Health is the future

Most likely you still do not have a gadget that monitors one of the key parameters of the body's vital activity, but it is quite possible that it will appear soon. First, the boss, then the neighbor, and later - in your family. What will these devices look like and what will they be used for?

First you need to decide on those who are interested in such devices. Contrary to popular belief, these are not only patients with chronic diseases or people seriously concerned about their own health. IBM research suggests that in the world there is a huge audience of so-called. “Information seekers” - people who would like to know more about their own condition and to be able to control various parameters of life activity at any time. It is from them that the health care revolution will begin, since inexpensive (and this is the principal moment) devices that allow taking readings in real time for sending to your doctor or local doctor will begin their victorious march on the hands (or legs - to whom) of this particular group people.

Actually, such a turn of affairs will benefit not only the end user and the patient, but also greatly simplify the situation for doctors and employees of various medical institutions. Doctors do not have to spend their own time and resources to check for relatively healthy patients who come because of the appearance, for example, of certain symptoms. Gadgets designed to monitor the change in key parameters of health and send them to doctors will become a kind of “recommendation engines” in the field of health - your doctor, knowing remotely the situation, will be able to tell you who to contact or direct to a specific examination.
')
In fact, all this is not at all fiction - this industry exists and is actively developing right now, and the economic sector is estimated at $ 10 billion worldwide, where the percentage increase in the number of devices sold is 26% every year. What will their functions be? IBM conducted a study and identified several of the most promising areas where manufacturers will soon be able to turn around.

Tracking the composition / condition of the blood

A blood test is one of the most basic procedures for a preliminary assessment of the patient’s condition, which is known to all. But, firstly, only if you are not a masochist, you are unlikely to enjoy frequent visits to the clinic to take a blood sample for analysis, and secondly, most experts advocate a non-invasive blood test that is done using a special bracelet (say, while you sleep), analyzing it and sending it to the laboratory or going straight to your doctor. As soon as atypical parameters appear, say, a drop in the level of iron in the blood or an increase in the content of white blood cells - you will immediately know about it and be warned, which means you will be armed.

Projections connected to the brain

The dream of every geek and gamer is “avatars” controlled by thought. However, IBM is not interested in video games, but, on the contrary, in devices that read wave functions of the brain in order to allow patients in serious conditions, unconscious or even coma, to transmit signals to hospital attendants, doctors, to communicate with relatives. This is very important, because a patient who cannot express in words or non-verbally his feelings remains cut off from the doctor, for whom such information may be critical. In the end, sometimes the condition worsens simply due to lack of attention - such a device would allow everyone to ask for what they want without physically loading the body.

Digital Medicine Kits / Packaging

Instead of relying on the keen eye of the nurses or the personal responsibility of each of the patients, today we are working on a so-called. “Digital packages of drugs”, the purpose of which is obvious - to ensure that those who take a certain drug, do not forget about their regular use. This applies to everyone - not only elderly people who may miss the next reception due to trivial forgetfulness, but also ordinary, ordinary people in cities who, in a frantic rhythm, sometimes just lose sight of it. Such a gadget will help solve this problem by promptly reminding the owner to swallow a pill or pill, and in case of abuse, send a signal to a doctor.

Despite the fact that such devices are still being developed, their appearance on the shelves of pharmacies will take place in the near future. And let Intelligence Business Machines itself not be engaged in the development and production of specific devices, the models and methods for collecting and processing data are being created by it now.

The penetration of these gadgets into our lives depends on their specific application, the price (three quarters of the respondents interviewed by IBM respondents expressed a desire to purchase such a device if its price is below $ 100) and, most importantly, the desire of doctors to use them to monitor the condition of their charges. Without health care professionals at the other end of the internet wire from you, all these innovations will be useless. But, as the first tests show, doctors, clinics and, finally, the state are interested in the nation to remain healthy and efficient.