Technological innovation is driving monumental shifts in the healthcare sector.
AI and machine learning are being used to detect diseases from x-rays. Robot-assisted surgery is resulting in increased precision and shorter recovery times for minimally invasive procedures. COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of telemedicine, meaning that patients can now consult with healthcare providers remotely, reducing the need for in-person visits.
Yet despite these innovations, the need for transformative solutions has never been greater in an overwhelmed, post-COVID healthcare environment.
Technology could relieve increasing pressures
In the UK, more than 300 times as many people are waiting over a year for treatment on the NHS, compared to before the pandemic. A hidden backlog of people who have not found their way into the system because of the pandemic threatens to further increase demand on the service in the future. In this mix, an ageing demographic is piling the pressure on healthcare systems.
Providers know that staying at the forefront of technological advancements (for example, monitoring capabilities for Hospital at Home services) is crucial for delivering the best patient care, reducing pressure on the workforce, and reducing costs (and wait times) through efficiency.
Technology that benefits patients and practitioners
Clearly, the challenges faced by health providers today are significant, but so are the opportunities to address them.
Founded by a former GP, we have a unique understanding of the demands on healthcare services and have developed a ground-breaking solution that merges technology innovation and patient wellness. We want to help organisations as they empower people’s personal health, which is why we created EarMetrics®️.
EarMetrics®️ is a unique technology that takes biometric readings from the ear. We are working with partners to fit EarMetrics®️ into devices that are already used by many in day-to-day life.
Designed with patients and consumers in mind, our in-ear sensor technology can be integrated into wearables, hearing aids, hand-held multi-diagnostic healthcare devices and hospital medical monitors. This will allow a proactive approach to care.
Real-world digital measures like heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate and pattern, temperature, oxygen level, digital blood pressure measures, and even gait readings will be collected by EarMetrics®️ and stored securely in EarMetrics® Cloud.
The goal is for this data to enable a more holistic understanding of personal health. For instance, EarMetrics®️ would make it possible for practitioners to deliver personalised healthcare and monitor patients remotely. The data it records is also longitudinal, which would allow users and practitioners to learn from full digital phenotypes and spot changes in patterns over time – crucial to the proactive identification of declining health and novel digital biomarkers.
Equally, individuals would have the power to manage, share and monitor their own health data, however they choose, and with full control over its usage.
By equipping people and practitioners with the technology and data to make informed health choices, EarMetrics®️ is supporting a new era of collaboration in healthcare management.
If you’re interested in enhancing your products with the EarMetrics®️ IP, we want to hear from you.
Augmenting medical technology with EarMetrics®
We believe that digital transformation in healthcare needs to break down the barriers to access and quality of personalised care. By introducing in-ear diagnostics that aim to be medical grade to everyday devices, we can transform the standard of patient insights, treatment and efficiency of care.
Linked to an electronic health record or third-party health monitoring app, our technology intends to support the job that post-COVID telemedicine started. This reliable remote care could relieve the pressure on surgeries and hospitals through virtual wards or remote patient monitoring of chronic conditions. But it will be particularly transformative for individuals with limited access to healthcare facilities.
People in remote or underserved areas, and members of the community who do not have a smartphone, can all benefit from health tracking, with EarMetrics®️ fitted in their hearing aids, or by using earphones for just a few minutes a day.
What’s more, the space that our in-ear sensors work in is unaffected by skin colour differences that have been found to impair the readings of common pulse oximeters. EarMetrics®️ is racially inclusive and its widespread use in surgeries, triage and hospital wards could result in improved outcomes for patients.
As new data collection systems become established, and vast banks of health information are accumulated, the potential for non-biased AI to process it, find patterns, and predict trends is set to redefine the health landscape. By applying AI to EarMetrics®️ data, there’s also the potential to spot the development of novel digital biomarkers.
We're looking for new partners to help us drive positive change and transform how we monitor and diagnose health through in-ear innovation. We are committed to paving the way for a healthcare landscape that is more connected, efficient, accessible, and patient-centric. Join us on this exciting journey and be part of the revolution!