Integration of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Wearable Technology for Chronic Disease Management: A New Paradigm in Smart Healthcare

Biosensor in smart food traceability system for food safety and security

The burden of food contamination and food wastage has significantly contributed to the increased prevalence of foodborne disease and food insecurity all over the world. Due to this, there is an urgent need to develop a smarter food traceability system. Recent advancements in biosensors that are easy-to-use, rapid yet selective, sensitive, and cost-effective have shown great promise to meet the critical demand for onsite and immediate diagnosis and treatment of food safety and quality control (i.e. point-of-care technology). This review article focuses on the recent development of different biosensors for food safety and quality monitoring. In general, the application of biosensors in agriculture (i.e. pre-harvest stage) for early detection and routine control of plant infections or stress is discussed. Afterward, a more detailed advancement of biosensors in the past five years within the food supply chain (i.e. post-harvest stage) to detect different types of food contaminants and smart food packaging is highlighted. A section that discusses perspectives for the development of biosensors in the future is also mentioned.

Application and Prospects of Deep Learning Technology in Fracture Diagnosis

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an interdisciplinary field that combines computer technology, mathematics, and several other fields. Recently, with the rapid development of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), significant progress has been made in the field of AI. As one of the fastest-growing branches, DL can effectively extract features from big data and optimize the performance of various tasks. Moreover, with advancements in digital imaging technology, DL has become a key tool for processing high-dimensional medical image data and conducting medical image analysis in clinical applications. With the development of this technology, the diagnosis of orthopedic diseases has undergone significant changes. In this review, we describe recent research progress on DL in fracture diagnosis and discuss the value of DL in this field, providing a reference for better integration and development of DL technology in orthopedics.

Wearable Technology and Chronic Illness: Balancing Justice and Care Ethics

The management of chronic diseases has been revolutionized by the advent of wearable health technology. These devices provide personalized and real-time health data to patients. The problem that this technology is most frequently used to address is obesity and its consequences, heart disease, and certain cancers. Numerous studies have shown a correlation between being at a healthy weight and having a lower risk of developing these conditions. Yet, many smart health devices in the wearable technology sector are only, and most of the time, within the context of weight management or obesity. The major research question directing this exploration is as follows: How can the use of wearable technologies be effective in improving the management and quality of life of people with chronic health problems? The question carries with it another that is almost as important: Does the use of these devices move us toward a more moral and just healthcare system, or does it unfairly advantage some groups of patients over others? This research will focus on three specific types of wearable devices, chosen as representative case studies. They are (1) the smartwatch, a more recent advancement in wearable technology that monitors the user's heart rate and physical activity; (2) the continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which presents real-time glucose levels for the user; and (3) the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, also called a respirator, worn during sleep by individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea. Each of these devices has the potential to not only revolutionize the management of chronic health conditions but also raise some important questions about the ethics of doing so.

Nonfungible Tokens in Cardiovascular Medicine

The integration of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in health care, particularly in cardiovascular medicine, represents a disruptive shift toward enhancing the security and interconnection of electronic health data around the patient. NFTs, unique digital certificates stored on a blockchain network, bind various sources of health data to their owner (the patient) and delineate the access rights for stakeholders (providers, researchers) using smart contracts. Data sources might include electronic medical records from different hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, test centres, and mHealth devices. Accordingly, patients and their providers benefit from seamless visibility of diagnoses, medications, electrocardiograms, imaging, home blood pressure logs, and artificial intelligence-enabled insights from these aggregated data. Rather than being stored on proprietary servers, data are encrypted and stored on decentralized networks with a unified point of access and immutable proof of ownership, making them more robust to theft or tampering. As custodians of their NFTs, patients are incentivized to actively partake in their health monitoring and self-driven research that aligns with their needs using innovative marketplaces that allow them to browse studies, document their informed consent, and monetize their contributions. Furthermore, they are empowered to educate themselves and seek care across siloes in traditional settings or virtual platforms such as the metaverse, where NFTs serve as digital passports. Despite these exciting prospects, adoption within the health care sector remains in its infancy, with ethical and technical limitations still being addressed. In this article we explore the multifaceted applications and key players in the field, and outline use-cases for patient-centred cardiovascular care featuring NFTs.

