Digital technologies for healthcare: from apps and wearables to AI

Abstract

This lecture presentation details the rapid evolution and clinical implementation of digital health technologies over the past two decades. It highlights the deployment of smartphone applications within the UK National Health Service (NHS), focusing on the real-time clinical benefits and workload reductions demonstrated by the GDm-Health platform for gestational diabetes management. The presentation addresses the transition of healthcare from hospitals into the community through "Virtual Wards" and "Hospital at Home" initiatives, which utilize clinical-grade wearable sensors (such as chest patches and pulse oximeters) and machine learning algorithms for remote, continuous vital-sign monitoring of chronic and acute patients (COPD, heart failure, COVID-19). Furthermore, it explores advanced AI applications in healthcare, including automated mammogram screening and the use of generative AI transformer models for home-based sleep staging, mapping deep N3 sleep profiles as non-invasive longitudinal biomarkers for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease and dementia.