Spring, 1304.
The morning bells have set the day in motion. You’re rushing through your crowded village, clenching your tooth as the deep pain in your jaw pulses.
You push through the local artisans, street rats, and merchants until you arrive at the office of the town physician. After careful examination, a diagnosis is made. You have the common, but nausea-inducing, “tooth worm” (what we call a cavity in 2019). He proceeds to load your jaw full of various herbal remedies.
Not satisfied with just a topical solution, the physician tells you he has a new invention, the latest in dentistry and one that can improve your pain from the comfort of your home.
He rummages through his stores and turns to you revealing an innovative patient-directed device… a metal amulet with a glossy jewel in the center.
Humanity has come a long way in terms of medical devices for patients. In 2019, lifechanging patient technologies and wearables are being invented every day and there is plenty to be excited about.
Let’s take a look at the latest advances in patient technologies and wearables.
Parkinson’s Home Care
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder. Patients face an array of debilitating symptoms that impact them every day. Effective monitoring of these day-to-day symptoms is a valuable part of management.
The University of Plymouth and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHPNT) have developed the Personal Kinetigraph (PKG). This device is worn around the wrist and monitors the movement of patients throughout the day. The wearable is worn “over six days at a time enabling them and their care team to identify and implement any required changes to therapy.”
There’s an App for that
The creation of health apps has reduced operational costs for many medical teams over the last decade. These apps take into account a patient’s everyday experiences to integrate into their lives.
While we may be most familiar with apps that track motion and activity, there have even been advances in reproductive health.
In late 2018, the FDA approved the Natural Cycles’ contraception app. By monitoring the timing of menstrual cycles, the patient’s body temperature, and other information about their health, the app helps patients know the best time to attempt to get pregnant increasing their chance at fertility.
Smart Pills
Across various disease areas, treatment compliance may be a challenge. Physicians are often looking to ensure that their patients adhere to their prescribed dosage. There have been two recent inventions to help with treatment adherence.
AdhereHealth has created a pillbox that monitors whether or not a patient has taken the appropriate dose. The pill box “notes whether patients take their medication in the right amount and at the right time, and wirelessly beams the data to their care provider.”
Abilify MyCite has created a pill that transmits information about when and how much medication was taken. The information is registered in a patch worn by the patient and then sent to a smartphone. This invention has been especially groundbreaking in the treatment of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses that affect judgment and memory.
An Implant to Improve MRI Experience
The internal magnet of a cochlear implant may cause a shadow that makes MRIs less effective. As a result, patients have to be restrained during the procedure so that their heads are oriented properly.
This year the HiRes™ Ultra 3D Cochlear Implant has been developed to avoid this. The device allows “adult and pediatric users to safely undergo high-resolution imaging, without any preparation, surgery, or head bandaging.” The new implant works as effectively as previous models and provides patients with uninterrupted hearing, meaning all they have to do during the procedure is take off the sound processor and put it back on after.
Want to learn more about how devices are revolutionizing treatment? Check out more innovative medical technologies now.
Matt Khoury can be reached for comment at matt.khouryyacoub@ddbhealth.com. He is a believer in the power of the personalization of medicine and technologies to improve the health outcomes of patients.
