26th International Association for Management of Technology Conference - IAMOT 2017

Over the past several decades the capability of m-Health technologies, and more specifically wearable technologies, to improve access to primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services has been clearly demonstrated. Recently, there has been a growing use of sensors for remote monitoring of medical parameters and lifestyle applications. Sensors are commonly used for detecting, transmitting and/or storing vital signs and physiological data, as well as for measuring and detecting levels of activity. The availability of technologies at lower cost, access to high-capacity telecommunication networks and increasing levels of computer literacy contributed towards the advancement of the development of wearable technologies. This paper provides an overview of the current state of wearable technologies, including those that are commercially available and those that are in the advanced stages of development. Aspects that are considered in the overview include: 1) the key enabling technologies such as sensing hardware and data collection, communication software and hardware, and data analysis and decision support systems; 2) the technology maturity; 3) the intended user(s) of the output from such technologies, i.e. data, namely healthcare workers or patients; and 4) the application area(s), including the disease that the technology is developed for and the stage of healthcare provision, i.e. preventative, monitoring, etc. that the technology is intended for. The research approach involves a comprehensive literature- and structured comparative analysis of the wearable technologies mentioned above, with a specific focus on their application areas within the healthcare environment. The key focus being to comprehensively map out the current landscape of wearable technologies with a healthcare application. This research provides insight on the status quo of the developing field of wearable technology including an indication of the maturity of this technology. The research output can be used to provide developers of wearable technologies with a comprehensive overview of the key enabling technologies that are currently commercially available as well as those that are likely to become available in the near future. The output can be used by researchers to identify gaps in the development and application of wearable technologies. Finally, the research can be used by healthcare system managers to identify opportunities to incorporate wearable technology into healthcare provision. The research is relevant to the “economic and societal impact of technology” track of the conference, as it will contribute towards a better understanding of the role that wearable technology has to play when population health is considered.