e-Health and quality of life: the role of the Wearable Motherboard.
It is hard to place a price tag either on human life or on the quality of life. Technology is the key to enhancing the quality of life for everyone in the continuum of life from newborns to senior citizens--whether it is the safe delivery and care of undernourished premature babies, or extending the life of a senior citizen through exploratory treatments and procedures. Technology has the potential to rapidly transform healthcare and the practice of medicine by improving the quality and safety of patient care and increasing the efficiency of healthcare providers. Moreover, the healthcare industry must meet the challenge of balancing cost containment with maintenance of desired patient outcomes and this can be accomplished through the adoption of technology. Any technology that can minimize the loss of human life and/or enhance the quality of life has a value that is priceless. An overview of the key challenges facing the practice of medicine today is presented along with the need for technological solutions that can "prevent" problems. The paradigm of "e-Health" is discussed. Then, the development of the Wearable Motherboard as a "platform" for sensors and monitoring devices that can unobtrusively monitor the health and well-being of individuals (directly and/or remotely) is described. This is followed by a discussion of the applications and impact of this technology in the continuum of life--from preventing SIDS to facilitating independent living for senior citizens. Finally, the future advancements in the area of wearable, yet comfortable, systems that can continue the transformation of healthcare and e-Health to i-Health (for interactive health)--all aimed at enhancing the quality of life for humans--are presented.
Park
Sungmee
S
Georgia Institute of Technology, Textile Information Systems Research Laboratory, School of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0295, USA.
Jayaraman
Sundaresan
S
D003020:Clothing; D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011788:Quality of Life; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*