Addressing the healthcare cost dilemma by managing health instead of managing illness - An opportunity for wearable wireless sensors

The cost of healthcare is increasing worldwide. Without disruptive changes, a large part of the population in many developed countries will no longer be able to afford healthcare by 2040. Part of the solution will come from focusing on prevention. Having personal tools at everyone´s disposal, which will help people to monitor their health and to change their behavior, can enable disease prevention. Managing weight and managing stress are two societal challenges where a behavioral change can have huge cost savings. In this paper, it is shown how wearable sensor devices are able to detect energy expenditure as well as monitor stress levels. System aspects and validation are discussed. Because convenience and user acceptance are key for making these tools a success, smaller form factors and more convenient sensor locations on the body are required.