The emerging landscape of wearables with advanced sensor technology has the potential to improve the clinical research industry by improving patient monitoring and reducing costs and improving quality of data as the trial subjects can be continuously bio-monitored.
The following are some examples of the smart wear technology that can be potentially used in the clinical trials industry to gather real time data:
- Intelligent Asthma Management ™ by Health Care Originals is an automated Device for Asthma Monitoring and Management. It also has an app to monitor real time data
- Valedo® Back Therapy is a device that is attached to the person’s back and the smart sensors are able to store data which can then be accessed through the companion app
- The HealthPatch™ MD can track vital information of patients by keeping track of heart rate, breathing, temperature, steps, and also body position
- The Helius by Proteus Digital Health- A consumable pill that will be able to tell a doctor if the person is taking their prescribed medicines at the correct time and will show how the patient is responding to their therapy
- Though the clinical technology looks promising, there are concerns around the lack of standards to evaluate the validity of data from wearables and questions regarding the need to make this data part of the patient’s formal health record. But if the technology proves to be useful, the clinical research and software industry will need to evolve and create guidance and standards around smart wearables for clinical trials.