Trustworthy and ethical AI-enabled cardiovascular care: a rapid review

BACKGROUND

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used for prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Despite the potential for AI to improve care, ethical concerns and mistrust in AI-enabled healthcare exist among the public and medical community. Given the rapid and transformative recent growth of AI in cardiovascular care, to inform practice guidelines and regulatory policies that facilitate ethical and trustworthy use of AI in medicine, we conducted a literature review to identify key ethical and trust barriers and facilitators from patients' and healthcare providers' perspectives when using AI in cardiovascular care.

METHODS

In this rapid literature review, we searched six bibliographic databases to identify publications discussing transparency, trust, or ethical concerns (outcomes of interest) associated with AI-based medical devices (interventions of interest) in the context of cardiovascular care from patients', caregivers', or healthcare providers' perspectives. The search was completed on May 24, 2022 and was not limited by date or study design.

RESULTS

After reviewing 7,925 papers from six databases and 3,603 papers identified through citation chasing, 145 articles were included. Key ethical concerns included privacy, security, or confidentiality issues (n = 59, 40.7%); risk of healthcare inequity or disparity (n = 36, 24.8%); risk of patient harm (n = 24, 16.6%); accountability and responsibility concerns (n = 19, 13.1%); problematic informed consent and potential loss of patient autonomy (n = 17, 11.7%); and issues related to data ownership (n = 11, 7.6%). Major trust barriers included data privacy and security concerns, potential risk of patient harm, perceived lack of transparency about AI-enabled medical devices, concerns about AI replacing human aspects of care, concerns about prioritizing profits over patients' interests, and lack of robust evidence related to the accuracy and limitations of AI-based medical devices. Ethical and trust facilitators included ensuring data privacy and data validation, conducting clinical trials in diverse cohorts, providing appropriate training and resources to patients and healthcare providers and improving their engagement in different phases of AI implementation, and establishing further regulatory oversights.

CONCLUSION

This review revealed key ethical concerns and barriers and facilitators of trust in AI-enabled medical devices from patients' and healthcare providers' perspectives. Successful integration of AI into cardiovascular care necessitates implementation of mitigation strategies. These strategies should focus on enhanced regulatory oversight on the use of patient data and promoting transparency around the use of AI in patient care.

Artificial intelligence in shoulder and elbow surgery: overview of current and future applications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is amongst the most rapidly growing technologies in orthopedic surgery. With the exponential growth in healthcare data, computing power, and complex predictive algorithms, this technology is poised to aid providers in data processing and clinical decision support throughout the continuum of orthopedic care. Understanding the utility and limitations of this technology is vital to practicing orthopedic surgeons, as these applications will become more common place in everyday practice. AI has already demonstrated its utility in shoulder and elbow surgery for imaging-based diagnosis, predictive modeling of clinical outcomes, implant identification, and automated image segmentation. The future integration of AI and robotic surgery represents the largest potential application of AI in shoulder and elbow surgery with the potential for significant clinical and financial impact. This editorial's purpose is to summarize common AI terms, provide a framework to understand and interpret AI model results, and discuss current applications and future directions within shoulder and elbow surgery.

Applications of Machine Learning (ML) and Mathematical Modeling (MM) in Healthcare with Special Focus on Cancer Prognosis and Anticancer Therapy: Current Status and Challenges

The use of data-driven high-throughput analytical techniques, which has given rise to computational oncology, is undisputed. The widespread use of machine learning (ML) and mathematical modeling (MM)-based techniques is widely acknowledged. These two approaches have fueled the advancement in cancer research and eventually led to the uptake of telemedicine in cancer care. For diagnostic, prognostic, and treatment purposes concerning different types of cancer research, vast databases of varied information with manifold dimensions are required, and indeed, all this information can only be managed by an automated system developed utilizing ML and MM. In addition, MM is being used to probe the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD interactions) of anti-cancer substances to improve cancer treatment, and also to refine the quality of existing treatment models by being incorporated at all steps of research and development related to cancer and in routine patient care. This review will serve as a consolidation of the advancement and benefits of ML and MM techniques with a special focus on the area of cancer prognosis and anticancer therapy, leading to the identification of challenges (data quantity, ethical consideration, and data privacy) which are yet to be fully addressed in current studies.

