Experts predict explosive growth in wearable devices with AI capabilities
Dr. Hon Pak, Chief SVP of the Digital Health Team at Samsung’s MX Business, met in spring 2024 with members of the Samsung Health Advisory Board to discuss the growing role of wearable devices in healthcare. In view of Samsung’s upcoming range of wearable devices, the Dr. Michael Blumdoctor, CEO and co-founder of the BeeKeeper AI medical platform, the Dr. David Klonoffphysician and president of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills Peninsula Medical Center, as well as the Professor Myung Jin Chungdirector of the Samsung AI Research Center in Samsung Medical Center (SAIC), share their unique perspectives and insights on AI in healthcare.
▲ (From left) Dr. Hon Pak of Samsung, Dr. Michael Blum of BeeKeeper AI, Dr. David Klonoff of Mills Peninsula Medical Center and Samsung Medical Center Professor Myung Jin Chung.
What role will technology play in the future, especially in combination with generative AI, in healthcare?
▲ Dr. Hon Pak, Chief SVP of Digital Health Team at Samsung MX Business
Professor Chung: With many years of clinical experience, I know that it is crucial to fully understand all aspects of a patient’s health, even though it is often very difficult. Data from wearables can help contextualize a patient’s health. For example, wearable devices can provide information about sleep patterns or eating habits, which are otherwise difficult to determine. AI can help doctors simplify this process by managing and interpreting the information collected. The future of AI is about structuring key insights from everyday health data from wearable devices.
▲ Dr. Michael Blum, MD, CEO and co-founder of BeeKeeper AI
Dr. Blum: As a cardiologist, I would like to add that Constant monitoring is essential for early detection and prediction of diseases. Risky conditions such as atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure are often preventable with simple changes and benefit greatly from this type of monitoring. With a smartwatch we can better understand the underlying issues and Samsung can play a major role in this. AI can easily convert data into useful information and useful knowledgeenabling people to take steps to reduce health risks.
▲ Dr. David Klonoff, MD, President of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills Peninsula Medical Center
Dr. Klonoff: Blood sugar data combined with sleep, blood pressure and activity data provide a good overview of individuals’ lifestyles. By having these combined perspectives earlier, we can better identify early signs of potential health problems such as diabetes. More and more people are interested in behaviors that influence blood sugar levels, even those who do not (yet) have diabetes. Blood sugar monitoring is becoming more and more common. Wearable devices and AI make this easier, allowing individuals to improve their overall well-being.
What role can Samsung play in the evolution of healthcare?
Dr. Klonoff: In addition to apply AI in health monitoring technologies, we hope Samsung will continue to encourage behavioral changes. The information people get through their wearable devices inspires them to improve their long-term health, which allows them to live a more enjoyable life.
Dr. Blum: I agree that integrating technology into individuals’ daily lives can be an important tool to improve daily well-being and prevent serious health problems. This technology should work unobtrusively and non-intrusively in the background, and Samsung is a pioneer in this area. The question we must continue to ask is: how can we improve people’s well-being ? It is essential to understand user habits and drive positive behavioral changes. Samsung is capable of pushing the limits in this area.
▲ Dr. Professor Myung Jin Chung, Director of the Samsung AI Research Center at Samsung Medical Center
Professor Chung: I agree with Dr. Blum. Although many Samsung devices are already deeply ingrained in our daily lives, there are still many opportunities to encourage behavioral changes and improve the device ecosystem. It is also important to create a care network including friends and family, in addition to monitoring your own health. Samsung can help with this by making social connections easier and allowing users to share more information about themselves with loved ones.
