CLOUDY podcast | #23 How do we wear health on our wrist?

First of all, what is the Internet of Things?

These are things that are connected to the Internet. Thanks to the fact that they are connected to the cloud, they receive information and also send information to the cloud about what is happening around them.

In this context, many of us have smart watches and use them to measure some health data. They tell us that we have an increased heart rate or an accelerated heart rate, they monitor our sleep, etc. So they help us by providing us with some information about our health status, that there is a problem and we can solve it before, say, we pass out. We see that our sleep is getting worse, that our heart rate is fluctuating, we call the doctor, we make an appointment for an examination earlier.

Why have companies become more interested in employee health data these days?

It also came with the fact that people started working less in offices, there was Covid, there was a period when people were more at home, working from home, etc.

It is no longer about me being in the office with 20 other people who are watching me and if I happen to pass out, they will take care of me. Today, an employee goes to work on his own, or works from home and is not under any constant supervision or in constant contact with another person.

Let's imagine, for example, various manual workers who go and read water meters. Usually the norm is around 50-60 water meter readings per day. This means that the person does nothing else, just walks around different locations all day, lifts hatches, climbs underground with ladders, measures, he may trip somewhere, there may be an increased content of some gases, he may feel sick... Basically, unless the employee himself calls, we do not know about him, only when he is missing somewhere and often it is really late.

Then there are cases when employees go on long business trips, they are exhausted, nowadays there is a lot of stress, great demands on time accuracy, so that people do as much as possible in as little time as possible, the greatest performance.

So having some data about something happening with employees and the problem needs to be solved is a great advantage. And when I know that the person has a problem, e.g. heart problems, it is good to catch it as soon as possible.

What about the ethical perspective and the issue of protecting employee privacy? How does the employer get access to the data?

There are solutions that are anonymized. We offer one solution, called Monse Work, it is basically monitoring employees in a risky environment, where it works so that people wear a bracelet, the data is anonymized, e.g. heart rate, body temperature, basic body parameters, blood oxygenation, etc. are measured. Based on this data, the employer can then see in clear graphs or notifications that there is a problem with a bracelet or see how busy the team was, etc. If they see a problem, they can solve it further.

If employees do not want to share information, the employer will really only see the anonymized data. On the other hand, if someone feels the need, they will come to the employer themselves.

Who evaluates the data? Is there an expert, a specialist for this?

Artificial intelligence evaluates it. It can process huge amounts of data very quickly and, based on how it learns from the past, can predict what that data means now or may mean in the future.

How is the acceptance of IoT devices in employment or in society in general?

Basically, those who agree to share information receive full support. Whether from the employer or family. For example, the older generation has more doubts and rejects new technologies more. There are already some pitfalls - the device needs to be charged, worn regularly, etc.

The advantage of such devices is largely for those people who are alone. These devices usually work on networks other than regular mobile networks. This means that they work even where there is no mobile signal, it is difficult to make a call because a person is, for example, underground, somewhere deep in the forest, etc.

Such devices operate over Narrowband IoT networks and can send data even when they are several dozen kilometers away from a signal.

Has a life actually been saved thanks to IoT devices?

It has happened many times and it is mainly thanks to that prediction. It has happened in America and already in Europe – watches have measured values that basically indicated that the condition is getting worse. These are often Apple, Garmin, Samsung and similar watches, i.e. those watches that are already in the order of a few hundred euros and those sensors are of higher quality and can measure more accurate data.

For example, in Slovakia we also have a company that deals with heart failure and measures the heart rate every two days and based on the change in the heart rate behavior, it can determine several weeks in advance that a heart attack will occur. A person goes for an examination and the problem is caught before it gets to the worst.

Who to trust – experts in white coats or IoT devices?

For me, it is definitely right to trust experts in white coats, because it is their profession, they work with real people in real time and have years of experience.

On the other hand, when it comes to artificial intelligence, the longer we reject it, the longer we don't want to use it and input data into it, the longer it will give inaccurate results and the longer it will take for it to learn to give correct outputs.

It is so counterproductive that in order for something to work better, we have to start believing in it before it starts working better. For me, we need to overcome this initial rejection and skepticism and get started - and then we will see the results.

The stress is not always only at work, people often think about work at home, on the way to or from work, in short, we bring work home with us. Should we also monitor stress at home?

For example, we solved this MONSE system with the healthcare sector, as part of an initiative to measure the physical activities and values of healthcare personnel. They often work in a really stressful environment, they often work 12 or 24 hour shifts... They have to take care of people's lives and the work is very mentally and physically demanding.

Paradoxically, there may not be a problem during work. The fact that their watch beeps, that they are in a high level of stress, can be rather counterproductive. They know that they are stressed, but they still have to continue and cannot turn off and stop taking care of people's health. So they work on what is called autopilot.

The problem then arises when the autopilot turns off. The service ends, and for example, the nurse goes home. She simply turns off and is in a state where she may not be taking such good care of herself anymore, when she may not be fully aware of her surroundings and a lot of injuries happen to healthcare workers on the way home from work.

This means that it is not just about monitoring during work, but also when we are at home or traveling. It makes sense when the device measures really continuously.

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