While AI represents one of the biggest topics in technology in 2024, it does not serve as the focus of this article. This article will focus on the health-tech portion of the show. Several years ago, health tech represented a relatively small portion of the exhibitors at CES. In recent years, health tech has, to my observation, grown faster than any other sector and, in 2024, included a substantial portion of the exhibitors at the show.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, digital health includes categories such as mobile health, health IT, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine. From mobile medical apps and software that support physicians’ clinical decisions, to artificial intelligence and machine learning, technology has been “driving a revolution in healthcare,” according to the agency.
The tools of digital health – computing platforms, connectivity, software, sensors and more - dramatically improve clinicians’ ability to accurately diagnose and treat disease. They also improve delivery of care for individual patients through, for example, medical devices, diagnostics, research, drugs, and biologics. This was a trend prominently displayed throughout the show in January. Examples of monitoring devices displayed at the show include blood pressure monitors, glucose monitors for diabetics, pulse monitors, heart monitors, blood oxygen monitors, and fall detectors. Many devices display information for the patient and transmit the information to the healthcare provider.
Digital tools give providers a more holistic view of patient health through easier and better access to data; it also gives patients more control over their health. Digital health offers opportunities to improve medical outcomes and enhance efficiency.
These technologies can empower consumers to make better-informed decisions about their own health and provide new options for facilitating prevention, early diagnosis of life-threatening diseases, and management of chronic conditions outside of traditional health care settings. Providers and other stakeholders use digital health technologies in their efforts to:
- Reduce inefficiencies,
- Improve access,
- Reduce costs,
- Increase quality, and
- Make medicine more personalized for patients.
Patients and consumers can use digital health technologies to better manage and track their health and wellness-related activities.
In addition to monitoring and reporting conditions to patients and their physicians, health tech displayed at CES included many devices designed to reduce pain, improve physical conditioning, mental and emotional states, sleep, and even sexual performance. Other devices work to mitigate the impact of disabilities. Many of those devices represented an evolution of earlier devices; some represent breaking new ground.
This year I saw more assistive devices addressing hearing loss than any other disability. Recently the FDA adopted regulations allowing vendors to sell hearing aids over the counter (OTC), not just through audiologists. Since those regulations, many companies have offered OTC hearing aids. The OTC hearing aids do not require prescriptions or the services of an audiologist. The prices I have seen for such devices varies from several hundred dollars to almost $3000. Compare that to the price for audiologist-provided hearing aids that can cost upwards of $5000. Consumers can purchase OTC hearing aids in brick-and-mortar stores or online. Designed for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, many of the OTC devices can make a major difference in the lives of the users. For people with severe or profound hearing loss, the OTC devices do not offer a good solution and they still need to see an audiologist. Given that many people who need hearing aids do not have health insurance that covers them, the availability of low or lower cost OTC devices allows more people who need the assistive technology to get and benefit from it.
Hearing aids function by magnifying the sound so the user can hear it. The more sophisticated devices focus the magnification for one-on-one conversations; but notwithstanding that, still magnify other sounds, making it difficult for the user to clearly hear a conversation in a crowded and noisy environment, such as a restaurant. Whether the manufacturers of traditional hearing aids will solve that problem remains to be seen. One of the most creative and innovative devices I saw at CES this year came from a company called Xander. They have created a pair of captioning glasses that produce a concurrent transcript for the user to read during a conversation. The glasses allow the user to carry on and understand a conversation in a noisy environment. I know that the system works, as I tried it out on the very noisy exhibit floor at CES. The Xander Glasses will come onto the market at the somewhat high price point of $5000, the same cost as a high-quality pair of audiologist-provided hearing aids.
I have run out of space, but just touched on the vast array of health tech at this year’s CES; remember that health tech represented only a part of the universe of consumer electronics on display at the show. Technology continues to advance rapidly and in many areas. Look forward to the advantages that it will provide to you today, tomorrow, and the days that follow.