Transforming personal healthcare through technology - A systematic literature review of wearable sensors for medical application

Abstract

Wearable Sensor Health Technology (WSHT) captures, analyzes and aggregates physiological data to improve personal well-being. Recently the technology market is flooded with wearable sensors that measure health-related data and have a high user adoption. Nevertheless, these devices are almost exclusively used for fitness purposes and the healthcare sector still faces the challenge of constantly increasing costs. To respond to the necessary but rare use of WSHT in professional healthcare, we aim to identify the most promising areas for future medical implementation. Therefore, we performed a systematic literature search and reviewed 97 papers with regard to disease treatment, application area, vital parameter measurement and target patient. As a result, we could identify five potential areas for further research: (RA1) concentration on widespread diseases, (RA2) expansion of WSHT's functionality, (RA3) diversity of vital parameter measurements, (RA4) proactive analysis of sensor data for preventive purposes and (RA5) promoting patient adoption through enhanced usability.