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Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly disrupting every industry in our economy and sector of our society, and now is starting to be something we wear on our bodies. The second generation of mobile health technologies go beyond just measuring and recording data such as number of steps taken or hours slept, to now using artificial intelligence to undertake complex tasks such as predicting heart problems, diagnosing mental diseases, or helping to prevent coronavirus infection. The power, capabilities, and use of AI-enabled wearables will further increase with the rollout of 5G technology.
Wearable technologies are already improving our health, and we are only at the beginning of the mobile health revolution. First-generation wearables such as fitness trackers have the effect of increasing the number of steps per day that users take, which is associated with reduced mortality.1 The second wave of wearables is using machine learning and other AI techniques to provide even more complex and valuable health and wellness benefits. For example, the latest versions of the Apple Watch come with a built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) for monitoring your heart rhythms and atrial fibrillation. There have already been anecdotal reports of this feature saving lives by detecting previously undetected heart irregularities.2 Fitbit, recently purchased by Google, has enabled blood oxygen level monitoring on some of its existing models3 and will use Googles new Cloud Healthcare program to connect Fitbit user data with electronic medical records (EMR).4
A number of companies are developing wearable "smart" sweat sensors that can monitor dehydration and glucose and sodium levels in real time in athletes and workers, as well as drug metabolism and inflammation biomarkers in patients being treated for a number of health conditions.5 The potential to replace the frequent and often painful needle pricks in diabetes patients with continuous and noninvasive monitoring of blood glucose levels is an another example of the important health benefits that wearables may soon provide. A number of companies are also working with university researchers to develop AI wearables that can detect COVID-19 days before traditional symptomology manifests, a model that is also being tested for earlier and more sensitive detection of high blood pressure, the flu, and some cancers.6 Other applications of wearables now or soon to be available include wearables to track...