Consumer-facing digital tools have led to the birth of so-called digital biomarkers, which show promise in helping consumers and doctors gain insight on health and disease. However, these new technologies face some roadblocks to being adopted.<\/p>\n
A report<\/a> issued by Rock Health, \u201cThe Emerging Influence of Digital Biomarkers on Healthcare,\u201d describes the potential advantages of digital biomarkers and some of the challenges associated with using this tool.<\/p>\n \u201cDigital biomarkers are consumer-generated physiological and behavioral measures collected through connected digital tools,\u201d the report\u2019s authors explained. These new technologies might report previously validated measurements or they might deploy these known measurements for novel insights. For example, blood pressure measurement already provides insight into cardiovascular risk. But it might also be linked to major depression.<\/p>\n Through smartphones, consumers have the flexibility to continuously track their heart rate or blood pressure, rather than occasional checks in clinical settings. This is an example of the \u201cincredible opportunity\u201d digital biomarkers provide for \u201cfor fluid data transport with ownership of data shifting from the industry to the consumer,\u201d the authors noted.<\/p>\n