LifeTech Corp.

Memo
To: Chief Executive Officer
DR. MEREDITH GREY, MD

From: SAMANTHA WANN, PROJECT MANAGER

TIMIOTHY CLERMONT, RESEARCH ANALYST
FLORENCE SAMOITA, MATERIALS CORDINATOR

CC: DR. SANDI HUBNIK

Date: NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Re: PROPOSAL FOR INVESTMENT IN SMARTWATCH TECHNOLOGY

Purpose
This is a progress report on our research of smartwatch technology uses and
effectiveness in the healthcare community. This report will show the research that has
been conducted, and the research still left to do.

Introduction

Currently, LifeTech Corporation manufactures, sells, and provides after-sale support for
medical equipment, to hundreds of thousands of hospitals and private practices
globally. The recent emergence of smartwatch technology, and its wide array of
potentially beneficial uses in healthcare, have piqued an interest with healthcare
providers and executives alike. Smartwatch technology could potentially provide better
monitoring of physical activity, physiological measures, as well as help to ensure more
regular communication between patient and provider.

Healthcare professionals are seeing an increase in cases where conditions could have
been better treated, or prevented entirely, if there had been better monitoring of
patients, and communication between patient and provider. Providers are often very
limited in the information they get from their patients primarily because the average
patient does not recognize early symptoms of most comorbidities as being “worth the
hassle” of talking to their doctor. The time commitment involved with face-to-face visits
coupled with the inaccuracy of a patient’s ability to recall symptoms that may have
happened weeks ago can occasionally lead to cases where an ailment is discovered too
late, or even misdiagnosed. In cases where patients are able to answer these questions
accurately the lack of access to technology may mean the doctor isn’t asking everything
that should be asked, and due to a lack of the immediate access to notes and history
that smartwatch technology allows for.

Two areas that have caused major concerns in the past because of this inefficient
relationship between patient and provider are Epilepsy and Cardiology patients. The
remote monitoring technology of smartwatches could potentially alert health care
providers, or patients themselves, to early warning signs of more serious conditions in
certain cases. The amount of data that could be available to providers could possibly
change the way diagnosis are made, and “obtaining and analyzing information from
wearable devices is an important aspect in realizing the promise of precision medicine,”
(Trayanova, Natalia “From genetics to smart watches: development in precision
cardiology”, 2019). The potential heart rate monitoring capabilities would be especially
useful to providers for patients at a higher risk of contracting heart disease because
they could have access to regular heart rate measures. Regular monitoring of blood
pressure could alert a provider to a patient having a sudden rise or decline in blood
pressure before it leads to any long-term conditions or damage. Smartwatches could be
“of great value due to their ability to detect [epileptic] seizures with accuracy,” (Tiwari et
al., 2019), possibly allowing someone to either stop the seizure, or get help before the
seizure occurs. The daily monitoring that could be available to providers could possibly
allow them to better understand triggers for seizures, or other issues that come with
Epilepsy.

LifeTech Corporation’s mission is the never-ending pursuit of efficiency in healthcare.

We aid in this by actively developing and producing top-of-the-line medical technology,
improving the efficiency of providers in the field, and ultimately saving lives. The
capabilities of smartwatch technology could very well be the next step helping us fulfill
this mission.

Completed Tasks

Task 1: Research healthcare professionals’ insight/studies on the potential

applications of smartwatch technology, and any real or perceived benefits it may
include.

Our research into healthcare professional opinions has yielded very promising results.
Most opinions are of a positive nature and have been based on a wide range of
attributes. The limitation of time in normal office visits has been a hurdle for the medical
community for a long time, and the use of smart watch technology is proving to narrow
that limitation when used in the proper way. One study in particular we looked at was 12
doctors from varying specialties that were interviewed, their outlooks were mostly
positive and hopeful that the tech would have more benefits than cons, (Alpert, et al.,
2020). Some showed hesitations to certain aspects of the technology, but all hesitations
were meet with suggestions on how they would better the efficiency of smartwatch
wear. We also looked at another survey which is also mostly positive, but also noted the
downside. The participants of the survey made it a point to point out the fact that smart
devices have been a distraction in their work environment, (King, and Sarrafzadeh,
2019).

Task 2: Research the general public opinions on using smartwatch technology in

conjunction with healthcare professionals as part of their overall medical care.

