Gadgets in medicine - just what the doctor ordered

For a description of a large number of home appliances equipped with computer chips and connected to the World Wide Web, there was even a special concept - "Internet of things»(Internet of Things). It does not remain on the sidelines and the health care system for which this concept becomes already abbreviation IoMT (Internet of Medical Things).

Over the next five years, the traditional model of "doctor-patient" can be radically revised. Very soon, this will be a place for a bunch of third party - and multiple diagnostic monitoring devices that will collect real-time information about the status patient. Thus, the patient will not go to the doctor on the basis of their subjective feelings, but on the basis of recommendations of individual medical gadgets.

For example, a portable blood glucose meter Dario It can be connected to any smartphone or Android iOS control and transmit measurement results to a special mobile program. This makes it possible not only to instantly get information about the status of carbohydrate metabolism in the body, but also save the data in the archive application for further analysis. The app is capable of generating recommendations on the most appropriate power mode, and, if necessary, automatically send data analysis doctor.

If you've ever held complex treatment or care for the sick, then you know how difficult it is sometimes spelled follow patterns of reception of medicines. This is especially true of older people or children, who constantly forget to take a pill or confuse them.

All these problems are solved by a device called Tricella Pillbox. It is a small box, divided into cells. In each of these cells is placed a kind of drug. Of course, Pillbox is connected to the smartphone, which provides control of the system. The patient or the attending physician is necessary only once to enter the program regimen, after which it will automatically send out reminders for admission tablets, while giving only the necessary cell that did not work error. And in the case of malicious non-compliance requirements of the doctor he could be notified about it.

WHO estimates that about 235 million people suffer from asthma. The reason for the next attack can be allergic to tree pollen, animal dander, dust, waste products of cockroaches and other insects, certain foods and so on.

To monitor the development of asthma, and reduce the frequency of attacks is very important to identify the risk factors that contribute to an aggravation of the disease. With this purpose, it released gadget Propeller Health. It is a small device that is placed directly into the patient's inhaler. Each time you use the inhaler, it records the time and location (GPS-coordinates) attack. The patient receives the full information on the places where he feels most of asthma attacks, and can in the future to avoid them. In addition, the device is able to inform your relatives about the place and time of the next attack, so that they can, if necessary, to help.

If you allow the device to communicate information in a common database, then the patient can receive a warning about the risk factors identified by the other device users. A good example of the effectiveness of this gadget is the recent history, when in several districts of Barcelona just started an epidemic of asthma attacks. With these Propeller Health, it was found that all of them took place in the immediate vicinity of the port, and comes at a time when the ships arrived with unloaded soybeans. Rapid detection of reasons enabled the patient to avoid the area and reduce the frequency of attacks.

All the above devices are designed to make life easier for sick people. But what about those who consider themselves healthy and in no hurry to apply to medical institutions? It is well known that cardiovascular disease is a major cause of sudden death can often occur without any obvious symptoms.

In this case the rescue device will come Scanadu ScoutWho have already visit in our hands. A small plastic disc in the electronics and a host of sensors can detect arterial pressure, heart rate, temperature, and blood oxygen saturation. Most interesting is that the measurements are made in just 10 seconds, one gadget touching the skin of the forehead. All collected data is sent to your smartphone or tablet, where it maintains and analyzes the special application. This allows you to monitor the state of health over time, to determine how to affect the body physical activity, stress, diet and other factors. Scanadu Scout will not miss critical changes in the body's condition and in case of detection warn of the need to visit a doctor.

Quoted in this article, examples are only a small part of those developments, which are now being conducted in research laboratories around the world. The prospects of this direction indicate numbers. according to the results researchPublished in 2015 by McKinsey & Company, the economic effect of the introduction of advanced medical technology could range from 170 billion to 1.1 trillion dollars a year over the next 10 years. Basically this happens, according to the study, due to the emergence of new opportunities for the effective treatment of chronic diseases.

Thus, the smart gadgets very soon be able to relieve the medical staff of many routine tasks, reduce costs and improve the quality of health care, will make health care more personalized and affordable. And most importantly - help people stay healthy longer and to cope with the disease quickly.