Handbook on smart health

Humans like tools. Health, one of continuous humanity’s concerns, attracts significant investment and effort to create tools that promise to improve our health. Medicines, surgical instruments and hospital infrastructure at large, are all expressions of tools devoted to improve health. The last decades digital tools entered the scene, continuously making progress complementing all other non-digital tools. Although initially computing systems were used to make administration more efficient, soon started to help with the diagnosis process, with the process of finding better cures to some conditions, supporting surgical procedures, and much more. The Covid pandemic offers a good example on how computing help speeding the processes of designing and producing vaccines. Robots helping with surgical procedures are not science-fiction anymore. Intensive Care Units are fully packed with an array of sensing devices interconnected and monitored by computing systems, on which lives depend. There is also a significant number of smaller digital tools in the form of apps running on smaller computing devices such as ‘smart phones’ and ‘smart watches’ which are targeting softer aspects of health and well-being. Some of questionable efficacy, nonetheless popular and contributing to an increasing number of citizens becoming more aware of healthier lifestyles, all of which is, in general terms, positive in itself. Life is a continuum, and as there and there are examples of very positive uses of digital tools in healthcare, also catastrophic failures and everything in between. This is a continuous process of engineering, trials and errors, learning and innovation. This Handbook is part of that journey.
The content of this Handbook provides a wide range of samples of the innovation being developed throughout our planet in the various aspects that concern to health. It includes content addressing different levels of the complex system which are used to deliver health. We cover here the more general background of the area, different strategies of delivery, the rich infrastructure, both Hardware and Software, algorithms and applications, as well as the interaction between technology and society. This use of technology in general is becoming increasingly controversial, given the gradual continuous increase in power, which bring both more benefits for our health as well as higher risks if something goes wrong. This is composed with laws which are continuously playing catch up with innovation. All of these topics are addressed from various angles in this publication and we hope this provides a holistic update to a wider range of professionals, innovators and decision-makers, and that it provides a ground for more innovation to be created.
My appreciation goes to the many colleagues who contributed insights on their innovation as well as feedback on other contributions, helping to shape up this landmark publication.