Our research has showed that people tend to have a good amount of interest when it
comes to smartwatch technology, “in spite of poor knowledge about such technologies,
(Russo, et al., 2020). While some who are not as informed about the subject shown a
little amount of hesitation, and others who thought of themselves as ‘healthy’ individuals
had no interest in them, (Cheung, et al., 2020). A survey study showed that generally
people preferred features like heart rate monitoring, and fitness trackers, but they were
concerned when it came to the cost of these devices, (Gia, et at., 2020). The integration
of smart devices, such as smartwatches, into the healthcare system holds promising
development, and it can encourage people to exercise more, which can lead to other
healthy behaviors, (Cheung, et al., 2020).

Future Tasks

Task 3: Understand how the smart watch technology works and the potential
uses of them in the healthcare system.

In order for us to implement smartwatches as an essential technology, we first have to

understand all of its potential applications. This will allow us to hone our products to
best serve as many needs, of both patients and providers, as we possibly can with this
product line. We can also research the accuracy of the measurements taken by the
technology as it would be crucial to their use in the healthcare system, (Hahnen, et al.,
2020).

Task 4: Determine what technology, software experts, and medical partnerships

are needed

To fully understand the capabilities of the smartwatch technology, we will need to do

extensive research of studies that have been already conducted using this technology.
Preliminary research has already begun but is far from complete. There is a virtual
treasure trove of data made available within the last 5 years that has yet to be
thoroughly parsed through. The “recent advances and exponential use of wearable and
IoT technologies provide new opportunities for users and caregivers,” (Jovanov, Emil.
“Wearables Meet IoT: Synergistic Personal Area Networks (SPANs). 2019,” and these
advances could be key in the next step in the evolution of healthcare.

Updated Schedule
 **Note: Green task are complete, Yellow tasks are in progress.
November Notes:
Task 1 due:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 11/13
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Task 2 due:
Memo 11/17
Complete Task 3 due:
11/23
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Task 4 due:
Memo Task 1 11/30
Sent Complete Progress
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Report due:
Task 2 Progress Progress 11/20
Complete Report Report Research
Complete Sent Report due:
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 12/7
Task 3
Complete

29 30
Task 4
Complete

December Notes:
Task 1 due:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 11/13
1 2 3 4 5 Task 2 due:
Research 11/17
Report Task 3 due:
Complete 11/23
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Task 4 due:
Research 11/30
Report Progress
Sent Report
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 due: 11/20
Research
Report
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 due: 12/7

27 28 29 30 31

Conclusion
We have completed tasks 1 and 2 so far and are on schedule to complete our
December 7th deadline. Preliminary research for task 3 and 4 is complete, but further
research is required to better understand our subject. We are pleased with the progress
of our research thus far and are optimistic that our future research will prove to be
enlightening. After the completion of task 3 and 4 we will begin writing our final report
containing all the conclusions of our research and our recommendation on further action
by LifeTech Corp.
 Works cited

Alpert, Jordan M, et al. “Secondary Care Provider Attitudes towards Patient Generated
Health Data from Smartwatches.” NPJ Digital Medicine, Nature Publishing Group
UK, 3 Mar. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7054258/.

Cheung, M., Chau, K., Lam, M., Tse, G., Ho, K., Flint, S., . . . Lee, K. (2019, June 26).
Examining Consumers' Adoption of Wearable Healthcare Technology: The Role of
Health Attributes. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6650855/

Hahnen, Christina, et al. “Accuracy of Vital Signs Measurements by a Smartwatch and a

Portable Health Device: Validation Study.” JMIR MHealth and UHealth, JMIR
Publications, 12 Feb. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7055753/.

Jia, Y., Wang, W., Wen, D., Liang, L., Gao, L., & Lei, J. (2018, July 25). Perceived user
preferences and usability evaluation of mainstream wearable devices for health
monitoring. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC6064199/

Jovanov, Emil. “Wearables Meet IoT: Synergistic Personal Area Networks (SPANs).”
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 3 Oct. 2019,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6806600/.

King, Christine E, and Majid Sarrafzadeh. “A SURVEY OF SMARTWATCHES IN

REMOTE HEALTH MONITORING.” Journal of Healthcare Informatics Research,
U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2018,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6051724/.

Russo, G., Oliveri, S., Cincidda, C., Guiddi, P., & Pravettoni, G. (2020, November 11).
Exploring public attitude toward biofeedback technologies: Knowledge,
preferences and personality tendencies. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7662746/

Tiwari, S., Sharma, V., Mujawar, M., Mishra, Y., Kaushik, A., & Ghosal, A. (2019,
March 28). Biosensors for Epilepsy Management: State-of-Art and Future Aspects.
Retrieved November 19, 2020, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480455/

Trayanova, N. (2019, February). From genetics to smart watches: Developments in

precision cardiology. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6550458/