Technological advances exert a vast impact on health care and the future promises to bring forth new developments that will affect health monitoring and precision health. As described in the June 2021 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, genomic analysis has allowed for even more precise risk assessment, and the current pace of technological advancement could make it feasible to genotype infants at or before birth. The genome is far from the only contributor to disease and must be considered in conjunction with its complement the “exposome,” which comprises the totality of environmental exposures over the course of one’s lifetime, including internal exposures, such as the body’s microbiome and oxidative stresses. Personalized disease risk can be determined from genetic and exposure risk factors and used to create an individualized model of health. Meanwhile, a broader understanding of health status is being pursued in efforts such as Project Baseline (www.projectbaseline.com/) and the Precision Medicine Initiative “All of Us” cohort (https://allofus.nih.gov/), which are collecting data from tens of thousands of participants to build a model of human health and disease. This model provides an individualized baseline for personalized health, and the collective data can be used to build a framework for population-based health predictions.
Wearable health monitoring devices have become increasingly prevalent among consumers. The development of flexible electronics has further expanded the field of wearable technologies into textiles and beyond. Additionally, tear biomarker discovery is at an early stage of development for conditions other than ocular disease. Saliva also is being investigated as a diagnostic fluid and is a noninvasive source of many of the same biomarkers that are present in serum, even biomarkers for nonoral cancers for example. Also, sweat analysis recently has been reported in a headband and wristband containing flexible sensors that are capable of processing and transmitting data regarding hydration and electrolyte concentrations. All these innovations have significant potential to improve the health status of individuals, but key challenges exist. There will be no shortage of health data from continuous health monitoring sensors and efforts such as Project Baseline and All of Us, but proper interpretation of these datasets will be challenging. The unprecedented influx of continuous health monitoring data for parameters that are not normally measured at such frequencies will require an entirely new process for validation and guidelines on interpretation. Another hurdle will be management of the sheer amount of data generated. Further hurdles in the path of precision health include issues of privacy and regulatory oversight, as well as the behavioral psychology of keeping users engaged in various practices.