Do you have someone who watches over your mind and body every day?
Like a mother nurturing and watching over her newborn’s health daily, do you have someone caring for your mental and physical well-being? As we grow older, we often lose such presences in our lives. Eventually, we may find a partner, and we start to care for each other’s minds and bodies daily. Yet, amid our busy lives, even our partners may find it hard to consistently focus on our mental and physical well-being.
When we fall seriously ill, we are hospitalized, and medical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, watch over us daily. But once we recover, we return to our daily lives, and that daily care disappears. Spouses or family members may notice when we are visibly struggling, but without obvious signs, it is harder for them to detect the silent progression of changes within our minds and bodies.
Suddenly, one might collapse and pass away, commit suicide, or a disease might be discovered too late after it has worsened. Often, these diseases do not start suddenly but have been progressing slowly, unseen, until they surpass our health’s limit and become apparent. If we could detect these invisible, gradual changes approaching the limit in our mind and body, we could take actions to adjust our lifestyle, including our diet and exercise, to prevent us from crossing that threshold and moving away from that limit.
Key Challenges Highlighted by WHO: Reducing Deaths from NCDs Through Lifestyle Changes
According to the latest “World Health Statistics” released by the World Health Organization (WHO), 74% of deaths worldwide are due to preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The leading causes of these deaths are cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes, followed by cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. These four conditions account for more than 80% of deaths from NCDs before the age of 70. Risky behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, harmful use of alcohol, and living in polluted air all increase the risk of dying from an NCD. High blood pressure is identified as the most significant metabolic risk factor, followed by high blood sugar and obesity. Thus, lifestyle adjustments, including diet and physical activity, can significantly reduce the risk of these diseases.
WHO recognizes the socioeconomic impact of NCDs as immense, posing a significant threat to the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030. NCDs are deeply intertwined with poverty, often leading to increased healthcare costs and financial burdens for both individuals and communities. Consequently, WHO emphasizes the importance of comprehensive global efforts to manage and prevent NCDs by addressing risk factors and implementing cost-effective, inclusive measures.
For more details, visit [Noncommunicable diseases].
Illustration adapted from The Economic Times: WHO report: 74% of Global Deaths are due to non-communicable diseases.
Creating a World that Monitors Our Mental and Physical Health Every Day in Response to WHO’s Call
Most of the diseases leading to death globally, known as NCDs, can essentially be described as the manifestation of daily, progressive changes in our mental and physical health that exceed health limits. Therefore, having a presence that monitors our health status every day could prevent these conditions. Moreover, this daily monitoring can surpass the care a mother gives to her newborn or partners give to each other, as advancements in technology can detect changes invisible to the human eye. This unprecedented, powerful system for maintaining health and preventing disease can respond to WHO’s call to action.
To illustrate with a clear example, diseases like cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and diabetes that lead to death among NCDs do not occur suddenly. They are the result of years, sometimes decades, of high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and high blood sugar, which slowly but surely lead to pathological changes in the arteries and capillaries, surpassing health thresholds. For instance, a blood pressure reading that seems static at 150/95 mmHg during a check-up can actually fluctuate significantly due to various daily activities and events, hence the growing ideal of continuously monitoring blood pressure. However, as discussed in another blog, we are not yet capable of daily monitoring the entire vascular system, where the diseases originate. If we could visualize not only blood pressure and blood sugar levels but also the condition of the blood vessels where diseases occur and monitor them daily, it would be possible to manage the risk of sudden events like cardiovascular diseases and strokes in real time. By managing these risks along with medication for blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and self-managing lifestyle choices, we could potentially prevent fatal events.
For more details, visit [MONITORING BLOOD VESSELS: REAL INDICATORS OF YOUR HEALTH].
Technologies Needed to Create a World That Monitors Our Mental and Physical Health Daily
To create a world that monitors our mental and physical health every day, addressing WHO’s call to action, necessitates the development and integration of various technologies. Here’s an overview of what might be required:
- Development of Body Sensor Technology: Innovations in body sensor technology could enable the visualization of invisible changes in our health. This could include, for instance, non-invasive imaging of the entire vascular system and blood flow, real-time monitoring of brain activity to assess mental states, stress levels, nutritional deficiencies, and tracking of microbiomes such as oral and gut bacteria. Initially, it’s acceptable for the technology to be large-scale. Once visualization is achieved, the focus should shift towards miniaturization and further research and development into the built-in technology mentioned next
- Integration of Sensor Technology into Daily Life: Embedding body sensor technology into everyday objects—household appliances, clothing, homes, offices, and urban infrastructure—could allow for continuous health monitoring. This integration could cover a wide range of physiological data, such as breathing patterns, vascular and blood flow conditions, blood sugar levels, as well as balance and posture from standing or sitting, walking styles, facial muscle movements, and eye and eyelid movements.
