Towards a digitally connected body for holistic and continuous health insight

Abstract

The digitally connected body with clinical grade multimodal and multisite biosignal acquisition is a key goal of the wearable device communities, which will enable advanced diagnostics and therapeutics. Recent advances in sensor and biointerfaces have enabled insight into biomarkers and physiological states that far exceed the commercially available technologies. However, they often require intimate contact with the target organ, which is possible acutely or over days but may not translate to continuous monitoring without substantial user engagement. Holistic device ecosystems or standards are therefore required to enable a digitally connected body. Here, we discuss current barriers and highlight potential avenues to enable a seamless, almost imperceptible network, of wearable sensors to capture health comprehensively and chronically.