The concept of a smart home has evolved significantly, with technologies now focusing on health monitoring. The integration of advanced sensors and devices into our living spaces promises not only convenience but also proactive health management.
While sensors placed throughout the home can detect air and water contaminants, allergens, and pollutants, high-resolution cameras and microphones and other non-contact measurement devices could allow health monitoring and remote consultations with healthcare professionals.
Smart mirrors in bathrooms should transcend mere reflective surfaces. Enhanced with advanced computer vision capabilities, they could assess skin conditions, identify changes in appearance, and offer personalized health and beauty recommendations. They could also analyze the eyes for early signs of various health conditions, extending far beyond mere glaucoma and cataract detection. The eyes can unveil valuable information about cholesterol levels, liver conditions, and diabetes. Eye monitoring technology is a testament to the saying, "The eye is the window to the soul," extending its truth to health monitoring.
Ambient sensors equipped with radar technology in living rooms and bedrooms can continuously monitor vital signs like pulse rates. This non-intrusive monitoring could provide a seamless health tracking experience for residents.
Recent advancements include the use of mmWave radar sensors for continuous monitoring of human activity. Recently built system, utilizing an NVIDIA Jetson Nano board for real-time processing and a Texas Instruments Millimeter-Wave Radar Sensor, offers a non-intrusive and privacy-respecting way to monitor activities like sitting, walking, standing, and even detecting falls. This radar technology poses a challenge due to the high-dimensional point cloud data it generates. The PointNet neural network is developed to process this data efficiently, preserving spatial relationships and offering accurate activity classification.
The traditional method of measuring SpO2 involves contact sensors, which can be inconvenient for prolonged use. New techniques for contactless SpO2 measurement using different light wavelengths in video images are being developed. This approach promises a more comfortable and accessible way to monitor oxygen saturation levels, especially crucial in the wake of health crises like COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of non-intrusive health monitoring, especially for elderly individuals. The development of a Multi-scaled Long Short Term Memory (Ms-LSTM) model, as part of a smart toilet system, represents a significant step in this direction. This model enables effective home-based health diagnostics through urine analysis, leveraging the IoT-Fog-Cloud paradigm. It's a particularly vital tool for early detection of potential viral infections, including COVID-19, in the elderly. The Ms-LSTM model integrates a four-layered architecture including data acquisition, fog layer (processing and analyzing the data locally) , cloud (for deeper analysis) and interface layer. The proposed system offers a non-invasive, efficient method for early disease detection and preventive health.
The integration of health monitoring technologies into smart homes is transforming how we approach personal health. From environmental sensors to advanced radar and neural networks, these innovations promise a future where health management is seamlessly woven into our daily lives. As technology continues to advance, we can expect even more sophisticated health monitoring solutions to emerge, making proactive health care a tangible reality in the comfort of our homes.
REFERENCES
Alhazmi AK, Alanazi MA, Alshehry AH, Alshahry SM, Jaszek J, Djukic C, Brown A, Jackson K, Chodavarapu VP. Intelligent Millimeter-Wave System for Human Activity Monitoring for Telemedicine. Sensors (Basel). 2024 Jan 2;24(1):268. doi: 10.3390/s24010268. PMID: 38203130.
Sasaki S, Sugita N, Terai T, Yoshizawa M. Non-Contact Measurement of Blood Oxygen Saturation Using Facial Video Without Reference Values. IEEE J Transl Eng Health Med. 2023 Sep 25;12:76-83. doi: 10.1109/JTEHM.2023.3318643. PMID: 38088997; PMCID: PMC10712673.
Kumar D, Sood SK, Rawat KS. Empowering elderly care with intelligent IoT-Driven smart toilets for home-based infectious health monitoring. Artif Intell Med. 2023 Oct;144:102666. doi: 10.1016/j.artmed.2023.102666. Epub 2023 Sep 20. PMID: 37783534.
Fatima H, Imran MA, Taha A, Mohjazi L. Internet of Mirrors for Connected Healthcare and Beauty: A Prospective Vision. arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.14734. 2023 Nov 21.
