From lab to life: how wearable devices can improve health equity

Abstract

Medical wearables, non-invasive devices that measure physiological biomarkers, are potentially disruptive and powerful tools to promote health equity at scale. Here we describe our experiences designing, validating, and deploying wearable sensors in vulnerable patient populations to improve health outcomes.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04102644.

Fig. 1. Application of advanced wearable devices for comprehensive monitoring of vulnerable patients at scale.

Patient centered engineering and inclusive device design promote broad validation and various use cases. Deployment of low-profile sensors capable of comprehensive monitoring can encourage use in various vulnerable patient populations. Sensors can monitor an individual patient, producing physiological biomarkers for both personal and provider review in clinical and home environments. Low cost and reusable sensors facilitate scale.