Wireless Medicine & Digital Doctors Part 3

Perhaps one of the greatest pioneers in "Wireless Medicine" is Dr. Eric Topol a world re-known cardiologist and author of the book the Creative Destruction of Medicine . He has helped co-create a very useful digital tool known as "Band-Aid" technology. These "band aids" are stick on digital sensors that can be placed virtually almost any place on the human body to scan its physiologic activity. Currently these sensors can give real time -continuous data of an organism or organ's function. These include sensors for continuous heart rate even fetal heart tones. Other monitoring functions that can be monitored are continuous glucose and sleep-wake cycles. These sensors can count a person's caloric intake and output in real time as well as provide information on dietary restrictions. Both the quantity and quality of the calorie of a meal can be monitored. These can all be helpful for the dietician, sleep specialist, diabetic specialist all sub-specialist including primary care physicians. General Electric's upgrade on the hand-held ultrasound makes old fashioned stethoscopes a thing of the past for nostalgia sake.The old stethoscope used for over a hundred years will become a virtual museum piece yet revered relic. The newer brand GE devices can perform abdominal, cardiac and fetal echo(ultrasound) imaging in real time, as well. The "band-aid" bio-med tech has also taken to further pronounced forms of heart monitoring. Once upon a time to measure the heart's activity for 24 hours required a large bulky device strapped to the chest . Now a "band-aid" strip can be placed that looks like a patch which can monitor heart rhythms and rates interrupted for prolong lengths of time. A patient won't have the discomfort of larger , clumsier boxes and wires hanging off them. These new "band-aid" technologies can monitor not only heart rate and rhythm, but also blood conduction(how thick or think blood flows), body temperature, respiration and oxygenation. These heart devices are currently most effective in heart failure patients. These will become evermore important in providing info to cardiologist, pulmonologist, critical care specialist as well as primary care physicians in both remote and academic locations by exchanging information more readily. Other types of "personal metrics" will be able to be used daily for individuals who want to measure and maintain "tighter" control of their body's own activities. Virtually every activity in life will be able to be measured in some value or its data interpreted mathematically. This is already exampled by Phillip's fitbit that measures food calories, weight, metabolism, sleep and yes- even sexual activity. These devices are merely a glimpse into the future for all of us. But, the question still remains as to just how far is it taking us and to what levels? Is this the future....no, it's here already. Dr. Topols book reads more like a "re-creation" of medicine in the future as opposed to merely the "destruction" of current medical methodology.