Behavior (Physical Activity, Eating habits, Tobacco or substance abuse, responsible sexual choices, etc)
Mental Health
Injury and Violence
Environmental Quality
Preventative measures such as immunization
Access to Health Care
All these factors are quantifiable, predictable and preventable. Injuries are most likely to be perceived as “accidents” and “acts of fate”, but they depend on the same determinants as other health factors: individual behavior, social and physical environment. The likelihood of injuries - unintentional ones and those caused by acts of violence - can be computed from physical location (estimations for USA1 are a good example), gene-environment interactions2, prior medical history, and physical traits3.
There are many ways to prevent injuries - just say "no" to risky behaviors, wear preventative gear while playing sports or fall-optimized shoes for elderly, watch out for others engaged in similar activities... Yet, sometimes we forget to watch, don't have access to histories of others or get diverted. Would a body sensor or a gadget with smart software be able to warn us about potential accidents ahead to help prevent accidents? What would it need to measure?
Software and devices automatically detecting and reporting accidents already exist:
Halo Monitoring's fall detection system, for example, consists of a chest strap and belt clip with motionOnStar or mbrace that "intelligently integrate the driver, the vehicle and the environment" - capabilities such as this will be provided in the area of next-generation health management systems like Aurametrix.
sensors, heart rate and skin temperature monitors. Although the system detects falls only after they happen, a study showed that just the fact of wearing it increases alertness of seniors and reduces the number of falls. Although fall detection systems are not as advanced as telematics for cars - like Unprecedented accumulation of data - such as snapshots of driving behavior or 1.2 million person-years of hip fracture observations (Kanis JA) allows development of smarter software able to predict injuries. Logistic regression models (Kononen et al., 2011) predict seriousness of auto accidents, first-principles mathematical models (such as AHAAH for the ear) connect forces with injuries, neural net and other data mining approaches foretell which juvenile offenders are likely to return to crime (source of "intentional injuries"), or allow to calculate risk of fractures based on milk intake, personal history of accidents and body mass index. Self-quantifiers such as René Ghosh are able to figure out how to use their own data to predict future injuries. Using simple math (Riegel equation bringing all running logs on to a comparable level) and trend analysis, he tied his accidents to wanes following waxes in running performance. Researchers keep refining the variables predicting injuries. Swanenburg et al., for example, predicted multiple falls for those with a history of multiple falls (odds ratio, 5.6) and use of multiple medications (odds ratio, 2.3). And there is another simple measurement of standing position helpful in prediction. Frequent fallers, indeed, have a narrower stance width than non-fallers.
In the always-connected smart-sensor-equipped future, things such as Intel's magic carpet - picking up the weight, angle and pressure of steps - will be a commodity. Gene tests predicting injuries will be integrated with data coming from our carpets, clothing, footwear and location information. And this may be sooner than you think.
References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS); 2010 Mar 4 Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html
Everyday choices determine your health better than genomics. In addition to exciting gizmos and wearable monitors measuring activity, heart rate, sleep patterns, some companies are working on tiny implantable sensors helping to monitor health and health-related behaviors. Proteus Biomedical is implanting tiny sensors into pills that send signals translatable into messages - such as "just took lipitor at 6:20pm" - sent in a very safe and private way to a wearable plaster, or a smart-band aide. This smart plaster is also picking up information on health-related measurements such as your heart rate, breathing patterns, activity level, stress, respiration get sends you reminders. Last September Novartis worked with Proteus on a small 20 patient study to track patients’ compliance with their blood pressure drug regimen. This year the companies will work on sensor technology in organ transplantation.
American tech companies, taking notice of the unmistakable demographic trends, have launched a surge in gudgets for aging population - dubbed the silvertech. Emergency alert services have become a proliferating category in silvertech, along with sensor systems for the home, various kinds of long-distance health monitoring and smart medication dispensers that provide reminders and control dosage. Some dispensers signal a caregiver when a dose isn’t taken or a pharmacy when it’s time for a refill.
