearable device? How much impact can it have on our lives?

concept

Portable devices with specific functions

Wearable devices can be regarded as a fashion trend in the current technology field, and many companies have also focused on wearable devices. In an article published in March this year by an American website called "Wearable Devices", wearable devices were explained in detail. The article claims that so-called wearable devices (also known as wearable technology) refer to electronic devices that are implanted in clothing or accessories and can be worn comfortably by people. These devices can perform some functions such as mobile phones and laptops; however, in some cases, wearable devices can completely perform similar functions through handheld devices.

As for the wearable devices currently on the market, the article points out that the common devices on the market are more complex than some handheld devices because such devices can usually provide some scanning and sensory functions that mobile phones and notebooks do not have, such as biofeedback and tracking of physiological functions.

Usually, wearable devices also have communication functions, and the device users can see data in real time. Data storage function is also a major feature of this type of device. Common wearable health devices on the market currently include watches, glasses, smart bracelets and hats, as well as some accessories designed to look more like earrings. However, at present, the application of wearable devices is far from meeting expectations, and has not had a significant impact on health and medicine, weight loss, education and other fields. Looking into the future, corresponding wearable devices in each field may gradually enter people's lives.

market

Many companies have entered the field of wearable devices

It is not an exaggeration to describe the current wearable device market as a hot newcomer. Wearable devices have also become a new fashion trend in the current technology field. At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference held in June this year, Apple released the latest iOS 8 system, in which Apple built-in the health kit health management application, which is a third-party wearable medical device that supports the health and medical industry, and connects data with medical institutions to become a health management platform.

In March this year, Intel, Google and Facebook all announced that they would focus on investing in the field of wearable devices. Samsung, Sony , Huawei and others also showed off their "killer weapons" of bracelets and watches. Other manufacturers also made moves. At 4 pm on July 22, the second product of Xiaomi's annual press conference, the Xiaomi wristband, was unveiled. The wristband claims to have multiple functions, among which the most relevant to human health is the ability to monitor exercise volume, sleep quality, and the smart alarm clock vibration wake-up.

price

Most wearable devices are expensive

If they really have the claimed functions, the widespread use of wearable devices may have a significant impact on our lives and the way we manage our health, but the price of such products is also quite high. A Motorola smart watch costs 2,799 yuan, and a Nike sports wristband called fuel band costs 1,080 yuan. In comparison, Xiaomi's new 79 yuan bracelet seems particularly affordable.

■ Functional distinction

Monitoring target segmentation of specific groups is a selling point

From the perspective of function, the common wearable devices on the market are diverse and all-encompassing. Wang Xiaoliu, a science and technology columnist, told reporters that according to the functions of wearable health devices, the more common devices on the market can be divided into the following categories, namely wristband devices that can monitor exercise, devices that can monitor certain indications of patients with chronic diseases, such as blood pressure monitors, smart blood glucose meters, etc. There is also a more subdivided category of health devices, such as smart thermometers that can test body temperature for women preparing to get pregnant and smart thermometers that can be used to monitor children's fever.

■ Current situation

1. Product Functions Converge

The reporter searched for wearable devices with the same function on shopping websites, and dozens of products appeared. Wang Xiaoliu said that among the many wearable health devices, there is indeed a problem of functional convergence. Taking wristband wearable devices as an example, similar products commonly seen on the market currently have two functions, namely monitoring exercise data (including step counting, calculating exercise calories burned, etc.) and sleep monitoring (monitoring sleep time, some products claim to be able to monitor sleep status), etc., but some wristband products also have some extended functions.

2. Data accuracy is a common problem

Wang Xiaoliu told reporters that in terms of the significance of wearable devices to health, because the core value of wearable devices lies in the big data in the background cloud, its most anticipated value lies in prediction. The same is true for health management. Through long-term data monitoring of basic human conditions, it can predict health. If you want to play a good predictive function, accuracy is a common problem currently faced by wearable devices. Whether the data monitored by some devices after being worn is accurate is the key to the problem, because the accuracy of the data is directly related to its prediction and suggestion functions for human health.

3. Still Strongly Dependent on Mobile Phones

The biggest problem with wearable devices nowadays is that, no matter what form the wearable device takes, most of them rely on mobile phones and are implemented through smartphones. Currently, many similar devices need to be connected to mobile phone apps to realize their functions. "I personally believe that wearable devices will bypass the central position of mobile phones in the future and gradually get rid of their dependence on mobile phones." As for the sports data monitoring function of the Xiaomi bracelet, the Xiaomi bracelet can record the user's activities throughout the day, calculate the walking distance and calorie consumption, and the user needs to use the bracelet app to view his daily exercise volume.

