It’s increasingly common for wearable garments to perform a range of performance tracking functions, but it’s increasingly the case that wearables are monitoring our health as well as our fitness.

For instance, I wrote last year about a wearable patch that’s designed to monitor for signs of arthritis.  The patch utilizes the same technology used to detect damage in the wings of an aircraft.  The technology listens out for subsonic cracking sounds in joints, which are an early indicator of later problems.

The patch promises to provide a cheaper, quicker way of diagnosis than existing methods.

“The idea has got huge potential to change the way we diagnose osteoarthritis (OA),” the team say.  “If we’re able to link the sound signature of a healthy knee and a knee with disease, we will be able to lower the costs on society a lot.”

Catching pneumonia

So it’s interesting to learn about a new jacket that is being rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa to help detect pneumonia.  The condition is often misdiagnosed, with the likes of malaria and tuberculosis often being proposed instead due to the similarity of symptoms.  There are also difficulties in determining between viral and bacterial pneumonia.

This has led to the creation of MamaOpe, which aims to help support faster and more accurate diagnoses.  The device, which is currently at prototype stage, monitors the temperature of the wearer, alongside their breathing rate and even the sound of their lungs.

With doctors in short supply in the region, the device could be hugely valuable.  At the moment, not only are doctors hard to pin down for an appointment, but the volume of work they have means receiving a diagnosis back can take far too long.

The jacket could potentially provide a cutting-edge approach to the provision of a standardized, efficient and mobile method of diagnosis.

It has already been shortlisted for the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize 2017 and won the Pitch@Palace Africa 2017 event that’s designed to promote entrepreneurship in Africa.  It will be interesting to track the progress.