GE scientists are developing wearable RFID sensors to detect airborne chemical agents - to alert people to the presence of environmental chemical agents in the air. A novel technology based on resonant antenna structures of RFID sensors coated with various sensing films will recognize specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chemical agents with part-per-billion detection limits. The sensor could also be used to analyze a person’s breath. Simply breathing on the sensor could potentially pick up biomarkers that serve as an early signal to the presence of certain diseases such as diabetes or cancer and metabolic disorders.
Teenagers love to spend, Health care consumers love to test.
Recent mammogram debate shows why reform will fail - most women don't like to get mammograms later in life and less frequently. Of course, this furious reaction is fueled by those who would face payment cuts if the new guidelines are implemented - radiologists, for example.
How many medical tests do you need to sleep sound at night knowing that you are healthy enough? Billions, trillions, googols? How many out of a few thousand existing medical tests are redundant or irrelevant to individual consumers?
Dr. Kevin Pho, an internist in Nashua, N.H., thinks the rebellion indicates a larger problem with ObamaCare. "The fact that [the administration] is distancing itself from what I consider to be very robust guidelines portends a very poor future for comparative effectiveness," he says. "If they back down now, what's going to happen when a comparative effectiveness body says there's no difference between angioplasty and medical management of heart disease?"
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has just revised their guidelines for Pap smears under some pressure. This resulted from an Annals of Internal Medicine article which documented that only 16.4% of gynecologists followed the College’s prior guidelines. Most did more screenings than indicated, the worst record of the specialties tested. But the ACOG still recommends that nearly all women obtain regular screening at intervals of 1-3 years.
Cervical cancer is a rare disease in the US: just over 11,000 cases are predicted in 2009. There will be nearly as many cases of testicular cancer, 8,400. In comparison both breast and prostate cancer are just under 200,000. Most women have been led to believe that cervical cancer is rampant and they need yearly screening to prevent it. Testicular cancer however, is rarely mentioned. Most physicians don’t even bother to recommend that young men self-examine.
Medicine is as much art as science – there are many cases where there are no “right” answers. Health care providers can prescribe as many procedures as they want and charge whatever they like. It's time for this to be changed.
Personal risk of cervical cancer, for example, can be easily estimated by every woman as it depends on whether she had multiple sexual partners, prior negative Paps, long term mutually monogamous relationship. HIV (that has a five times greater incidence than cervical cancer) tests are not administered to people without risks, right? Well, not quite right, but that's another story.
Dr. Joel Sherman (Medical Privacy, A Patient Oriented Discussion) has seen many women who are angry that the facts on cervical cancer have been hidden from them. They are pushed into getting Paps, but never told the pros and cons of screening. Never mentioned are the high incidence of abnormalities that resolve spontaneously, like negative biopsies and colposcopies.
If the law says insurers have to treat every person the same, without taking into account whether they’re sick or healthy, young or old, a rational insurer will do some rational things. For example, it will assume disproportionate numbers of people who buy a policy from them will be sick and old. Of course, when they do this, the product becomes expensive, and young, healthy people start to wonder if they should even buy it in the first place. After all, they don’t really need insurance, right? Coupled with the overall rise in the cost of health care, insurers now push through new rounds of price increases, which, in turn, create more uninsured people. It is a very nasty cycle.
Microbiota is specific to every individual,and varies systematically across body habitats and time, as well as geographical location, preventing or causing adisease after exposures to infectious agents.
Some human skin locations harbor even more diverse bacterial communities than the gut that we were thoughtfully nourishing with probiotics.
New analysis published in Science Express adds more information to the earlier results (from May 2009, for example), showing how diverse the microbiota is and how easy it is to re-colonize the skin.
We mapped some of the findings as shown in the Figure (on the right; the figure on the left maps bacteria in GI tract, from Dr. Richard Lord’s presentation at the 2008 Functional Medicine Symposium in Carlsbad, CA). Moist sites are shown with blue arrows, such as inside the nose, the armpits, the navel, dry areas are shown with green arrows, such as the forearm and oily sites are shown with yellow arrows: inside the ear, between the eyebrows, forehead, the back of the scalp.
