Use of wearable health tech use can increase 42-fold by 2050 globally: Study

The consumption of wearable healthcare technology including blood pressure monitors and ultrasound patches can increase 42fold worldwide by 2050 approaching two billion units yearly and emitting 34 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent according to an analysisChina is projected to generate the most yearly greenhouse gas emissions from wearable healthcare electronics in 2050 followed by India The analysis is published in the journal NatureThe environmental footprint is estimated alongside ecotoxicity and ewaste issues posed by the devices A kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent is a unit measuring the climate impact of greenhouse gases emitted by comparing their potential for warming to that of carbon dioxideResearchers from the US Cornell and Chicago universities estimated that a wearable healthcare device could be emitting up to six kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent during its entire lifetime from raw material extraction through manufacturing to disposalThe researchers also showed that the use of recyclable or biodegradable plastics offers only marginal benefits whereas substituting criticalmetal conductors and optimising circuit architectures can significantly reduce impacts without compromising performanceThe teams engineeringbased framework of assessing a devices footprint during its lifecycle holds promise for establishing an ecologically responsible innovation in nextgeneration wearable electronicsThe researchers conducted a life cycle assessment of four devices they said represented wearable electronics in digital healthcare a noninvasive continuous glucose monitor a continuous electrocardiogram ECG monitor a blood pressure monitor BPM and a pointofcare ultrasound patchThe devices were selected for the analysis based on clinical relevance diversity of sensing modalities and coverage across the technology readiness spectrumA cradletograve analysis of representative wearable healthcare electronics glucose cardiac and blood pressure monitors and diagnostic imagers generates fullspectrum environmental impact metrics identifying warming impacts of 1161 kilograms carbon dioxideequivalent per device the authors wroteThe global device consumption is projected to increase 42fold by 2050 approaching two billion units annually and generating 34 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions alongside ecotoxicity and ewaste issues they saidBy 2050 noninvasive continuous glucose monitors could surpass current global smartphone sales estimated at 12 billion units in 2024 the team saidThey added that the market share is initially dominated by continuous ECG and blood pressure monitors but by 2050 continuous glucose monitors dominate 72 per cent followed by continuous ECG 19 per cent and blood pressure monitors eight per centThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever