Wearable medical technology has potential to detect emergencies, illnesses

Speaking at the ArabNet Digital Summit in Dubai, Empatica CEO and co-founder Matteo Lai said the wearable technology available today could, for example, detect epileptic seizures.

by

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

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Published: Sun 31 May 2015, 12:56 AM

Last updated: Thu 25 Jun 2015, 10:42 PM

Dubai — Small, discreet wearable medical technology has the potential to detect emergencies and illnesses early on and even prevent diseases, according to the CEO of medical computing giant Empatica. At the moment, wearable tracking technologies are mostly being used to monitor sleep patterns or fitness data, such as how many steps one has taken per day or the pace of a jog. Speaking at the ArabNet Digital Summit in Dubai, Empatica CEO and co-founder Matteo Lai said the wearable technology available today could, for example, detect epileptic seizures.

“Epilepsy is one of the most common brain diseases. It affects 65 million people worldwide,” he said. “The device we’ve developed measures several indicators, and also measures stress. We sell it around the world, to hospitals and research companies, and it has enabled research that wasn’t possible before.”

The device — known as the “Embrace Watch” — tracks electrodermal activity, which is activated by regions of the brain involved in emotions such as fear and anxiety, or, in the case of epileptics, shut down breathing during seizures. In the event of a seizure, an alert is sent via mobile phone to caregivers, roommates or family members.

“The same signal can also give an indication of the intensity of the attack,” Lai said. “A seizure is like an electrical shock in the brain. This was a topic that was impossible to study efficiently before, but now, with better sensors, it is possible. This is very promising for future studies, as we can now prevent and categorise seizures.

“Medical devices today are very ugly, and they can be only worn in hospitals,” Lai added. “We wanted something with the same design quality as the wearable devices you seen in the Apple store and other retail stores, but at the same time with medical quality.”

Lai also noted that wearable technology may have a wide variety of medical applications aside from detecting epileptic seizures.

“There are studies being conducted with regards to depression, chronic pain, sleep disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,” he said. “There are many things in which the concept is the same.”

Artificial intelligence

In the future, Mai said, wearable technology may advance to a point where it can detect preventable illnesses before they occur.

“What I think is very promising is the idea of having artificial intelligence for the body,” he said. “Today, what we know of our body in our daily life is very complex, but very limited. We don’t know much. If I asked someone how stressed they were a month ago at this time, they would have no clue.

“But that information every day for months has an impact on your body. You’re going to sleep less; you’re going to eat worse. Your body will be affected. What is going to happen with all these sensors and the knowledge they provide is that we’re going to know more about the body, so we’ll hopefully be able to prevent a lot of diseases that are preventable.”

“That’s the big promise. To move from healthcare in which people are treated when they are sick, to somewhere where they don’t even have to show up to the hospital.”

bernd@khaleejtimes.com