Implications of climatic change on sickle cell anemia: A review

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a hereditary blood disorder characterized by abnormal hemoglobin, causing red blood cells to assume a sickle shape, leading to various complications. Climate change has emerged as a significant global challenge, influencing environmental conditions worldwide. This paper explores the implications of climatic variations on the prevalence, management, and outcomes of SCA. Climate change affects weather patterns, leading to altered temperatures, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and variations in humidity levels. These changes can have a profound impact on individuals living with SCA. High temperatures exacerbate the symptoms of SCA, potentially triggering painful vaso-occlusive crises due to dehydration and increased blood viscosity. Conversely, cold temperatures may induce vaso-occlusion by causing blood vessels to constrict. Changes in rainfall patterns might also affect water accessibility, which is crucial for maintaining adequate hydration, particularly in regions prone to droughts. The management of SCA is multifaceted, involving regular medical care, hydration, and avoiding triggers that could precipitate a crisis. Adverse weather events and natural disasters can disrupt healthcare infrastructure and access to essential medications and resources for SCA patients, especially in vulnerable communities. To mitigate the implications of climatic change on SCA, interdisciplinary strategies are essential. These strategies may include enhancing healthcare systems' resilience to climate-related disruptions, implementing adaptive measures to address changing environmental conditions, and promoting public awareness and education on managing SCA amidst climate variability. In conclusion, climatic variations pose significant challenges for individuals with SCA, affecting the prevalence, management, and outcomes of the disease.

The Emergence of AI-Based Wearable Sensors for Digital Health Technology: A Review

Disease diagnosis and monitoring using conventional healthcare services is typically expensive and has limited accuracy. Wearable health technology based on flexible electronics has gained tremendous attention in recent years for monitoring patient health owing to attractive features, such as lower medical costs, quick access to patient health data, ability to operate and transmit data in harsh environments, storage at room temperature, non-invasive implementation, mass scaling, etc. This technology provides an opportunity for disease pre-diagnosis and immediate therapy. Wearable sensors have opened a new area of personalized health monitoring by accurately measuring physical states and biochemical signals. Despite the progress to date in the development of wearable sensors, there are still several limitations in the accuracy of the data collected, precise disease diagnosis, and early treatment. This necessitates advances in applied materials and structures and using artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled wearable sensors to extract target signals for accurate clinical decision-making and efficient medical care. In this paper, we review two significant aspects of smart wearable sensors. First, we offer an overview of the most recent progress in improving wearable sensor performance for physical, chemical, and biosensors, focusing on materials, structural configurations, and transduction mechanisms. Next, we review the use of AI technology in combination with wearable technology for big data processing, self-learning, power-efficiency, real-time data acquisition and processing, and personalized health for an intelligent sensing platform. Finally, we present the challenges and future opportunities associated with smart wearable sensors.

Smart Technologies used as Smart Tools in the Management of Cardiovascular Disease and their Future Perspective

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The advent of smart technologies has significantly impacted the management of CVD, offering innovative tools and solutions to improve patient outcomes. Smart technologies have revolutionized and transformed the management of CVD, providing innovative tools to improve patient care, enhance diagnostics, and enable more personalized treatment approaches. These smart tools encompass a wide range of technologies, including wearable devices, mobile applications,3D printing technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), remote monitoring systems, and electronic health records (EHR). They offer numerous advantages, such as real-time monitoring, early detection of abnormalities, remote patient management, and data-driven decision-making. However, they also come with certain limitations and challenges, including data privacy concerns, technical issues, and the need for regulatory frameworks. In this review, despite these challenges, the future of smart technologies in CVD management looks promising, with advancements in AI algorithms, telemedicine platforms, and bio fabrication techniques opening new possibilities for personalized and efficient care. In this article, we also explore the role of smart technologies in CVD management, their advantages and disadvantages, limitations, current applications, and their smart future.

