Smarter monitoring, digital health services
How the digital revolution is changing our lives – Part 7: Health
Fitness wristbands and apps can tell us how many kilometres we have walked, how fast our heart is beating and when we should wake up to stay in line with our biorhythm. Almost 100,000 mobile health apps already exist. Virtual patient files, smart monitoring of chronic diseases and big-data surveys to predict flu epidemics or create cancer registries are just part of the digital health revolution. E-health and mobile health are two of the largest growth markets in Europe. One gadget that is under development is a contact lens that measures the sugar level of the wearer’s tear fluid and sends the results to a smartphone – a good idea for diabetics. Perhaps nanoscale sensors in the body will soon be able to detect cancer cells and transmit the data straight to a doctor. And while people in Germany are still discussing the security of sensitive patient data on the newly introduced electronic health card, a Hamburg-based startup has developed an app called OneLife that processes the health data of different specialists. A company in Lübeck is now also making a doctor available on the Internet – complete with virtual waiting room – using a form of Skype with an app called Patientus. ▪
