GrandPad announces Grandie, an AI-powered virtual companion.
Washington DC Feb 15-19.
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You are increasingly likely to have a wearable -- around your neck or on your wrist. You may collect your own data for your own tracking and use. For those who see a wearable in a health context, they may be disappointed to know that their doctor doesn’t seem to care or know what to do with your heart rhythm data. But you can gain great benefit from tracking your performance (exercise, heart rate) – competing with yourself, and feeling the satisfaction from any improvement over time. What are the benefits of wearables today -- and in the future?
Measurement matters:
Getting assistance matters:
Help you get help if you fall. Fall detection has been a feature of wearable Personal Emergency Response Pendants (or Medical Alerts) for the past decade. However, it’s a relatively new feature of wrist-worn wearables like watches, but from a safety standpoint, may turn out to be one of the most useful in retirement, especially for people who live alone and/or take a dog for a walk alone. These devices have a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope which are designed to be activated if you fall. Depending on whether the feature is available and also turned on, the device may place a call to emergency services.
Help you find where you’re going—and be found by others. We have grown increasingly dependent on GPS Location-tracking as part of mapping and directions, trusting it sometimes over common sense. And GPS location can be enabled in newer wearables, like Samsung’s or Apple’s. They can also help with directions and your location even when away from a smartphone or the phone is turned off. But a GPS-enabled device can also be a lifesaver. When enabled and integrated with a service, for example, it enables responders to find your location and display that on a map. And if you lose the watch, its GPS location capability can enable the watch to be found with a Find my Phone feature.
Provide an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Checking for heart arrythmia is an even newer feature of wearables, and is included in the Apple Watch Series 4 and likely in a future Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. For individuals who are worried about abnormal heart rhythms, or AFib, which mostly affects those age 65+, the device could be useful. Experts have expressed cautious optimism, note high level of accuracy and also a suggestion about how best to use the devices for this purpose.
Integration with other services matters:
What’s next for Wearables and Older Adults?
Although there have been periods of pessimism about the staying power of wearables, most agree that they are here to stay—with a greater role in the future for baby boomers and beyond, whether they reside at home or in a senior living setting. Some think that baby boomers will drive market growth in 2019, with 8 million of those aged 55+ owning a smartwatch by the end of the year. One reason for a surge in adoption has been a drop in prices—some are now under $200. For the older adult, a wearable may help a person who lives alone feel safer knowing that a fall will be detected, or a useful warning will be provided, as in the case of irregular heart rhythms. And future benefits are likely from developments in: