Wearable technology will be replaced by implantable technology in the future, according to a tech expert.
Chris Cooke, IT director of Warrington-based app development company Appitized, told a BusinessCloud Big Data conference that he expects devices to evolve as the Internet of Things grows exponentially.
“Going forward into the future with wearables and collecting data, I think implantable tech is the best thing we can do rather than wearables,” he said.
“I can see a world 20 or 30 years ahead when you can implant a device into someone and that’s constantly collecting data.”
Around 40 per cent of Appitized’s work comes from the public sector and the company has worked for a range of companies, including Reebok, EY, Cabinet Office and NHS.
One of its biggest successes has been the Pocket Midwife app, which came about as a result of a collaboration with Nottingham University Hospitals to develop the first free UK maternity app.
“The Pocket Midwife app has been downloaded by over 10,000 expectant mothers and their partners in the Nottingham area,” said Cooke.
“However we have also had downloads from over 100 different countries. It has won around eight awards.
“Currently we are only taking analytics data for usage such as screen views, time on screens from a development and marketing perspective.”
We reported last week how a system has been developed to review the 165,000 healthcare apps available on Android and iPhone for their effectiveness to both patients and clinicians.
Cooke said the potential going forward was enormous.
“If you take cancer as an example, 90 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest stage survive their disease for at least five years compared to around 15 per cent for women diagnosed with the most advanced stage of disease.
“If data was being collected yearly via blood tests, (even to start with just the high risk patients) it could provide to be hugely successful.
“Cancer costs the NHS £5 billion per year so there are some massive gains to be had.”
GlaxoSmithKline recently partnered with Google’s Verity Life Sciences to explore the production of miniature implants capable of treating chronic diseases.