Innovative miniaturised medical products are helping to safeguard medical care and quality of life in an ageing society for the long term. A wide variety of devices are already available today, or will soon be launching onto the market.
Wearable electronic devices are a long-standing tradition in medicine – from hearing aids to heart pacemakers. They were not called wearables in the past, but that’s what they are. The advances being made by wearables for the consumer sector are today opening up entirely new possibilities in medicine, too. They involve the full range of wearables: from sensor caps to smart glasses.
Sensory clothing
French manufacturer Bioserenity, for example, has developed special clothing with built-in electronics for people who suffer from epileptic fits. Examining patients has always posed a major challenge to date, as months frequently go by before an appointment with a doctor can be made. Also, examinations using conventional equipment are time-consuming and quite complicated. So Bioserenity has developed a shirt and a cap incorporating various sensors. They monitor body functions such as brain activity and heartbeat, transmitting the data via Bluetooth to the patient’s smartphone. From there, the data is related to the doctor’s Cloud system, enabling the patient’s status to be tracked in real time and ensuring a rapid response to any signs of emergency.
More grip
The SEM Glove from Bioservo provides more of an actuator than a sensor function. It is intended to help the five per cent of people between the ages of 16 and 84 who suffer from a weak hand grip. Actuators are integrated into the glove. Sensors on the wearer’s fingertips detect any movement based on minuscule changes in pressure. The sensors activate miniature motors on the glove’s cuff. They in turn pull on artificial tendons sewn into the glove, thereby aiding the intuitive grip reflex of the thumb, ring finger and middle finger.
Airbag for the hip
The target group of Hip-Hope Technologies is senior citizens suffering from osteoporosis. To avoid hip fractures in the most extreme scenario, the company has developed a wearable in the form of a belt. The belt is fitted with a sophisticated fall detector system, comprising large numbers of sensors and incorporating intelligent logic. If the system detects an impending contact on the ground, it activates two airbags which greatly cushion the impact of the fall. The system simultaneously alerts pre-determined responders. It also features an emergency call button, monitors the wearer’s movement and uses a GPS system to locate the patient rapidly in the event of a fall.
Seeing through the skin
Smart glasses also offer major potential in medicine. One of the world’s first commercially available applications is the Eyes-On Glasses product from Evena Medical. It is a point-of-care ultrasound system which enables doctors to view blood vessels deeper down in the tissue in real time. The glasses project both an infrared light and ultrasound onto the patient’s skin. From the reflections, it generates a real-time anatomically exact view of the vascular system, leaving the hands permanently free. This means, for example, a nurse is able to very quickly find a vein for an injection without having to test repeatedly.
(Picture credits: Fotolia: Igor Serazetdinov)