Sites of most bacterial diversity were : The index finger, back of knee, forearm, palm and sole of foot.The forehead displayed the least diversity (with bacterial populations strongly preffering this site and not letting other bacteria to co-habit the space), but there were individual differences between different people. The mouth cavity showed the least variation in diversity both within individuals and between people. Studies of other microbes such as viruses and bacteriophages show low diversity in the airways as well, even though the human respiratory tract is constantly exposed to a wide variety of microbes and environmental agents. There is a difference between diseased and non-diseased individuals though - in Cystic Fibrosis (CF). for example, viromes are enriched in aromatic amino acid metabolism. Note that this disease causes a distinct acidic breath - the more severe the condition is in an individual, the more acidic his breath becomes. The microbes were especially sensitive to amino-acid starvation indicating that therapeutic measures may be more effective if used to change the respiratory environment, as opposed to shifting the taxonomic composition of resident microbiota.
Altered breath resulting from changed micrflora is a known phenomenon and it can be detected not only by complex mass spec machines, but also by devices used in QA testing of foods (e.g. Cyranose pick up the scent of penzane, isoprene acetone, and benzene in the breath of lung cancer patients) and car air quality sensors to study human "fermentome". (See also ongoing clinical trials on chemicals in human breath for diagnostics of diseases).
Lead poisoning (classified as T56.0 by ICD-10, C21.613.589 in MESH, also known as Devonshire colic, Devon colic, Colic Pictonium, colica pictonium, Saturnine Gout, saturnism, plumbism, or painter's colic) is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the metal lead in the blood. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems, irreversible neurological damage as well as renal disease, cardiovascular effects, and reproductive toxicity, and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and death. Even low levels of exposure could lead to health issues such as allergies. Children six years old and under are most at risk.
Humans were exposed to Lead since at least the early Bronze Age and new about its detrimental effects on their health for over two thousand years. Yet, Lead was used for water pipes, cups, toys, statues, cosmetics, added to wines and foods. We are currently exposed to more lead than prehistoric men, but less than workers of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century or members of the Roman Society. Historians speculate that Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus had fertility problems (each had only one child) due to lead poisoning. Lead poisoning was even thought to contribute to the decline of the Roman empire. This may be pure speculation, but one thing is for sure: developmental lead exposures are associated with aggressive behavior. Prenatal and postnatal blood lead concentrations have been associated with higher rates of total arrests and/or arrests for offenses involving violence, as demonstrated in this 2007 study.
Over the years, the amount of lead found in water, food, air and everyday items has been reduced after discovering how dangerous the effects of exposure are. Lead has been removed from gasoline, residential paint and solder used for food cans and water pipes. As a result, lead poisoning is down but it is not gone.
Air is the most important route of exposure. Lead smelters, leaded gasoline, leaded paints... Almost all inhaled lead is absorbed into the body, while only about 10% ingested lead is absorbed - this number goes up to 70% in children though who are more vulnerable than adults. Environmental lead sources (closer related to proximate environment than home and care giving facilities) and, to a lesser extent, mouthing activity accounted for most low level lead poisoning in chidren under 2, in a 1985 Boston study. Dermal exposure plays some role too.
Homes near busy streets may have high levels of lead in the soil - kept from the times when lead was added to gasoline and paints or added more recently from metal smelting, battery and other manufacturing. Cities are at highest risk for unsafe levels of lead in soils.
IUPAC Name: lead(2+) Latin: plumbum Canonical SMILES: [Pb+2] PubChem Compound ID73212 Pb CDB Chemical ID6691126 Pb+2 CDB Chemical ID3969136 NCI toxicity info
Lead is one of the heavy metals, widely present and used by humans for more than 3 millennia. Like Mercury, lead is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in soft tissues and bone over time. We may be exposed to lead both outdoors and indoors as it is found in the air, soil, dust, drinking water, food, personal care, household and various other consumer products. Herbal folk remedies may contain lead. Some spices or food coloring may contain lead pigments. Some candies and illicit liquor have been reported to be contaminated with lead. Lead poisoning was documented in ancient Rome, Greece, and China.
