Integration of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Wearable Technology for Chronic Disease Management: A New Paradigm in Smart Healthcare

• Published in: Current medical science 2021-12, Vol.41 (6), p.1123-1133
• Main Authors: Xie, Yi, Lu, Lin, Gao, Fei, He, Shuang-jiang, Zhao, Hui-juan, Fang, Ying, Yang, Jia-ming, An, Ying, Ye, Zhe-wei, Dong, Zhe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Artificial Intelligence - trends; Blockchain - trends; Chronic Disease; Delivery of Health Care; Disease Management; Humans; Inventions; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Wearable Electronic Devices - trends
• ISSN: 2096-5230; 2523-899X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11596-021-2485-0

Chronic diseases are a growing concern worldwide, with nearly 25% of adults suffering from one or more chronic health conditions, thus placing a heavy burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. With the advent of the “Smart Healthcare” era, a series of cutting-edge technologies has brought new experiences to the management of chronic diseases. Among them, smart wearable technology not only helps people pursue a healthier lifestyle but also provides a continuous flow of healthcare data for disease diagnosis and treatment by actively recording physiological parameters and tracking the metabolic state. However, how to organize and analyze the data to achieve the ultimate goal of improving chronic disease management, in terms of quality of life, patient outcomes, and privacy protection, is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide intelligent suggestions by analyzing a patient’s physiological data from wearable devices for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In addition, blockchain can improve healthcare services by authorizing decentralized data sharing, protecting the privacy of users, providing data empowerment, and ensuring the reliability of data management. Integrating AI, blockchain, and wearable technology could optimize the existing chronic disease management models, with a shift from a hospital-centered model to a patient-centered one. In this paper, we conceptually demonstrate a patient-centric technical framework based on AI, blockchain, and wearable technology and further explore the application of these integrated technologies in chronic disease management. Finally, the shortcomings of this new paradigm and future research directions are also discussed.