We've written before
about the idea of
personalized medicine and how an increasing number of doctors and research scientists
seek to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach that has defined drug
R&D and patient treatment for centuries. Today, the trend is to focus
more on matching the biological characteristics of each person with the best
treatment options available – and in the future even perhaps to develop
specific drugs for specific patients. But it's not just doctors who are
moving toward more personalized health care. A growing number of average
individuals is taking an interest in the concept as
well.
Thanks to advancements in
technology, a revolution in data-driven personal health monitoring (often
referred to as "self-quantification") has become possible. This
revolution is changing the face of health care as we know it.
Gary Wolf is a
self-described spokesman for the "self-quantification" movement.
With the help of various wearable technologies and smartphone apps, Wolf
regularly records approximately 20 of his own vital signs – including heart
rate, glucose levels, blood pressure, and more. But he's not collecting data
for the sake of collecting data. He has successfully applied this
self-analysis to get his high blood pressure under control.
Not all self-trackers are
as extreme as Wolf, but he is far from alone. The Quantified Self website has attracted thousands of
self-trackers from around the world to share their knowledge and experiences.
As the technologies
improve and it becomes even easier to self-quantify, demand to do so will
only increase. How much? According to ABI Research analyst Jonathan Collins,
while a solid 30 million wearable, wireless monitoring devices (including
those for medical and clinical use) were sold in the US last year, that
figure is expected to balloon to 160 million devices a year by 2017.
Furthermore, a recent report from IMS Research indicates that the
wearable-technology market already generates $2 billion a year in sales, and
will represent a minimum revenue opportunity of $6 billion a year by 2016.
The market for wearable technologies in health care alone is projected to
exceed $2.9 billion a year by 2016.
A popular example of one
of these "wearables" is the Basis B1
watch, which, in addition to telling time, has a number of sensors to provide
an overview of one's health. The device includes a heart-rate monitor, 3D
accelerometer, thermometer, and galvanic skin response sensor.
Then there is "Smart Clothing" from AiQ. The company's BioMan T-shirt has ribbed
"smart sleeves" that measure heart rate, respiration rate, and skin
temperature and can be further customized to measure skin moisture and
electrophysiological signals such as EKG, EEG, and EMG.
There's even a
"Smart Bra" from First Warning Systems that measures minute
variations in temperature caused by the growth of blood vessels that develop
in the breast to supply cancerous tissue with blood. This could allow a tumor
to be detected years before it would be visible in a traditional mammogram or
even an MRI.
In addition to wearables, smartphones will play a large role in the
future of self-quantification. Dr. Eric Topol, a
cardiologist and director of Scripps Translational Science Institute in La
Jolla, California, says that advancements in smartphone technology and
downloadable apps will help people take better control of their health by
tracking it with increasing precision. In his book The Creative
Destruction of Medicine, Topol describes how
we will soon start running common medical tests on our smartphones, lessening
the frequency of doctor's office visits.
Imagine a world in which
you just take a picture of a rash on your skin with your smartphone, upload
it to a medical app, and receive a tailored diagnosis. Or better yet, simply
breathe into a sensor on your phone and receive a diagnosis for whatever ails
you. That reality is probably still a long way off, and the technological
hurdles are high; but it's hard to imagine that it's not coming.
On the nearer horizon,
modern wearable technologies could be supplanted by electronic skin tattoos
that monitor all kinds of things. We're actually closer to this reality than
you might think. Materials scientist John Rogers from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign first demonstrated so-called "epidermal
electronics" in his lab several years ago. These devices – which consist
of ultrathin electronics, sensors, electrodes, and wireless power and
communication systems – could theoretically attach to the skin and record and
transmit electrophysiological measurements for medical purposes. Early
versions of the technology were not rugged enough to stand up to the
activities of everyday life, but Rogers has now figured out how to
"print" the electronic tattoo directly onto the skin so it can be
worn for up to two weeks.
Rogers is now focused on
developing and refining the wireless power sources and communication systems
that need to be integrated into the system. He says the technology could
potentially be commercialized within the next couple of years.
Whatever the timeline for
electronic skin tattoos and other technologies that help us self-quantify, we
think it's safe to say that this revolution we're seeing in personal health
monitoring will only pick up steam along the way. Analysts from Ernst &
Young predict that over the next decade as much as 50% of health care will
shift out of the hospital and clinic, and we will increasingly conduct
virtual visits with doctors and nurses through our mobile devices. These changes
will require new roles and business models across the board; but at the end
of the day, it's hard to argue against better, more frequent access to
information about what's going on inside our bodies, in order to allow us to
live healthier lives.
