The Miniaturization of Technology

As technology spreads, so it gets smaller. Wearable technology, in the form of smart watches, is now established among consumers. It has gained rapid traction since Google announced their Google Glass eyewear in 2015 (since discontinued) and is now being used by businesses who are looking for increased efficiency, accuracy, and safety.

The definition of wearables is fast evolving to mean more than a smart watch or smart eyewear. In the United States, the FDA recently cleared a smart pill for use. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.’s Abilify MyCite is the first drug with a digital ingestion tracking system approved in the United States. Once taken, the pill relays information to a wearable patch linked to a user’s smartphone.

Healthcare will benefit greatly from the advances in technology miniaturization. Indeed, the global ‘wearable’ medical devices market is estimated to reach $24bn by 2025, a growth rate of 17%.

By 2025 we expect devices to be more than just descriptive– giving us data like our pulse rate or how many calories we’re burning. We expect them to be prescriptive– telling us what impact food, drink, drugs and the amount of sleep we get will have on our weight and individual lifespans via a live read out and pro-active– treating the body with medicine, vitamins or nutrients via an edible microchip linked to a wearable patch. We also believe reactivetechnology – treating the body with lifesaving medicine automatically or alerting a doctor or a drone ambulance will become the norm by 2025.

COMING SOON

Apple’s Heart Study, in partnership with Stanford University and BioTelemetry could lead to a future wearable heart-monitoring device.

NextGen Jane, a genomic start-up is working with next-generation sequencing company Illumina to create a diagnostic tampon to test women for diseases and identify a variety of conditions.


Augmented Self: Up close

The future will be determined by those who are willing to reinvest, adapt and turn future threats into opportunities.