Consumer wearables like Fitbit and the Apple Watch along with deep data and artificial intelligence (AI) all bode well for medical wearables like Biotricity Inc’s Bioflux and Biopatch.

MedicalResearch.com recently interviewed Waqaas Al-Siddiq, the Founder and CEO of small cap Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) company Biotricity Inc (OTCQB: BTCY), about the future of medical wearables and their interaction with deep data and artificial intelligence (AI). Biotricity itself is specialized in remote monitoring solutions for chronic illnesses who’s platform is comprised of three key components tailored to a variety of diagnostic and post-diagnostic applications:

• An IoT hardware with built-in cellular connectivity.
• An embedded Real Time Operating System (RTOS).
• The cloud for analysis and management of both data and devices.

This platform consists of:

• Bioflux 1.0 – A high-precision, single-unit mobile cardiac telemetry or MCT device that provides real-time monitoring and transmission of ambulatory patients’ ECG information

• Biopatch – An ECG patch that’s in development as an extension of Bioflux. Biopatch will offer an alternative to 3-lead systems and is ideal for patients with less complicated cardiac conditions.

MedicalResearch.com began the interview by noting the incorporation of an EKG monitoring device into Apple watches with Waqaas Al-Siddiq pointing out:

Apple’s new watch, with its EKG monitoring service, is not a medical wearable because it will not produce clinical-grade data needed for diagnosis or treatment. This is not to say that Apple’s watch isn’t helpful. Many people are not even aware that they have a heart problem, but if their Apple watch consistently tells them that they have an irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, they could take that as a sign to go to a physician and get a professional diagnosis. A physician will then prescribe a medical wearable device, such as our Bioflux, to monitor the patient’s heart rhythm. Medical-grade wearable devices produce clinical-grade data that is accurate to within 90-95 percent or higher and are prescribed by physicians to make diagnoses and treatment plans.

He also pointed out that anywhere between 2.7 and 6.1 million people in the U.S. suffer from atrial fibrillation and many aren’t aware that they have the condition; but Fitbit and the Apple Watch can help raise awareness and alert consumers to these and other possible health issues. This in turn gives the overall medical wearable market a boost.

Waqaas Al-Siddiq then added:

Medical wearables gather precise biometrics that aid in better diagnostics and post-diagnostic monitoring, so the fear that patients could report ‘false positives’ is actually more of a concern in scenarios where medical wearables don’t come into play or in the case of consumer-based health tracking devices. Just think of traditional doctor’s visits – patients will see their doctor for a half hour or so, during which any patient data gathered is restricted to the thirty minutes. If a doctor runs an ECG test during the visit, what are the chances that an arrhythmia just happens to occur during the test? A medical wearable that collects a patient’s ECG 24/7 in real time and in real-life settings is far more accurate, reliable, and able to catch a heart abnormality than any test that is done during an isolated office visit.

Finally and when it comes to deep data and AI, he noted:

Our core focus is to use data and synthesize it to identify areas that are of interest to the physician; thereby, focusing the physician’s time and energy on the most important factors. On the patient side, our focus is similar but to drive the patient to be more engaged and compliant by showing them, through data, how their actions are improving their biometrics and condition. Deep data and AI would work in tandem in the background in both cases, continuously reorganizing the data to determine what trends are taking place and where action may be required.

Ultimately, medical wearables combined with deep data and AI reduces costs, improves diagnostic time and provide (time strapped) physicians with a greater understanding of a patient’s condition over time. At the same time, consumer health devices (when utilized and designed correctly to drive awareness) get patients in front of a health care provider faster and earlier (where they then can be given a medical wearable device).