Assessing Elevated Blood Glucose Levels Through Blood Glucose Evaluation and Monitoring Using Machine Learning and Wearable Photoplethysmography Sensors: Algorithm Development and Validation

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is the most challenging and fastest-growing global public health concern. Approximately 10.5% of the global adult population is affected by diabetes, and almost half of them are undiagnosed. The growing at-risk population exacerbates the shortage of health resources, with an estimated 10.6% and 6.2% of adults worldwide having impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glycemia, respectively. All current diabetes screening methods are invasive and opportunistic and must be conducted in a hospital or laboratory by trained professionals. At-risk participants might remain undetected for years and miss the precious time window for early intervention to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and its complications.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to develop an artificial intelligence solution to recognize elevated blood glucose levels (≥7.8 mmol/L) noninvasively and evaluate diabetic risk based on repeated measurements.

METHODS

This study was conducted at KK Women's and Children's Hospital in Singapore, and 500 participants were recruited (mean age 38.73, SD 10.61 years; mean BMI 24.4, SD 5.1 kg/m2). The blood glucose levels for most participants were measured before and after consuming 75 g of sugary drinks using both a conventional glucometer (Accu-Chek Performa) and a wrist-worn wearable. The results obtained from the glucometer were used as ground-truth measurements. We performed extensive feature engineering on photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor data and identified features that were sensitive to glucose changes. These selected features were further analyzed using an explainable artificial intelligence approach to understand their contribution to our predictions.

RESULTS

Multiple machine learning models were trained and assessed with 10-fold cross-validation, using participant demographic data and critical features extracted from PPG measurements as predictors. A support vector machine with a radial basis function kernel had the best detection performance, with an average accuracy of 84.7%, a sensitivity of 81.05%, a specificity of 88.3%, a precision of 87.51%, a geometric mean of 84.54%, and F score of 84.03%.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that PPG measurements can be used to identify participants with elevated blood glucose measurements and assist in the screening of participants for diabetes risk.

Artificial intelligence in forensic medicine and forensic dentistry

This review article aims to highlight the current possibilities for applying Artificial Intelligence in modern forensic medicine and forensic dentistry and present the advantages and disadvantages of its use. For this purpose, the relevant academic literature was searched using PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. The application of Artificial Intelligence in forensic medicine and forensic dentistry is still in its early stages. However, the possibilities are great, and the future will show what is applicable in daily practice. Artificial Intelligence will improve the accuracy and efficiency of work in forensic medicine and forensic dentistry; it can automate some tasks; and enhance the quality of evidence. Disadvantages of the application of Artificial Intelligence may be related to discrimination, transparency, accountability, privacy, security, ethics and others. Artificial Intelligence systems should be used as a support tool, not as a replacement for forensic experts.

Wearable Technologies and AI at the Far Edge for Chronic Heart Failure Prevention and Management: A Systematic Review and Prospects

Smart wearable devices enable personalized at-home healthcare by unobtrusively collecting patient health data and facilitating the development of intelligent platforms to support patient care and management. The accurate analysis of data obtained from wearable devices is crucial for interpreting and contextualizing health data and facilitating the reliable diagnosis and management of critical and chronic diseases. The combination of edge computing and artificial intelligence has provided real-time, time-critical, and privacy-preserving data analysis solutions. However, based on the envisioned service, evaluating the additive value of edge intelligence to the overall architecture is essential before implementation. This article aims to comprehensively analyze the current state of the art on smart health infrastructures implementing wearable and AI technologies at the far edge to support patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). In particular, we highlight the contribution of edge intelligence in supporting the integration of wearable devices into IoT-aware technology infrastructures that provide services for patient diagnosis and management. We also offer an in-depth analysis of open challenges and provide potential solutions to facilitate the integration of wearable devices with edge AI solutions to provide innovative technological infrastructures and interactive services for patients and doctors.

Factors Predicting Older People's Acceptance of a Personalized Health Care Service App and the Effect of Chronic Disease: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

BACKGROUND

Mobile health (mHealth) services enable real-time measurement of information on individuals' biosignals and environmental risk factors; accordingly, research on health management using mHealth is being actively conducted.

