15.5.2.4 Continuous health monitoring and personalized medicine will become routine
One benefit of wearable smart devices and computer systems embedded throughout our environment will be near continuous monitoring of our basic vital signs. The Kinect sensor on the Xbox One can detect a person’s heart rate by observing the slight flushing our faces undergo with each heart beat – a change so subtle that humans are unable to detect it. If one is facing the sensor, Kinect can also detect whether a person’s eyes are open or closed and by looking at their facial expressions get some idea of their mood. Even with this limited data, it might be possible for Xbox One to tell if someone is having a heart attack or in acute pain and, using its Internet connection, contact emergency personnel. While Microsoft has no announced plans for fielding such an emergency medical application, it’s clear that Xbox One has most of the needed hardware and software in place to perform such basic emergency medical monitoring and notification.
Wearable smart watches should be able to detect not only heart rate, but also skin temperature and (potentially) blood pressure. Being that the watch will most likely be worn 24-7 monitoring of these vital signs could be near continuous. Inexpensive disposable devices for performing more detailed medical tests – to monitor glucose levels for signs of diabetes, to check liver and kidney function, and screen for early warning signs of certain types of cancers – are all on the horizon. Early detection of potentially serious medical conditions could save untold lives and improve quality of life, while dramatically decreasing treatment costs.
Once a person is diagnosed with a condition that requires treatment, that treatment may be personalized to the individual. Such personalized medicine will require access to the patient’s genome.
The cost of human genome sequencing is decreasing rapidly, from $100 million in 2001 to less than $10,000 per genome in 2013.[16] Within 10 to 15 years, sequencing will become standard medical practice. When costs drop below $1,000 per genome, infants will be sequenced immediately following birth (if they were not already sequenced prior to birth) and the rest of us will probably be sequenced at some point as part of a routine medial checkup. Having your complete genome on file in your medical records will enable doctors to warn you of conditions you are at risk of developing so that you can take preventive measures to avoid becoming ill. If you do become ill your genome will help doctors tailor any treatment program specifically to your body’s particular needs.
The result of continuous health monitoring and personalized medicine is expected to be more effective and less costly medical care. By 2030 people should be living longer and healthier lives.
Footnotes
[16] The Human Genome Project itself, the project to first sequence the human genome, cost on the order of $3 billon.