The Future of Healthcare Fits on Your Wrist

Dr. Hon Pak, SVP and Head of Digital Health Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics sat down with Samsung Health Advisory Board members to discuss the future of health and how wearables powered by AI will play a big role in driving the industry forward. Dr. Michael Blum, M.D., CEO and co-founder of BeeKeeper AI, former Chief Digital Transformation Officer at UCSF, Division of Cardiology; Dr. David Klonoff, M.D., President of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills Peninsula Medical Center; and Professor Myung Jin Chung, Director of Samsung AI Research Center at Samsung Medical Center (SAIC) shared expert insights and unique perspectives on how Samsung can strategically embrace AI, with a specific focus on the upcoming wearables portfolio.

What do you see as the future of health and what role does technology play in it, especially when combined with Generative AI?

Professor Chung: Through years of clinical experiences, I’ve learned there is immense value in a comprehensive, 360-degree understanding of a patient’s health history. However, it can be challenging to fully grasp their lifestyle or key wellness factors, such as sleep patterns or eating habits, especially when treatment is focused on specific symptoms. Lifelog data gained from wearables can be helpful for healthcare and clinical management to understand the full context of one’s health history. And AI can assist clinicians by streamlining the management and interpretation of collected information over time, simplifying the process. The future of AI is distilling vital insights from daily life to deliver a deeper understanding of one’s health, based on continuous monitoring by wearables.

Professor Myung Jin Chung, Director of Samsung AI Research Center at Samsung Medical Center

Dr. Blum: As a cardiologist, I also want to add that continuous monitoring is emerging as a vital tool in early detection and prediction of potential disease. For instance, conditions like atrial fibrillation¹, which is high risk and high impact, yet manageable through low-intensity interventions, can benefit greatly from such monitoring. Wearing a smartwatch can help us better understand factors that may contribute to it, and Samsung can be hugely impactful here. These tools, powered by AI, can easily turn data into consumable insights and actionable wisdom, empowering individuals to take proactive steps to reduce possible health risks.

Dr. Michael Blum, M.D.

What role would you expect Samsung to play in the evolving health landscape?

Dr. Klonoff: We encourage Samsung to not only embrace AI in their health monitoring technology but to continue to lean on their pioneering heritage of innovation to emerge as a leader in promoting behavioral change. Through ongoing conversations and collaborative efforts with medical experts, Samsung can help people make the changes in their lives that are needed. Leveraging these insights can encourage people to stay healthy over the long term without feeling overwhelmed and enable them to lead more fulfilling and enjoyable lives.

Dr. David Klonoff, M.D.

Dr. Blum: I agree that technology integrated into people’s lives can be an important step to maintain everyday wellness and help prevent serious health conditions. These devices should seamlessly work in the background in an innocuous way, and Samsung has been a clear leader in this space with its diverse product offerings, ranging from smartphones and TVs to home appliances. However, the question remains is how can we successfully improve people’s daily lives from a wellness perspective. In the end, it is crucial to connect with users to understand their patterns and encourage positive behavioral modifications; and Samsung has the potential to push the limits of what’s possible, so we can all take better care of ourselves and our families.

Professor Chung: I echo Dr. Blum’s sentiment, in that while Samsung devices are already deeply embedded into our everyday lives, there are opportunities to further embrace Samsung’s device ecosystem to facilitate behavioral changes for a happier, healthier tomorrow. However, there’s immense power in making behavioral changes with support from family members; it’s more effective than taking on this challenge alone. That’s why it’s necessary to leverage continuous monitoring and insights, as well as create a care circle with family and friends. Samsung can be a huge contributor in creating a care circle by leveraging its expertise and advanced capabilities to maximize social connections with the goal of providing users with greater knowledge about themselves and their loved ones.

¹ Requires Samsung Galaxy Smartphone with Android 9.0 or later, and Samsung Health Monitor app (available only at the Samsung Galaxy app store). The Samsung ECG Monitor Application with Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification is an over-the-counter (OTC) software-only, mobile medical application for informational use only in adults 22 years and older. The app analyzes pulse rate data to identify episodes of irregular heart rhythms suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and provides a notification suggesting the user record an ECG to analyze the heart rhythm. The Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification Feature is not intended to provide a notification on every episode of irregular rhythm suggestive of AFib and the absence of a notification is not intended to indicate no disease process is present; rather the feature is intended to opportunistically acquire pulse rate data when the user is still and analyze the data when determined sufficient toward surfacing a notification. The ECG Monitor App is not intended to replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment. The ECG app is not intended for users with known arrhythmias other than AFib or users under 22 years old. Users should not interpret or take clinical action based on the device output without consultation of a qualified healthcare professional.