Regardless of how it enters the body (indestion, inhalation, skin), lead is absorbed directly through the blood into tissue and either accumulates in tissues or is excreted as waste. Some of it is absorbed into soft tissue such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas and lungs. A very high proportion of absorbed lead is transferred to bone (hard tissue), where it accumulates over time and remains for long periods. The half-life (time for the body to excrete half the accumulated lead) is about 25 years. High lead concentrations can stay in the body for many years after exposure to lead has stopped.
Lead perturbs multiple enzyme systems. As in most heavy metals, any ligand with sulfhydryl groups is vulnerable. Perhaps the best-known effect is that on the production of heme. Lead interferes with the critical phases of the dehydration of aminolevulinic acid and the incorporation of iron into the protoporphyrin molecule; the result is a decrease in heme production. Because heme is essential for cellular oxidation, deficiencies have far-reaching effects.
The effects of lead poisoning on the brain are manifold and include delayed or reversed development, permanent learning disabilities, seizures, coma, and even death.
Counting evidence suggests that lead poisoning in childhood produces a long-term problem with learning, intelligence, and earning power.
Adults with lead poisoning have increased incidences of depression, aggressive behavior, and antisocial behavior. Men with lead poisoning tend to have lower sperm counts; women have an increase in miscarriages and smaller babies.
Adults with lead poisoning frequently have sleep disorders
Long term exposure to lead or its salts (especially soluble salts or the strong oxidant PbO2) can cause nephropathy, and colic-like abdominal pains.
Lead poisoning is often diagnosed by taking a blood test. Other tests may also be ordered, such as bone marrow biopsy and x-rays.
Acceptable levels in blood Levels are measured in micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) and any level of 10 or higher is a problem. Higher levels (can go above 70) can be a medical emergency.
Lead may poison children at levels lower than US standards. Levels of lead within the acceptable range (>3 µg/dL) have been linked to lower IQ scores and blood pressure. Your doctor can order the blood tests. They are inexpensive and sometimes free.
A nationwide class action lawsuit over excessive amounts of lead paint in "Thomas the Tank Engine" toy sets settled for $30 million. RC2 Press Release on the Settlement [PDF]
An environmental watchdog group in New Jersey recently issued a warning regarding excessive amounts of lead in artificial turf»Read More
Toys "R" Us, Inc. has recalled some 27,000 "Imaginarium" brand wooden coloring cases because of excessive lead in the ink on the outer packaging and in some of the black watercolor »Read More
Frequently wash hands, pacifier, toys and other items that may go in the mouth.
Encourage healthy eating habits. Feed children nutritious low-fat meals high in calcium and iron.
Flush water from tap for two minutes before drinking.
Use cold tap water to prepare baby formula.
Do not allow children or pets to play in dirt within three feet of the house’s foundation.
Wipe dust from horizontal surfaces (counters, tables or floors) with a wet cloth or mop.
Use a doormat to wipe feet or remove shoes to keep dust out of the house.
Remove imported vinyl mini-blinds from areas frequented by small children.
Keep children away from paint chips and lead dust.
Do not place cribs, playpens, beds or high chairs next to areas where paint is chipping or peeling, or can be chewed.
Learn if your home contains lead-based paint.
Avoid hobbies that use lead include soldering, or making stained glass, bullets, or fishing sinkers.
Contact your local health department for guidelines on remodeling a home with lead-based paint.
Avoid candy from Mexico or other countries that contains tamarind and/or chili.
Do not use old, imported or handmade dishes
Avoid storing or cooking food in traditional, handmade pottery from Mexico.
To prevent bringing lead home from work: use separate work clothes and shoes while at work, keep street clothes in a clean place; shower at work before going home; launder work clothes at work or separately from other cloth
HEALTHY DIET
Nutrition tips from EPA: Children with empty stomachs absorb more lead than children with full stomachs. Provide your child with four to six small meals during the day. The following nutrients
can help protect your child from lead poisoning:
Iron-Rich Foods
Calcium-Rich Foods
Vitamin C-Rich Foods
Aurametrix is working on tools to help you evaluate the risk of exposure and make the right health choices.
Aurametrix is an early phase company working on Health3.0 & Health 4.0 technologies. Better tools for a better world.
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