by The leading cause of death in the United States is cardiovascular disease. In 2017, over 640,000 people died from heart disease in the US alone, with roughly 1/3 of deaths worldwide attributed to heart disease. While it may be out of sight and mind for many people, it has become a selling point for a multitude of new and upcoming products in the technological world. While the prospects of being constantly watched may sound invasive, it is important we recognize their innovative and unprecedented value to the world.
Apple released their new watch with a built-in ECG machine and heart monitor prized as the main selling points. They stated that their technology would aid in monitoring your vital signs, sending an alert should your heartbeat undergo any dramatic or possibly dangerous fluctuations. This wearable technology offers what could only be found in a hospital bed while under intensive care, and while that may be an option for some, it is not for the vast majority of people. This level of care is lifesaving and is proof that we are moving into a new age of advanced awareness of both ourselves and others. While heart attacks and related afflictions are deadly and sudden, they are treatable if one were to act fast. With the data that the apple watch and similar devices can provide, the proper authorities can be alerted as soon as it happens so that the victim receives help as soon as physically possible, instead of waiting for someone else to notice their predicament.
Another exciting piece of wearable technology moving through stages of development is a technologically enabled bandage containing a microchip which tracks your vital signs and behavioral patterns in order to allow your doctors better and more accurate data on your condition in your day to day life from a remote setting. While it may seem futuristic and possibly even a violation of privacy, the reality of this technology is that it has the invaluable potential to provide data that patients might not deem necessary, possibly alerting someone to a hidden affliction. This technology could provide a patient the dignity of living out their lives in their own home, confident in their doctor’s ability to monitor them for unexpected or dangerous changes in their body that would otherwise require them to live out their days in a facility.
The concession of privacy in this manner is one that has been made in the past, but never on this scale. We let technology into our lives to accentuate our lifestyles in a number of ways, such as allowing tracking data to be kept on browsers so that your searches can more effectively find what you might be looking for based on previous viewing habits. While this might seem small, if one had access to this data, it would not be hard to guess at someone’s location, lifestyle, and identity, leaving us entirely at the mercy of an observer. The reason we can comfortably do this is that we trust in technology, and the companies behind the technology to protect our data. We similarly trust doctors with the same data being collected by these machines, though on a much smaller scale. While it may seem scary, it ultimately isn’t all that much more of a dive into your privacy, and the benefits could very well save your life.