By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Cash Transfers: Good for HIV/AIDS Too
    August 9, 2012
    unnecessary medical tests
    Eagerly Awaiting the Death of Defensive Medicine
    September 5, 2013
    Image
    Mobile Health Around the Globe – mHealth Fighting Malnutrition in India
    December 17, 2012
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Bringing Biometric Tracking to the Masses Isn’t All About Devices
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eBook > Bringing Biometric Tracking to the Masses Isn’t All About Devices
eBook

Bringing Biometric Tracking to the Masses Isn’t All About Devices

Deanna Pogorelc
Deanna Pogorelc
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE
biometrics tracking software

Image credit: All Things D

First published on MedCityNews.com. With the hardware revolution well underway in health sensing, it’s time for a revolution on the software side of the equation, industry leaders say.

biometrics tracking software

Image credit: All Things D

First published on MedCityNews.com. With the hardware revolution well underway in health sensing, it’s time for a revolution on the software side of the equation, industry leaders say.

Engineers have done some pretty amazing things on the device side — from building sensors into apparel, to eliminating the need for a chest band or electrodes to monitor heart rate,  to even eliminating the need to  touch a person all together to collect some of his biometrics. Now the industry needs better tools to make use of all that great data.

Tim O’Malley is president of a company called EarlySense, which falls into that last pot. It markets a patient monitoring system based on a sensing plate about the size of a pad of paper that’s slipped under the mattress of a hospital bed. Without touching the patient, it tracks heart rate, respiration and motion, then sends that data to a bedside unit and to a central display unit that’s set up at a nurses station.

More Read

Predictions On Healthcare And The Tech Revolution
Making The Decision To Outsource And Choosing The Right IRO Partner
Nick Marko and Geisinger’s Health Data Journey
What’s the Big Deal About “Big Data”?
Medical Data & Patient Privacy: An Update

When he looks ahead, O’Malley sees advances in algorithms and artificial intelligence that can do more predictive analysis on the data collected by these sensors.

With the goal of preventing falls and adverse events by detecting the earliest warning signs of a change in the patient’s vitals or position, EarlySense already does some of this. For example, it uses a pressure sensor algorithm to remind a clinician if a patient should be turned. And, to cut down on alarm fatigue, it alerts nurses about changes in a patient’s heart rate only when those changes have exceeded a certain threshold.

“As our database increases, I think we’ll be able to more of that,” O’Malley said. “I think that becomes a really critical tool in the future, to give providers a heads-up earlier.”

Entrepreneur Liz Dickinson, whose work is focused on the consumer side of the market, agrees that the next step in pushing adoption of heart rate monitoring technology lies in the software. “We’re going to see applications that can make sense of data and present it back to the user in a way that allows them to change their behavior in a really prescriptive way, as opposed to an observant way,” she said.

Dickinson founded a company called MIO, which makes a wrist-worn heart rate monitor similar to Basis. Its sweet spot is athletes at the middle of what she calls the fitness continuum.

“The device of choice for the bottom of the spectrum is a pedometer; it’s the only thing that makes sense to that group of consumers,” she explained. Meanwhile, more advanced athletes are also interested in sleep and speed.

“We are unleashing a metric that’s not traditionally been accessible to the general public,” she explained. “Heart rate tracking has not been accessible to the general population because it was a very cumbersome process that required use of a chest strap.”

But the need for more innovative software doesn’t necessarily mean the hardware revolution has come full circle just yet. Dickinson sees miniaturization as the next step on that front. “Then you’re going to see a proliferation of smart watches that are able to run different kinds of apps that connect to cellular networks, so you won’t need to carry your phone when you’re exercising to use your apps,” she predicted.

Oh, and one more thing. “When Apple’s (smartwatch) comes out, it will be a beautiful piece of engineering,” she added.

 

TAGGED:Health Data
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

The Iceberg Waiting for Your Health Care Data

May 1, 2014

Moving mHealth to the Next Frontier: Aligning Patients, Physicians, Healthcare Providers & Payers

June 10, 2012
eHealthHealth carePublic HealthTechnology

Transparent Health Market Data Helps Patients Save Money on Healthcare

January 15, 2018

Healthcare Companies Tap Big Data for Clinical Trials

December 30, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?