The Internet of Things (IoT) is stepping out of Sci-Fi movies and entering our daily lives, ready to fight even the most difficult conditions, like cancer. From simple devices such as the Fitbit band to state-of-the-art medical advancements, these can have a significant positive impact on the state of a patient’s health. Insulin pumps, pacemakers, and other gadgets can be connected to our bodies and create a synergy that helps monitor and influence the course of action, which can be a turning point, especially for chronic diseases.
What is mesothelioma?
A unique situation is that of mesothelioma, a form of cancer that affects the layer of tissue covering internal organs, called the mesothelium. This is one of the most aggressive and dangerous types of cancer since it only has a 5-year survival rate of 9%, which is extremely poor. Most patients can only hope to survive 1-2 years, and the treatment options are harsh and invasive. These include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
This gloomy situation is made worse by the fact that usually the condition is discovered when it is already too late. In this case, wearable technology could represent a ray of hope. The careful monitorization and evaluation of tissue can identify risks much sooner than previous methods and warn doctors about the need to start treatment right away. Also, it could be used as a means to deliver active substances to the body at a controlled rate and monitor the response continuously.
Recent advances in AI for healthcare
Cancer is an encompassing name for a wide range of conditions that can affect different areas, with similar symptoms. Some of the most sophisticated tools include:
- Precision medicine – this is a highly individualized approach to treatment which takes into consideration the patient’s DNA as a starting point. An AI model will be developed to target specific types of cancer taking into consideration other characteristics of the patient, such as genetic predispositions. The codename is Project Hanover.
- Machine learning powered by wearables – the idea for this project nicknamed ATOM-HP came from the simple observation that between visits to the doctor, usually set at least three weeks apart, there is a wealth of information lost along the way.
- Nanoparticles – the idea is to diminish the devastating outcomes of chemo by delivering targeted treatments just for the affected cells, sparing the healthy cells from being damaged as collateral victims.
- AI image processing – the tissue with cancer looks significantly different from a healthy one. Using pattern recognition technology, a computer can learn the difference between the two and trigger an alert whenever a diagnosis can be made based on the images. The underlying technology is spectral imaging.
ATOM-HP
The most ambitious project to date that combines wearables and cancer-fighting is Analytical Technologies to Objectively Measure Human Performance. A team of cross-disciplinary scientists will try to make sense of large amounts of data collected from wearable devices. The real challenge is to find meaningful connections between the evolution of the condition and the changes recorded by sensors. Body temperature, heart rate, sleep patterns, changes in blood compositions, all could be simple correlations or could be warning signs of a causality relationship.
As mentioned before, the idea behind this project is that there is an undocumented side of the disease’s evolution. Every minute spent outside the doctor’s office is a precious learning point that, without the help of wearables, is just wasted.
In the case of mesothelioma, any hint that could improve the patient’s prognosis even by a few months is a win. Currently, the project is in its first stages and the early outcomes expected are related to learning more about the disease. As the process grows and enter a more mature phase, we can hope that some devices like insulin pumps that regulate dosage and delivery will become available.
It could also be considered a small win to learn more about the disease to provide a correct diagnosis since mesothelioma is mistaken for the more common lung cancer or even uncomplicated pneumonia, diminishing the chances of timely treatment.
microRNA
The battle in healthcare is not only to get the right substance into the body but to use as little as possible to be effective and less damaging to the surrounding healthy tissue. In a recent study, scientists used micro RNA and antibodies to target the affected cells and inject them with genes that stopped the development of the tumor. This technique proved successful on patients that were in a state so advanced, that they had no other option and helped them go into remission.
This type of treatment can be paired well with the idea of wearables since the active substance can be incorporated in a device connected to the bloodstream of delivering electric impulses.
Challenges and similar devices
Fighting all types of cancers is a well worthy cause, and the idea of wearables has already been adopted by a Texas company. They have created Novocure, described as a wearable, portable, FDA-approved Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) delivery system for glioblastoma (a type of brain tumor) patients.
The only problem with such devices is that due to their novelty, they have not been tested in correlation with other devices and it is currently unknown if the concomitant use is safe for the patient.
Are wearables the answer to a lethal disease?
Currently, mesothelioma is considered a demoralizing diagnosis with pessimistic prognoses. Yet, applications of technology, artificial intelligence, and wearable devices can be a game changer. These tools and the software powering them not only bring hope but can be the starting point of a revolution in medical care, by emphasizing preventive measures instead of treatment.
The research in this area is just starting, and there are a lot of unknowns to be solved along the way, from calibrating the models to finding the best technological solutions that are also cost-effective on the long run. We can expect a role change for the smart devices from simple monitors to a more active role in treatment.
