Every single day, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we are ending up creating vast amounts of relevant data – about almost every aspect of our lives; from online shopping habits to fitness progress, from dietary habits to reading patterns. And all of this data is being collected by several organisations to market their specific products to us in a more interactive and targeted way. This “smart data collection” behaviour is displayed by your smartphone, your laptop, iPad, fitbit, and even your refrigerator, in case you have a smart refrigerator. Thus, any device that is connected to the internet has the capability of collecting data about us and storing it in a cloud of information. And this information is used predominantly to make our lives easier.
This is now commonly called the internet of things. This is a name that was first used in the early 1990s with the development of assembly code which used execution patterns that did not rely on human data entry operations. We have come a long way since then and now we have self compiling nature at almost every step of the way with almost every device we buy.
How is it possible for us to notice and track our behaviour over the internet?
Wearable technology is now increasingly being used to track healthcare and related issues. It is being used to track the physiological changes in individuals who use it on a regular basis, keep a track of how their health pans out over a span of time, prediction of public health over the next few years, prediction of outbreaks of mass diseases in the aftermath of famines and floods, and thus, be equipped with adequate research to handle these crises and treat these diseases.
This can be done on a personal level by each of us, as well. We are already doing it, at a subliminal level. We are keeping track of how much we eat in terms of carbohydrates, fats, protein etc. We are checking how much time we spend on the treadmill and increasing the time and intensity with every passing day. We are also keeping an eye out for possible lifestyle diseases which might affect us like insomnia, obesity etc. When we use the fitness apps on our phone to track our sleep patterns, we can see exactly how the sort of lifestyle we lead affects our everyday health and well being.
How exactly will the collection of data help in prevention of diseases and improvement of general health?
The more the number of interconnected devices, the greater the advancements in embedded firmware development, the more is the amount of data, which can be analysed to predict future trends in health and fitness. While one might think that a device as simple as a thermostat or a refrigerator does not affect our health directly, we should consider that the data is still relevant from a lifestyle point of view. The only problem is that it is too difficult to hash out a clear pattern from such data, given its disjointed nature. Thus, if we can find a way to standardize this data, we will stand in good stead as far as prediction of health patterns is concerned.
How data collection helps in early detection of disease?
The data you collect using various interconnected devices can help in detecting sleep patterns, lifestyle choices like eating habits, body clock patterns etc. Thus to a great extent. a large number of lifestyle diseases can be predicted and thus prevented if you can track these data points and make sure that your lifestyle choices improve over time.
Finally, one might be concerned about the privacy of your data when you are working with so many devices that all route you to the internet. It has become very apparent that all this data is held in secure cloud storage without chances of being tapped into. Furthermore, your personal health data is of little consequence to those who are looking for wider and more sensitive information.
