Wearable technology

Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyze, and transmit information such as vital signs, and/or ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Wearable devices collect vast amounts of data from users making use of different behavioral and physiological sensors, which monitor their health status and activity levels. Wrist-worn devices include smartwatches with a touchscreen display, while wristbands are mainly used for fitness tracking but do not contain a touchscreen display.^[5]

Wearable devices such as activity trackers are an example of the Internet of things, since "things" such as electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity are effectors that enable objects to exchange data (including data quality^[6]) through the internet with a manufacturer, operator, and/or other connected devices, without requiring human intervention. Wearable technology offers a wide range of possible uses, from communication and entertainment to improving health and fitness, however, there are worries about privacy and security because wearable devices have the ability to collect personal data.

Wearable technology has a variety of use cases which is growing as the technology is developed and the market expands. It can be used to encourage individuals to be more active and improve their lifestyle choices. Healthy behavior is encouraged by tracking activity levels and providing useful feedback to enable goal setting. This can be shared with interested stakeholders such as healthcare providers.^[5] Wearables are popular in consumer electronics, most commonly in the form factors of smartwatches, smart rings, and implants. Apart from commercial uses, wearable technology is being incorporated into navigation systems, advanced textiles (e-textiles), and healthcare. As wearable technology is being proposed for use in critical applications, like other technology, it is vetted for its reliability and security properties.^[7]

^ Düking, Peter; Achtzehn, Silvia; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Sperlich, Billy (19 May 2018). "Integrated Framework of Load Monitoring by a Combination of Smartphone Applications, Wearables and Point-of-Care Testing Provides Feedback that Allows Individual Responsive Adjustments to Activities of Daily Living". Sensors. 18 (5): 1632. doi:10.3390/s18051632. PMC 5981295. PMID 29783763.
^ Düking, Peter; Hotho, Andreas; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Fuss, Franz Konstantin; Sperlich, Billy (9 March 2016). "Comparison of Non-Invasive Individual Monitoring of the Training and Health of Athletes with Commercially Available Wearable Technologies". Frontiers in Physiology. 7: 71. doi:10.3389/fphys.2016.00071. PMC 4783417. PMID 27014077.
^ O’Donoghue, John; Herbert, John (October 2012). "Data Management within mHealth Environments: Patient Sensors, Mobile Devices, and Databases". Journal of Data and Information Quality. 4 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1145/2378016.2378021.
^ https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081228 Factors influencing smartwatch use and comfort with health data sharing: a sequential mixed-method study protocol
^ ^a ^b Cilliers, Liezel (2019-05-30). "Wearable devices in healthcare: Privacy and information security issues". Health Information Management Journal. 49 (2–3): 150–156. doi:10.1177/1833358319851684. ISSN 1833-3583.
^ O'Donoghue, John; Herbert, John; Sammon, David (2008). "Patient Sensors: A Data Quality Perspective". Smart Homes and Health Telematics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 5120. pp. 54–61. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-69916-3_7. ISBN 978-3-540-69914-9.
^ Liu, Xing; Chen, Tianyu; Qian, Feng; Guo, Zhixiu; Lin, Felix Xiaozhu; Wang, Xiaofeng; Chen, Kai (2017). "Characterizing Smartwatch Usage in the Wild". Proceedings of the 15th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services. pp. 385–398. doi:10.1145/3081333.3081351. ISBN 978-1-4503-4928-4.

[1] Düking, Peter; Achtzehn, Silvia; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Sperlich, Billy (19 May 2018). "Integrated Framework of Load Monitoring by a Combination of Smartphone Applications, Wearables and Point-of-Care Testing Provides Feedback that Allows Individual Responsive Adjustments to Activities of Daily Living". Sensors. 18 (5): 1632. doi:10.3390/s18051632. PMC 5981295. PMID 29783763.

[:7-2] Düking, Peter; Hotho, Andreas; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Fuss, Franz Konstantin; Sperlich, Billy (9 March 2016). "Comparison of Non-Invasive Individual Monitoring of the Training and Health of Athletes with Commercially Available Wearable Technologies". Frontiers in Physiology. 7: 71. doi:10.3389/fphys.2016.00071. PMC 4783417. PMID 27014077.

[3] O’Donoghue, John; Herbert, John (October 2012). "Data Management within mHealth Environments: Patient Sensors, Mobile Devices, and Databases". Journal of Data and Information Quality. 4 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1145/2378016.2378021.

[4] ttps://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081228 Factors influencing smartwatch use and comfort with health data sharing: a sequential mixed-method study protocol

[Cilliers_150–156-5] Cilliers, Liezel (2019-05-30). "Wearable devices in healthcare: Privacy and information security issues". Health Information Management Journal. 49 (2–3): 150–156. doi:10.1177/1833358319851684. ISSN 1833-3583.

[6] O'Donoghue, John; Herbert, John; Sammon, David (2008). "Patient Sensors: A Data Quality Perspective". Smart Homes and Health Telematics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 5120. pp. 54–61. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-69916-3_7. ISBN 978-3-540-69914-9.

[:1-7] Liu, Xing; Chen, Tianyu; Qian, Feng; Guo, Zhixiu; Lin, Felix Xiaozhu; Wang, Xiaofeng; Chen, Kai (2017). "Characterizing Smartwatch Usage in the Wild". Proceedings of the 15th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services. pp. 385–398. doi:10.1145/3081333.3081351. ISBN 978-1-4503-4928-4.

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