Prediction: Health Wearables To Save 1.3 Million Lives By 2020

Smart wearable devices may help save 1.3 million lives by 2020, according to a prediction made by Switzerland-based firm Soreon Research. According to the analyst group: “Smart wearables, a set of sensors attached to the body with a direct link to smart devices, are the most industry-disrupting innovation as well as a major opportunity to transform the healthcare system.”  The firm’s lives saved number is mostly accounting for reduction in mortality thanks to wearables employed for in-hospital monitoring, which will likely help save about 700,000 lives of the 1.3 million.

“New wearable technology can easily extend monitoring functions beyond the intensive care unit and alert medical professionals to any follow-on medical problems a patient may develop. Hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved as a result,” Pascal Koenig, Research Director at Soreon said in a statement. “Two other areas where innovative wearable healthcare products could have major benefits are cardiovascular conditions and obesity.”

Monitoring cardiovascular diseases with wearables could prevent 230,000 deaths, while obesity related deaths could be reduced by 150,000.  “Smart wearables are in a fast-paced, exploratory phase, where the breadth of available solutions reflects their market potential,” Koenig said in the statement...