- AI for Real-Time Health Analysis and Prevention: An AI system could analyze data from body sensors in real-time, evaluating our mental and physical state, predicting future health risks, and suggesting preventive actions tailored to each individual. This concept, which I have chosen to call ‘Mother AI,’ is named for the nurturing love a mother provides by vigilantly watching over her newborn, a vulnerable being, every day. The Mother AI reflects the traditional protective and caring role of mothers and, through technology, aims to offer unprecedented levels of health care and disease prevention.
Examples of What Can Be Achieved Through the Integration of These Three Developments
When spasms cause blood vessels to constrict and narrow, blood flow decreases or stops, leading to insufficient oxygen and nutrient supply to organs, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Developing technology that captures real-time spasms or sudden decreases in blood flow caused by them, and integrating it into daily life, can alert us the instant a spasm occurs. Real-time detection of vascular spasms, especially in critical organs like the heart and brain, could become a crucial method for preventing serious health issues such as heart attacks and strokes.
Current State of Monitoring Technologies
Current monitoring technologies that have entered our lives, meeting the criteria of points one and two, prominently include heart rate and activity level monitoring via smartwatches. I personally use one and have found it beneficial for adjusting my lifestyle in a natural way, such as increasing my daily walks if I notice my activity levels are low. This has been particularly reassuring for me, as I have a mild arrhythmia, and the device allows me to be aware of any occurrences of rapid heartbeat. Research and development efforts are underway to utilize AI in analyzing information from wearable devices to detect abnormalities before they develop into diseases. This represents one of the greatest success stories in leveraging our biometric information continuously and daily for health benefits. However, a challenge remains in the limited range of health data that smartwatches can currently measure. I believe that by developing technology capable of capturing a broader spectrum of biometric information and integrating it into more everyday objects and urban infrastructure, we can achieve a world where the mental and physical states of individuals are comprehensively and continuously monitored every day.
My Work on Home Retinal Monitoring
As an example from my research and development work, I have been developing a system for monitoring age-related macular degeneration, a condition affecting the retina of the eye, at home. This involves miniaturizing and reducing the cost of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices found in clinics, transforming them into eye-monitoring devices that can be used for self-imaging at home, named as home-OCT. The data captured by home-OCT is sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth and then uploaded to the cloud through Wi-Fi for storage. AI then analyzes this data to inform patients about the optimal timing for treatment interventions. This demonstrates that even specialized diagnostic equipment, traditionally found only in clinics, can be adapted for home use with the right ideas and concepts, similar to taking a selfie with a smartphone to manage and monitor diseases. This example showcases the integration of advanced body-sensing technology into our daily lives.
For more details, visit [FRONTIERS IN HOME MONITORING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: OPTIMIZING TREATMENT TIMING FOR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION THROUGH HOME MONITORING].
Potential Barriers to Overcome
Implementing this research and development comes with several barriers that must be overcome.
- Privacy and Security Issues: Health-related data is highly personal and confidential. It’s essential to consider methods for protecting personal information and ensuring data security during the collection and analysis of data.
- Cost and Access: Advanced health monitoring technologies can be expensive, posing a problem for individuals and communities with economic constraints. It’s necessary to explore how to improve access to technology for everyone, not just a privileged few.
- Technical Barriers and Literacy: Not everyone can understand and effectively use the latest technology. User-friendly designs and the provision of technical education are crucial.
- Social and Cultural Factors: Attitudes and beliefs about health vary by culture. It’s important to consider how new health monitoring technologies will align with cultural values and expectations and respect them.
- Regulations and Policies: The introduction and widespread adoption of health monitoring technologies require an appropriate regulatory framework. Policymakers and regulatory bodies need to discuss how to promote innovation while ensuring the safety of society and individuals.
To overcome these barriers, collaboration among technology developers, policymakers, and healthcare providers is vital to ensure safety, affordability, accessibility, and ease of use. Possible measures include strict application of data protection laws, development of low-cost alternative technologies, provision of subscription models or public funding, and design of intuitive user interfaces. Additionally, education and awareness are indispensable for the diffusion of technology. Although the future of health management through technology is promising, sincerely addressing these challenges and striving for equitable benefits for all is key to true success.
Shall We All Push Forward with the Three Key Tech Developments Together?
The higher quality and quantity of health information significantly enhance the capabilities of ‘Mother AI,’ a concept aimed at monitoring mental and physical health. Thus, innovation in body sensor technology and its integration into everyday life are crucial determinants of the healthcare levels provided by Mother AI. Such advancements require collaboration across various sectors, including automotive, electronics, housing, and fashion, integrating health monitoring concepts into their corporate social responsibility initiatives. Additionally, municipal planning that incorporates health monitoring into urban design is vital. Overcoming societal and technological barriers is essential for progress. This project aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by aiming for sustainable and inclusive health monitoring solutions. I would like to express my personal commitment to contributing to the realization of this vision, calling for collective action to ensure no individuals are left behind in achieving global health and well-being.