OBJECTIVE

The study aims to identify the predictors of older people's intention to use mHealth in South Korea and verify whether chronic disease moderates the effect of the identified predictors on behavioral intentions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 500 participants aged 60 to 75 years. The research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling, and indirect effects were verified through bootstrapping. Bootstrapping was performed 10,000 times, and the significance of the indirect effects was confirmed through the bias-corrected percentile method.

RESULTS

Of 477 participants, 278 (58.3%) had at least 1 chronic disease. Performance expectancy (β=.453; P=.003) and social influence (β=.693; P<.001) were significant predictors of behavioral intention. Bootstrapping results showed that facilitating conditions (β=.325; P=.006; 95% CI 0.115-0.759) were found to have a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention. Multigroup structural equation modeling testing the presence or absence of chronic disease revealed a significant difference in the path of device trust to performance expectancy (critical ratio=-2.165). Bootstrapping also confirmed that device trust (β=.122; P=.039; 95% CI 0.007-0.346) had a significant indirect effect on behavioral intention in people with chronic disease.

CONCLUSIONS

This study, which explored the predictors of the intention to use mHealth through a web-based survey of older people, suggests similar results to those of other studies that applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model to the acceptance of mHealth. Performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions were revealed as predictors of accepting mHealth. In addition, trust in a wearable device for measuring biosignals was investigated as an additional predictor in people with chronic disease. This suggests that different strategies are needed, depending on the characteristics of users.

Synergizing Intelligence and Building a Smarter Future: Artificial Intelligence Meets Bioengineering

Smart Engineering (SE) describes the methods, processes, and IT tools for the interdisciplinary, system-oriented development of innovative, intelligent, networked products, production plants, and infrastructures [...].

Skin-Interfaced Wearable Sweat Sensors for Precision Medicine

Wearable sensors hold great potential in empowering personalized health monitoring, predictive analytics, and timely intervention toward personalized healthcare. Advances in flexible electronics, materials science, and electrochemistry have spurred the development of wearable sweat sensors that enable the continuous and noninvasive screening of analytes indicative of health status. Existing major challenges in wearable sensors include: improving the sweat extraction and sweat sensing capabilities, improving the form factor of the wearable device for minimal discomfort and reliable measurements when worn, and understanding the clinical value of sweat analytes toward biomarker discovery. This review provides a comprehensive review of wearable sweat sensors and outlines state-of-the-art technologies and research that strive to bridge these gaps. The physiology of sweat, materials, biosensing mechanisms and advances, and approaches for sweat induction and sampling are introduced. Additionally, design considerations for the system-level development of wearable sweat sensing devices, spanning from strategies for prolonged sweat extraction to efficient powering of wearables, are discussed. Furthermore, the applications, data analytics, commercialization efforts, challenges, and prospects of wearable sweat sensors for precision medicine are discussed.

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Dentistry

INTRODUCTION

Artificial intelligence has been applied in various fields throughout history, but its integration into daily life is more recent. The first applications of AI were primarily in academia and government research institutions, but as technology has advanced, AI has also been applied in industry, commerce, medicine and dentistry.

OBJECTIVE

Considering that the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence are developing rapidly and that this field is one of the areas with the greatest increase in the number of newly published articles, the aim of this paper was to provide an overview of the literature and to give an insight into the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence in medicine and dentistry. In addition, the aim was to discuss its advantages and disadvantages.

CONCLUSION

The possibilities of applying artificial intelligence to medicine and dentistry are just being discovered. Artificial intelligence will greatly contribute to developments in medicine and dentistry, as it is a tool that enables development and progress, especially in terms of personalized healthcare that will lead to much better treatment outcomes.

