Is Wearable Technology Part of the Future of Orthopedic Health Care?

Abstract

Wearable technology is an exciting industry that has gained exponential traction over the past few years. This technology allows individuals to track personal health and fitness parameters and is becoming more and more precise with modern advancements. As these devices continue to increase in accuracy and gain further utilities in health monitoring, their potential to influence orthopedic care will also grow. Orthopedic surgeons may use this technology to monitor the perioperative course of their patients, who can remotely communicate various parameters related to care without needing to physically be seen by their providers. Wearable devices, while of course promising in the field of medicine, still have limitations that must be overcome before they can widely be adopted into orthopedic care. Our goal is to review current wearables on the market, discuss their potential applications in health care, and postulate their future use in orthopedic care.