CDIM~ Prologue ~
In the second column, I would tell you about the latest trends in wearable products made by IT technology. Medical devices using wearable products are still limited in Japan, but I think that wearable products would surely become popular in Japan in the future. Thus, this is a significant topic, and please enjoy reading!
~ Unique Wearable Products ~
Wearable products are often found in GPS and acceleration sensors. Now, many people use smartphones or wristband type activity meters to measure the distance they traveled, the number of steps, sleeping hours and burned calories. Here, I am going to introduce wearable products other than smartphones and wristbands.
Although it is a photo taken from a far distance, you can still see that the exhibition booths for wearable products were very crowded.
The first product is "Kosinisuwan" developed by Kosinis Corporation in Germany. This product is a wearable device that can be worn on the ear. It measures the blood pressure and heart rate by the intensity of the reflection of the green light emitted from the earphone part and can analyze those vital data. Currently, it is mainly used by athletes to check vital data during training, but it has the potential to be used as medical equipment and be used in surgeries.
The second product, "Fitness Shirt," is also developed by the German company Fraunhofer. Electrodes capable of recording biological information such as ECG (electrocardiogram) and respiratory rate are built inside a shirt, and just by wearing this fitness shirt, one can know how one's training goes. Furthermore, by discovering unexpected events such as arrhythmia beforehand, excessive training can be prevented. Moreover, "fitness shirt" can also work as a product that judges the safety situation of firefighters when worn while working. However, the product is still in its early stage and has not obtained permission for use in Germany and the EU.
Last time, we introduced the product "Tight" produced by Israel Company Tight Care. This product is a wearable product of remote treatment equipment that connects physicians and patients.
"Tight" consists of a built-in stethoscope, a tongue depressor, an ear mirror that can diagnose and measure the patient's condition, and a camera. The greatest feature of this product is that the patient's information such as vital data, photos, heartbeat, and respiratory sounds will be uploaded to the cloud so that a doctor can diagnose the patient from a remote place. Since "Tight" has already been used in Israel and has obtained FDA approval, it might be possible to be used in the United States soon? About preventing secondary infections, I think "tight" can be a very useful instrument during seasons such as Winter when infectious diseases such as colds are prevalent.
~ About Next Issue ~
In the third column, I would continue to tell you about Telemedicine (remote treatment) and other information.
(Editor: Kumagai)