End-User Assessment of an Innovative Clothing-Based Sensor Developed for Pressure Injury Prevention: A Mixed-Method Study

This study aimed to evaluate a clothing prototype that incorporates sensors for the evaluation of pressure, temperature, and humidity for the prevention of pressure injuries, namely regarding physical and comfort requirements. A mixed-method approach was used with concurrent quantitative and qualitative data triangulation. A structured questionnaire was applied before a focus group of experts to evaluate the sensor prototypes. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the discourse of the collective subject, followed by method integration and meta-inferences. Nine nurses, experts in this topic, aged 32.66 ± 6.28 years and with a time of profession of 10.88 ± 6.19 years, participated in the study. Prototype A presented low evaluation in stiffness (1.56 ± 1.01) and roughness (2.11 ± 1.17). Prototype B showed smaller values in dimension (2.77 ± 0.83) and stiffness (3.00 ± 1.22). Embroidery was assessed as inadequate in terms of stiffness (1.88 ± 1.05) and roughness (2.44 ± 1.01). The results from the questionnaires and focus groups' show low adequacy as to stiffness, roughness, and comfort. The participants highlighted the need for improvements regarding stiffness and comfort, suggesting new proposals for the development of sensors for clothing. The main conclusions are that Prototype A presented the lowest average scores relative to rigidity (1.56 ± 1.01), considered inadequate. This dimension of Prototype B was evaluated as slightly adequate (2.77 ± 0.83). The rigidity (1.88 ± 1.05) of Prototype A + B + embroidery was evaluated as inadequate. The prototype revealed clothing sensors with low adequacy regarding the physical requirements, such as stiffness or roughness. Improvements are needed regarding the stiffness and roughness for the safety and comfort characteristics of the device evaluated.

Metaverse in Healthcare Integrated with Explainable AI and Blockchain: Enabling Immersiveness, Ensuring Trust, and Providing Patient Data Security

Digitization and automation have always had an immense impact on healthcare. It embraces every new and advanced technology. Recently the world has witnessed the prominence of the metaverse which is an emerging technology in digital space. The metaverse has huge potential to provide a plethora of health services seamlessly to patients and medical professionals with an immersive experience. This paper proposes the amalgamation of artificial intelligence and blockchain in the metaverse to provide better, faster, and more secure healthcare facilities in digital space with a realistic experience. Our proposed architecture can be summarized as follows. It consists of three environments, namely the doctor's environment, the patient's environment, and the metaverse environment. The doctors and patients interact in a metaverse environment assisted by blockchain technology which ensures the safety, security, and privacy of data. The metaverse environment is the main part of our proposed architecture. The doctors, patients, and nurses enter this environment by registering on the blockchain and they are represented by avatars in the metaverse environment. All the consultation activities between the doctor and the patient will be recorded and the data, i.e., images, speech, text, videos, clinical data, etc., will be gathered, transferred, and stored on the blockchain. These data are used for disease prediction and diagnosis by explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) models. The GradCAM and LIME approaches of XAI provide logical reasoning for the prediction of diseases and ensure trust, explainability, interpretability, and transparency regarding the diagnosis and prediction of diseases. Blockchain technology provides data security for patients while enabling transparency, traceability, and immutability regarding their data. These features of blockchain ensure trust among the patients regarding their data. Consequently, this proposed architecture ensures transparency and trust regarding both the diagnosis of diseases and the data security of the patient. We also explored the building block technologies of the metaverse. Furthermore, we also investigated the advantages and challenges of a metaverse in healthcare.

Smart home healthcare for chronic disease management: A scoping review

Objective

Chronic disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality on a global scale. Recent use of intelligent home environments for remote health monitoring has allowed patients to feel safe at home. By encouraging patient engagement and, if necessary, care delivery, smart home environments may be a useful method for managing chronic diseases at home. The purpose of this study is to synthesize the evidence on the usage of smart healthcare in the home for chronic illness management.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Methodology and searched three databases from 2017 to 2022 for original research papers on smart healthcare, smart home technology, home-based technology, home monitoring, and physiological monitoring for chronic illness management. We did a descriptive study on the pertinent data we collected, as well as an analysis of whether the devices met its objectives.

Results

The final analysis included nine papers, the majority of which were randomized controlled trials. All of the studies were carried out in developed countries. The gadgets or smart healthcare in these studies are categorized based on the technology used and the outcomes measured. Respiratory, weight, and ballistocardiograph measurements, as well as changes in questionnaire ratings, hospitalization, activity monitoring, device acceptability, medication adherence, exercise capacity, and body function, were all measured.

