In this second of a series of articles on precision medicine , we look at how health data of patients can play a vital role
| Column |
JULY , 2023 | THE HEALTH
21
BRAIN BITES
BY DR WAEL MY MOHAMED
YOU ARE not alone if you use a smart watch or even your phone to track how many steps you take each day . In 2019 , over 86 per cent of adults in Europe had access to mobile devices .
In 2020 , smartwatch sales hit over seven million . Large volumes of digital data , including information about your lifestyle ( sleep , physical activity ), or physiology ( heart rate , perspiration ), are continually collected by the sensors incorporated in the wearables .
But have you given any thought to how this information may be put to use ? With the help of the ‘ connected health ’ idea , readily available consumer technology may be employed in healthcare to provide patient care outside the hospital or doctor ’ s office .
Care will be provided most proactively and efficiently possible due to devices and services tailored to the individual patient ’ s requirements and the sharing of relevant health data . There has been a rise in the usage of wearable sensors to track patient vitals and aid in the early detection and diagnosis of illness .
So , the medicine of the future may be supported thanks to linked health , which is a crucial aspect of the precision health model of the future . Scientists are already investigating fitness using this kind of technology .
Invaluable data on tiredness and running form may be gleaned from wearable technologies like pressuresensing insoles . Injury risks may be predicted and avoided if one has a firm grasp of how individuals move . Fitness and health may be measured by accumulating data on sleep , physical activity , and metabolic indicators such as blood sugar levels .
THE ‘ DIGITAL TWIN ’ IDEA
There is no such thing as a “ typical ” individual or “ typical ” patient . But then , why are we all given the same therapy based on the same set of symptoms ?
If we successfully implement precision health , we will soon be able to tailor medical care based on an individual ’ s “ digital twin .” The digital twin is a novel idea in health research that was borrowed from the manufacturing sector , where identical digital representations of physical objects ( such as aeroplanes or vehicle engines ) are generated and used to foretell the latter ’ s behaviour in the actual world .
In the medical industry , digital twins might be used to examine a patient ’ s health and unique traits , as well as predict how those qualities will develop over time . The basic idea is that someone becomes sick for the
Precision medicine : Data is the new gold
In this second of a series of articles on precision medicine , we look at how health data of patients can play a vital role
first time and goes to a doctor who has never seen them before .
After meeting with the patient in person , the doctor will consult a massive database containing information on many other individuals with the same ailment to find a representative sample with the most comparable or identical health parameters . This ‘ digital twin ’ health history will be tracked throughout time .
The information might help the doctor choose the best course of treatment and predict the new patient ’ s illness progression . They might then counsel the new patient , perhaps suggesting a different course
Dr Wael MY Mohamed is with the Department of Basic Medical Science , Kulliyyah of Medicine , International Islamic University Malaysia ( IIUM ). of treatment or a tailored preventative care plan based on the individual ’ s history . As a result , doctors may now draw from not just their personal experiences but also the information in the medical records of thousands of patients .
IMMUNOPHENOTYPING AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL
The immune system is responsible for defending the body against dangerous pathogens and cancer cells when the body is under assault by bacteria , viruses , fungus , or other external invaders . The immune system is made up of many distinct kinds of cells , much like an army .
Diseases may result from dysregulation in any of the implicated immune cell types . Evidence mounts that immunological dysregulation contributes significantly to the development of many different illnesses , including but not limited to infectious ones , cancer , autoimmune , neurodegenerative , and many more . The inability of the immune system ’ s regulatory arm to avoid harmful immune responses against healthy cells has been linked to a wide range of human diseases .
In this setting , a comprehensive immunophenotyping plan is crucial . Each patient ’ s particular immunological condition is revealed through deep immunophenotyping . Each cell that contributes to a disease may be isolated using surface markers . Infectious disorders , cancer , neurological conditions ( such as Alzheimer ’ s or Parkinson ’ s ), and autoimmune diseases ( such as rheumatoid arthritis ) may all benefit from this research .
Moreover , extensive immunophenotyping may foretell which patients would have more severe symptoms or see a slower recovery . Since every individual has a distinct immune system , this is also very significant to precision medicine . To achieve true individualisation in healthcare , tailored deep immunophenotyping should be used for both illness diagnosis and treatment decision-making . – The Health