Wang Ziru, technology commentator and founder of ZEALER.COM, said in a previous interview with the media that wearable devices provide humans with a new way to interact with mobile phones. In the past, people relied entirely on keyboard devices to interact with mobile phones, which later developed into mobile phones with screens. The emergence of touch screens eliminated the barriers of keyboards, and human-computer interaction is developing in a more intuitive and direct direction.

For a long time, wearable devices will be accessories to mobile phones. At this time, it is hopeless to make wearable devices into mobile phones. The small screen cannot achieve the feeling of mobile phones at all. However, he also believes that with the development of cloud computing and the solution of the bottleneck of cloud processing, wearable devices may replace mobile phones.

4. May involve personal privacy

Wang Xiaoliu explained that current wearable devices cannot be used in clinical practice. "Compared with clinical applications, some wearable devices still lack professionalism and are more of a 'tech circle' thing. If such devices can be used in clinical practice, the participation of professional personnel is essential."

In addition, the core value of wearable devices lies in big data, but the current social participation is not high. Another problem is that big data does involve personal privacy. For example, a bar called "The 5 Point" in Seattle, USA, has announced that customers wearing Google Glass are prohibited from entering. The bar wrote on the poster: "Solemnly declare that The 5 Point is the first place in Seattle to reject Google Glass in advance. Violators will be beaten." Bar owner Dave Meinert joked in an interview with the media: "I am a thought leader, but first, you must understand the culture of The 5 Point. There are occasional low-level fun here, and the reputation may not be very good. Customers want to come here for entertainment, but they don't want others to know, so they definitely don't want to be secretly photographed and posted online."

■ R&D Examples

Intel uses device to monitor Parkinson's disease

According to Reuters, Intel plans to use wearable health devices such as smart watches to monitor the condition of Parkinson's patients and collect relevant data to share with researchers.

Earlier, the designers said that Intel joined forces with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a group of actors and Parkinson's patients, to conduct multiple studies on this neurodegenerative brain disease in 2000. The initial goal was to examine the feasibility of using wearable devices to remotely monitor patients and store data in an open system accessible to scientists. In further studies that will begin this fall, the foundation will also provide funding to study patients' responses to drugs, in which wearable devices will be used to monitor patients. There are more and more similar wearable devices on the market, and we hope to be able to collect some objective and accurate monitoring data and determine the effectiveness of new treatments.

Sohini Chowdhury, senior vice president of the foundation's research team, told Reuters that some previous clinical trials were too "subjective" and patients might tell doctors that they had tremors for several minutes, but in fact the tremors might only last for a few seconds. In the future, Chowdhury hopes that both patients and clinicians can get more accurate data on their activities with the help of wearable health devices, while being able to monitor the frequency and severity of patients' symptoms.

She also said that wearable devices can enable researchers to conduct clinical trials in a broader sense, while many Parkinson's patients cannot participate in clinical trials at all because they do not have such research facilities. Wearable devices provide such convenience, and patients can participate at home or at work, which is particularly convenient for people living in rural areas.

"Fever Director" monitors children's temperature 24 hours a day

An intelligent children's thermometer "iThermonitor" is expected to be welcomed by many parents. It is reported that this device mainly serves the child care scene. Based on hardware and supporting APP, "iThermonitor" can record body temperature 24 hours a day, and supports critical temperature alarm and medication record and reminder functions.

Xiaomi wristband analyzes data to provide health advice

The Xiaomi Mi Band claims to have many functions, including incoming call reminder, authentication, unlocking mobile phone, smart vibration alarm, recording exercise data, sleep data, exercise data analysis, and bracelet search. In terms of sleep data, the band can connect to the mobile phone in real time via low-power Bluetooth (BLE) (no need to click to synchronize, automatic synchronization within the effective distance), synchronize exercise and sleep data to the band APP, and the Mi Band APP will record your sleep data and annual exercise data, and provide corresponding health advice. The APP also provides data sharing function, which allows you to share your data on Weibo or other supported platforms.

■ Prospects

Internet companies, medical institutions and other parties need to participate

Wang Xiaoliu explained that in order to realize the true significance of wearable devices for health management in the future, it actually requires the joint participation of multiple parties, which is difficult to achieve only through the devices themselves. For example, this requires technical support from the Internet industry and professional medical institutions. If it is to be truly applied in medical treatment, a corresponding access mechanism is also required.

In addition, software, hardware, and cloud computing can be described as the "golden triangle" of wearable devices, but most companies are still focusing on the software and hardware fields. Many companies still rely on selling hardware or optimizing and upgrading software, which has limited value. In fact, the use of cloud data is the most valuable.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.