Conclusion

Smart healthcare applications boost health by monitoring health and wellness, recording physical activity and rehabilitation, and improving overall quality of life. Not all smart home applications, however, served their intended purpose. As a result, more research into the efficacy of smart healthcare is needed to improve its application for chronic illness treatment.

Applications of Smart Material Sensors and Soft Electronics in Healthcare Wearables for Better User Compliance

The need for innovation in the healthcare sector is essential to meet the demand of a rapidly growing population and the advent of progressive chronic ailments. Over the last decade, real-time monitoring of health conditions has been prioritized for accurate clinical diagnosis and access to accelerated treatment options. Therefore, the demand for wearable biosensing modules for preventive and monitoring purposes has been increasing over the last decade. Application of machine learning, big data analysis, neural networks, and artificial intelligence for precision and various power-saving approaches are used to increase the reliability and acceptance of smart wearables. However, user compliance and ergonomics are key areas that need focus to make the wearables mainstream. Much can be achieved through the incorporation of smart materials and soft electronics. Though skin-friendly wearable devices have been highlighted recently for their multifunctional abilities, a detailed discussion on the integration of smart materials for higher user compliance is still missing. In this review, we have discussed the principles and applications of sustainable smart material sensors and soft electronics for better ergonomics and increased user compliance in various healthcare devices. Moreover, the importance of nanomaterials and nanotechnology is discussed in the development of smart wearables.

Naturalizing digital and quality of life in chronic diseases: Systematic review to research perspective into technological advancing and personalized medicine

The increasing of chronic diseases and related health management are the main clinical and public health challenges. The long-term nature and the need for continuous monitoring in chronic disease management gave rise to early technological innovations (mobile Health) to improve care management plans, therapeutic adherence, and psychological support to the patient. This review aimed to map the literature on the impact of the use of wearable device on quality of life in patients with chronic diseases. We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE through PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus of all scientific literature published until January 2022. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 10 papers were included. This review pointed out the relevant focus on the use of wearable device in chronic disease patients highlighting the wearable device impact on several domains including quality of life, Self-Efficacy, Self-Management, and feelings on patients with chronic diseases. The available scientific literature related to the impact of the use of wearable device on quality of life and psychological features in patients with chronic diseases, general underline a need to develop professional healthcare guidelines and tailored intervention on patients with a chronic condition, using mobile Health solutions and trying to fill the lack of knowledge about the topic.

Technology and orthopaedic surgeons

Modern and innovative technologies are rapidly penetrating the clinical practices of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The ones that have proved successful for clinical use are Additive Manufacturing/3D printing, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Smart sensors, and Orthobiologics. Industry 5.0 revolution has helped provide personalised treatment by integrating machines and human beings. In this special issue, we present a collection of excellent articles on these technologies.

Smart Health Monitoring System with Wireless Networks to Detect Kidney Diseases

It is essential to change health services from a hospital to a patient-centric platform since medical costs are steadily growing and new illnesses are emerging on a worldwide scale. This study provides an optimal decision support system based on the cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) for identifying Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) to provide patients with efficient remote healthcare services. To identify the presence of medical data for CKD, the proposed technique uses an algorithm named Improved Simulated Annealing-Root Mean Square -Logistic Regression (ISA-RMS-LR). The four subprocesses that make up the proposed model are a collection of data, preprocessing, feature selection, and classification. The incorporation of Simulated Annealing (SA) during Feature Selection (FS) enhances the ISA-RMS-LR model's classifier outputs. Using the CKD benchmark dataset, the ISA-RMS-LR model's efficacy has been verified. According to the experimental findings, the proposed ISA-RMS-LR model effectively classifies patients with CKD, with high sensitivity at 99.46%, accuracy at 99.26%, Specificity at 98%, F-score at 99.63%, and kappa value at 98.29%. The proposed system has many benefits including the fast transmission of medical data to the medical personnel, real-time tracking, and registration condition of the patient through a medical record. Potential enhancement of the performance measures the provider system's hospital capacity and monitoring of a significant number of patients with a concentrated average delay.

