Blood pressure monitor with iPhone app. Image at the article quoted. All rights with the original publisher

Tim Sweeney wrote in January a blog on Innovation Excellence on this year’s tech trends.

I only recently stumbled on his article and think it is worth sharing.

I want to especially point to his report on apps and technologies that lets users monitor and manage their health.

He writes in Innovation Excellence | Five Tech Trends Impacting Business Innovation in 2012:

“Novel apps and devices will increasingly let consumers discreetly manage their health more productively. Self analysis tools have just begun to trickle into the market with technology like Fitbit and JawboneUP. Research company Technavio predicts that the global mobile health applications market will reach USD 4.1 billion by 2014, up from USD 1.7 billion in 2010.

“You’ll see solutions for diagnosing, monitoring and treating a variety of illnesses – from obesity to asthma, from poor vision or hearing to high blood pressure. Seemingly disparate data points, work activity, commute, financial and calendar data will be compared to health behaviors to achieve new understanding of ones self. This data tracking will create new benefits for the individual. It will also intensify the data concerns and scrutiny if online and cloud services that support the system of personal data storage.

“Need further proof? Apple’s App Store currently offers 9,000 mobile health apps (1,500 cardio apps, 1,300 diet apps, 1,000 stress and relaxation apps, and 650 women’s health apps). By mid-2012, this number is expected reach 13,000 (Source: MobiHealthNews, September 2011).

“Collecting, sharing, tracking and optimization of oneself is a major trend for 2012. Look for this trend to extend into other sectors throughout the year.”

The article continues to list some of the gadgets out there in more detail.

I consider this a very interesting development that is worth to follow. Are you seeing similar trends in technology use for health care?

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