Wearable computing?

Originally published on http://www.MedicalSmartphones.com

Right now, many people use smartphones. Soon, most people will be using smartphones. Many people walk around with a Bluetooth headset in their ear. So, we're already talking about wearable gadgets and computers. Some manufacturers have designed Bluetooth headsets to be fashionable pieces of high-class jewelry.

The future of wearable computing include self-tracking gadgets like the Fitbit and the Nike+ FuelBand. Those types of gadgets may be reserved for fitness geeks or people actively trying to achieve and sustain weight loss. However, other types of wearable computers will become standard issue for business executives and health care professionals.

Let's start with the smart watch. In the near future, we'll also see many people wearing smart watches that connect to our smartphones using low-energy Bluetooth. We know that Samsung is planning on releasing a smartwatch soon. Rumors of an Apple smartwatch will eventually come true. There are many smartwatches on the market and they don't resemble the clunky gadget that Dick Tracy used to wear.

How will smartphones evolve once the smart watch phenomenon takes off? Will we see smartphones getting smaller? Bigger? Willl everyone want a phablet so that they can be more productive by having a larger screen? Will the smart watch replace the smartphone entirely?

I think that could happen as we all wear more gadgets and computers on our body. For instance, why would you need to wear a smart watch and carry a smartphone if you also wore smart glasses? Google Glass is a new technology, but we'll see other manufacturers release similar smart glasses.

So, imagine that your smart watch is your phone. It has cellular connectivity. You don't need a Bluetooth headset since audio is built into your smart glasses.


Voice command and voice dictation. Plus, your hand/arm gestures will get sensed by the built-in accelerometer in your smart watch and get translated into commands. The days of typing on an on-screen keyboard may be over soon. It's time to practice your speaking skills so that you can dictate voice commands precisely. Voice recognition engines are getting much more sophisticated to recognize certain accents or speaking patters.

Wearable computers. Body computing. These terms are about to have new meaning. These technologies will become a part of everyday life. Plus, they will be highly effective in promoting behavior change, in coaching healthy behavior, and in assisting with disease self-management. The possibilities are endless.

Are you ready for wearable computing?

Wearable technology improving health - are we there yet?

There are so many wearable technologies these days. We have little fitness gadgets like Fitbits and Nike+ FuelBands. We have Google Glass - a wearable computer that looks like glasses. We even have smartwatches that link to all sorts of sensors or with our smartphone to keep up even more connected than ever before.

Do these gadgets actually improve health? Yes -for some. They can be effective reminders and they could motivate people to change their behaviors. But, do they do enough?

I predict that the era of the smartwatch is what will ultimately drive sustainable behavior changes in health care. A smartphone is highly effective among people who are dependent on their smartphones on a daily basis. But, some people just don't rely on their smartphones like that. Some still don't even use smartphones. On the weekends, I am often away from my smartphone for long periods of time. But, I have my watch on me all the time when I'm awake.

The watch is always on our wrist. We rarely take it off. We look at it all the time. We can be more discrete when we glance at our wrist. Over the next few years, we'll see some incredible advances in smartwatches. We'll be able to talk directly to our watch. Voice command and voice recognition will be better than what we're seeing now with Siri or Google Voice Recognition. We will also have low-power wireless communication protocols like Bluetooth 4 that will allow devices to remain small and still have very long battery life. Plus, we'll see smartwatches that are water resistant.

I'm excited about the future of smartwatches. I think there is so much potential here and we're going to see some incredible innovation coming down the pike.

We're all going to be joining the Quantified Self movement, even if we don't plan on it. These wearable gadgets will tell us more than we ever hope to know about our behavior, our actions, our activity, our caloric intake, our diet, our heart rate, our metabolic rate, and much more.

Are wearable sensors ready for prime time? #HIMSS13

Some of us wear Fitbits and Nike+ FuelBands. These track our physical activity and even our sleep. Other people are wearing continuous glucose monitors or blood pressure monitoring watches. This year, we're seeing many new wearable sensors coming to market. Are wearable sensors ready for prime time? Perhaps, the bigger question is: are doctors ready to do something with all this data? Also, where do we draw the line between "consumer" health and professional health management? Patients who are using these wearable sensors are collecting massive amounts of data, but who's looking at the data?

Here at HIMSS, we heard that Qualcomm Life and WebMD are Collaborating to Bring Integrated Digital Health Resources and Tools to Consumers. Qualcomm Life’s 2net Ecosystem will attract new technology partners with the release of the 2net Hub API and SDK and the launch of the 2net Ecosystem Technology Certification Program.

I think 2013 will be a year where we will see a surge in wearable sensor activity. I predict that when December 2013 rolls around, wearable sensor gadgets will be some of the top gift items on people's Christmas wish lists. My Fitbit is getting quite old. I think it's time for a new self-monitoring gadget.

HIMSS13 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

Wearable Computers

After that last post about the "carry a desk," I thought about my times at MIT. I've seen MIT students walking around with wearable computers on their bodies. They even have a lab at MIT called the BorgLab. Unless you've watched Star Trek, that term won't mean anything to you. For the rest of you Trekkies, yes - people do walk around the MIT campus looking like the Borg. Unfortunately, I never became one of them. I suppose resistance isn't futile after all.