An Investigation in Analyzing the Food Quality Well-Being for Lung Cancer Using Blockchain through CNN

Deep learning (DL) is a new approach that provides exceptional speed in healthcare activities with greater accuracy. In this regard, “convolutional neural network” or CNN and blockchain are two important parts that together fasten the disease detection procedures securely. CNN can detect and predict diseases like lung cancer and help determine food quality, and blockchain is responsible for data. This research is going to analyze the extension of blockchain with the help of CNN for lung cancer prediction and making food safer. CNN algorithm has been trained with a huge number of images by altering the filters, features, epoch values, padding value, kernel size, and resolution. Subsequently, the CNN accuracy has been measured to understand how these factors affect the accuracy. A linear regression analysis has been carried out in IBM SPSS where the independent variables selected are image dataset augmentation, epochs, features, pixel size (90 × 90 to 512 × 512), kernel size (0–7), filters (10–40), and padding. The dependent variable is the accuracy of CNN. Findings suggested that a larger number of epochs improve the CNN accuracy; however, when more than 12 epochs are considered, the accuracy may decrease. A greater pixel/resolution also improves the accuracy of cancer and food image detection. When images are provided with excellent features and filters, the CNN accuracy improves. The main objective of this research is to comprehend how the independent variables affect the accuracy (dependent), but the reading may not be fully exact, and thus, the researcher has conceded out a minor task, which delivered evidence supportive of the analysis and against the analysis. As a result, it can be determined that image augmentation and a large number of images develop the CNN accuracy in lung cancer prediction and food safety determination when features and filters are applied correctly. A total of 10–12 epochs are desirable for CNN to receive 99% accuracy with 1 padding.

Wearable Devices for Physical Monitoring of Heart: A Review

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally. An effective strategy to mitigate the burden of CVDs has been to monitor patients' biomedical variables during daily activities with wearable technology. Nowadays, technological advance has contributed to wearables technology by reducing the size of the devices, improving the accuracy of sensing biomedical variables to be devices with relatively low energy consumption that can manage security and privacy of the patient's medical information, have adaptability to any data storage system, and have reasonable costs with regard to the traditional scheme where the patient must go to a hospital for an electrocardiogram, thus contributing a serious option in diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. In this work, we review commercial and noncommercial wearable devices used to monitor CVD biomedical variables. Our main findings revealed that commercial wearables usually include smart wristbands, patches, and smartwatches, and they generally monitor variables such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and electrocardiogram data. Noncommercial wearables focus on monitoring electrocardiogram and photoplethysmography data, and they mostly include accelerometers and smartwatches for detecting atrial fibrillation and heart failure. However, using wearable devices without healthy personal habits will cause disappointing results in the patient's health.

Two new species of the genus Mecyclothorax Sharp from New Guinea (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Psydrinae)

Chronic diseases typically require long-term management through healthy lifestyle practices and pharmacological intervention. Although efficacious treatments exist, disease control is often sub-optimal leading to chronic disease-related sequela. Poor disease control can partially be explained by the ‘one size fits all’ pharmacological approach. Precision medicine aims to tailor treatments to the individual. CURATE.AI is a dosing optimisation platform that considers individual factors to improve the precision of drug therapies. CURATE.AI has been validated in other therapeutic areas, such as cancer, but has yet to be applied in chronic disease care. We will evaluate the CURATE.AI system through a single-arm feasibility study (n = 20 hypertensives and n = 20 type II diabetics). Dosing decisions will be based on CURATE.AI recommendations. We will prospectively collect clinical and qualitative data and report on the clinical effect, implementation challenges, and acceptability of using CURATE.AI. In addition, we will explore how to enhance the algorithm further using retrospective patient data. For example, the inclusion of other variables, the simultaneous optimisation of multiple drugs, and the incorporation of other artificial intelligence algorithms. Overall, this project aims to understand the feasibility of using CURATE.AI in clinical practice. Barriers and enablers to CURATE.AI will be identified to inform the system’s future development.