How Wearables Can Inspire Us to Think Like a Scientist
Image credits: Kanut Photo via Shutterstock.
Thanks to ever cheaper, faster, and more powerful sensors and computers, we’re seeing an explosion of health-related wearable devices coming onto the market. These wearables empower us to use our bio-inspired mindset in three important ways:
💡 By making observations over time
💡 By critically evaluating those observations
💡 By crafting a change to try out—and then determining whether that change is actually improving our health.
Let’s take a deeper look at this exciting chance to support the transition from today’s “sickcare” to true “healthcare” throughout our lives.
Image credits: Andres Urena via Unsplash.
The most prominent wearables—like the Apple Watch and Fitbit—are primarily fitness trackers. There’s fascinating progress in expanding the utility of these trackers to things like heart monitoring. Other “wearables” are devices like sleep trackers and other types of bands and patches. Well over 1000 digital sensors are being used to track more than 8000 digital “biomarkers”, with more to come.
That’s a deluge of data! In the clinic or in our home, how do we make sense of all these signals?
Computation is the first part of the solution: artificial intelligence and machine learning are crucial for rapidly extracting patterns from large datasets. Algorithms that can combine distinct data types for more nuanced interpretations will be an extremely valuable service, particularly when it comes to early disease detection and chronic disease prevention and management. I’m picturing a digital health assistant, which would empower both patients and healthcare workers.
The second part of the solution is equally important: ensuring that the patterns sussed out by the algorithms are actually meaningful to our health. There are two obvious pieces here:
💡 Does the insight go beyond what my grandmother could tell me?
💡 Does acting on the pattern lead to a change in the pattern and in my overall health?
Both of these questions arise from a scientific mindset. Yes, some grandmotherly advice—like “eat your vegetables” and “why don’t you go outside for a while”—is supported by modern science. But many other bits of grandmotherly health advice haven’t withstood systematic scrutiny. Today, in my opinion, many wellness products and services don’t pass this Grandma Threshold … yet. The virtuous cycle of more data leading to better interpretation should help close this gap in the coming years.
💡 Most importantly, if changing an input (like a behavior) doesn’t improve an output (an aspect of your health), then it’s unclear whether the change is worth your effort and money. And what if the suggested change actually worsens your health? That’s why it’s so important to close the feedback loop—to actually evaluate the effect that your “experiment” is having on you.
If that sounds like a clinical trial, then you’re thinking like a scientist. Clinical trials are how we learn whether a new medicine or intervention is safe and effective. Trials are increasingly including digital data for quantitative, ongoing, and delocalized insights. The potential benefits? Larger and richer datasets, easier participation, and perhaps even lower trial costs. In the coming years, I expect to see far more clinical trials including consumer wearables and digital endpoints—not to mention digital therapeutics!
💡 In your own life, applying a scientific mindset to your health can help you focus on changes that are likely helpful and not harmful.
It should also help protect you against hype. While it can be exciting to be a first mover in health and wellness, our bodies are precious. I’m the kind of person who loves to experiment and wants lots of data, but I also demand evidence and rigor, including for consumer products. I explored this a bit in my previous post about digital biomarkers and brain health, which you can read here.
Applying a scientific mindset protects you against hype. If changing an input (like a behavior) doesn’t improve an output (an aspect of your health), then it’s unclear whether the change is worth time or money. Image credits: Dusan Jovic via Unsplash.
Our data are precious, too. That’s why it’s crucial that companies offering consumer wearables protect our personal data. The quantified self movement inherently requires trust, from both patients and doctors. We need to trust that the devices are safe, that the measurements are reliable and meaningful, and that our data remain private and are not used for other purposes.
💡 With today’s wearables, we can access insights that are low-hanging fruit, yet still meaningful. Exercise matters. Sleep matters. Food choices matter.
However, I believe that the “quantified self” movement still hasn’t reached its breakout inflection point—when we gain access to trusted, reliable, meaningful, and actionable insights based on our personal data. Our bio-inspired mindset is going to be crucial to this transition.
I’m excited to watch this innovation space continue to grow and evolve … and I’m really looking forward to that personal digital health assistant!
Do you have a wearable? What changes in your behavior have been inspired by your wearable—and have those changes helped improve your life?
Want to read more about wearables and the future of digital health? Check out this excellent Tech Quarterly from The Economist: https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2022-05-07
About Tiffany
Dr. Tiffany Vora speaks, writes, and advises on how to harness technology to build the best possible future(s). She is an expert in biotech, health, & innovation.
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