How Health Monitoring Garments are Improving Lives
Technology has been the driving force for growth and development in every industry. Take the medical field, for example, the invention of the microscope was one of the most significant technological breakthroughs of the era.
Now, modern electron microscopes are light years ahead of their counterparts from 400 years ago. Beyond that,
there are other advanced technologies like MRI scanners that generate detailed scans of the body, intelligent sensors to monitor and detect patient parameters, and printers that reproduce living tissue.
Advancements in technology have also heralded the dawn of new technologies that can remotely monitor vital patient data, improve quality of life and reduce emergency trips to the hospital- We are talking about smart health monitoring garments.
Health monitoring smart garments may look like ordinary clothes, but they come fitted with sophisticated technologies that help individuals with a plethora of conditions. They range from pants, braces, boots, and socks.
In this blog, you will learn more about monitoring smart garments and how they are helping countless individuals worldwide.
How do smart garments work?
Smart garments come equipped with advanced sensors and technology like piezoelectric sensors, gyroscopes, optical sensors, motion sensors, transmitters, receivers, and more. These sensors allow them to check and analyse critical parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, activity levels, fitness, etc. Health monitoring garments can monitor, collect, store, receive, transmit and sometimes analyse data.
Advanced garments will also share data with other devices such as smartphones, or laptops to give you a more robust and wholesome experience. Smart garments also act as remote sensing devices because they can give your doctor or caregiver(s) vital information about your condition.
Key benefits of smart wearable devices for patients
Remote monitoring.
Remote patient monitoring or RPM is defined as a technology that allows patients to be monitored outside the confines of the hospital or other healthcare facilities.
Caregivers can get real-time data from patients wherever they are situated. The two types of remote monitoring include remote patient monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring. Patient monitoring collects physiological data like heart rate, sugar levels, etc. On the other hand, therapeutic monitoring tracks adherence.
Remote patient monitoring devices can improve quality of life, prevent emergency trips to the hospital, and save costs. Remote monitoring employs technology like smart devices and garments and means of communication such as teleconferencing. The monitoring devices can send raw data to a cloud for analysis or send it to a primary care provider.
Compliance with medical regimen.
Patients who use smart garments sometimes need monitoring and regular checkups to ensure they get the best treatments and recover quickly. An example of this would be a patient who just had a Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) that needs rehabilitation to ensure a full recovery. A smart knee brace allows for systematic follow-ups and rehabilitation monitoring. These braces can monitor and encourage patient compliance. Some advanced sensors also link with smartphone applications to ensure that the patient properly performs his exercises according to the regimen.
Quick emergency response.
Tackling an emergency before it occurs is the most effective way of ameliorating a dire situation. Smart garments can help monitor patient data and report key metrics to primary caregivers or doctors. In the case of an emergency, these devices can notify relevant parties before it occurs. Take, for example, a swatch/band, that can alert caregivers or relevant authorities during a cardiac arrest. Smart body suits for babies can inform parents when the garments notice abnormal or no breathing. In instances like these, a minute could make all the difference.
Prevent complications.
Intelligent garments can prevent further complications or exacerbation of a preexisting medical condition. For instance, individuals who use wheelchairs develop pressure sores because of the extended weight and pressure on different parts of their bodies. Pressure sores affect nearly 3 million people in the US, and they can be fatal. An intelligent garment such as a smart wheelchair cushion can help prevent sores thanks to its design and AI-assisted system that tracks and monitors the quality of pressure relief repetitions.
Applications for smart wearable devices.
As mentioned earlier, health monitoring garments have applications in many facets of life. There are smart wheelchair cushions that help prevent pressure ulcers, watches that can monitor heart rate and oxygen levels, and much more.
