Advancing Healthcare Accessibility: Fusing Artificial Intelligence with Flexible Sensing to Forge Digital Health Innovations
Lingting Huang, Zhengjie Chen, Zhèn Yáng, Wei Huang · BME Frontiers · 2024
In recent years, the rapid advancement of digital technologies has precipitated a paradigm shift in global healthcare, heralding a new era of digital health methodologies.This transition underscores a universal consensus on the imperative of digitalization and the application of sophisticated information and communication technologies to achieve universal health coverage, aimed at enhancing health outcomes and overall well-being.Central to this transformation is the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, wearable smart devices, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which have greatly enhanced data collection, analysis, storage, and transmission, laying the foundation for a comprehensive healthcare system [1,2].This system significantly improves diagnostic accuracy, enables data-driven therapeutic interventions, supports individual health self-management, and promotes patient-centric care, thus playing a crucial role in the ongoing development of healthcare infrastructures.As digital health continues to evolve, it prompts a focused examination toward eliminating healthcare disparities, aiming for a universal healthcare model that emphasizes accessibility, affordability, and sustainability [3].Flexible sensing technologies stand out in today's healthcare system because of their adaptability, comfort, and lightweight construction, which improve data accuracy and continuity for enhanced health monitoring.Their integration with AI represents a significant advancement in personal health management and supports a more inclusive digital health ecosystem, vastly enhancing health data analysis and advancing healthcare equity and accessibility (Figure ).Constructed from elastic materials designed to conform to the human body's various shapes, flexible sensors are increasingly utilized in healthcare for monitoring health indicators.These sensors are adept at measuring a comprehensive array of physiological and biochemical markers, such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory functions, electrophysiological signals, metabolites, proteins, electrolytes, and microbial presence, showcasing their utility through high compliance, seamless integration, noninvasiveness, and cost-effectiveness [4].Their application spans remote disease monitoring, therapeutic interventions, intelligent prosthetics, and rehabilitation technologies,