In recent years, Artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic apps have seen a rise in demand. These health care platforms come with prominent disclaimers that they are there to provide health information and not a final diagnosis. It has an increasing preference among people who want a better understanding of their health before visiting the doctor or healthcare professionals.
Started with home-use health technology, health tech is growing with smart products that can collect comprehensive data about the wearer’s health, one such example is the Apple watch. Today, numerous home monitoring solutions are emerging for clinical use too.
These gadgets have many different opinions, some people think that this increased at-home understanding of health is always a positive thing and some don’t. While learning more about their health without the supervision of a clinician, there could be chances of a patient taking the management of their condition into their own hands.
The developers of such tools consistently must not be used for outright self-diagnosis, although, with this freedom to monitor and track health and wellbeing comes the risk of patients neglecting upon visiting a trained medical professional.
Home health monitoring: Recently, researchers at the University of York received a £1m grant to develop a device that enables patients to self-assess their immune systems at home.
Using a single drop of blood, the portable instrument will allow the user to examine their own immune system. It is initially intended for use by people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As of now, RA patients have to endure monthly blood tests in hospitals to keep a check on their condition, which is both – stressful for patients and cost-consuming for the healthcare system. This device is based on photonic biosensor technology, it will be used to detect infection-related protein biomarkers.
Professor Thomas Krauss from the University of York says: “We’re aiming for the same thing as a glucose sensor. Just take a pinprick of blood, and it goes onto a sensor and gives you a readout.”