Smartphone-based sensors in health and wellness monitoring – Perspectives and assessment of the emerging future

Abstract Globally, healthcare and allied service providers are exploring digital innovations to respond to prevailing pandemic crisis. Healthcare providers are exploiting, adopting new and emerging technologies in response, when conventional methods are found to be wanting and limiting. The global pandemic is creating need for new capabilities, such as contact tracing and human sensing including body temperature and other vital signs. The present capacity of both digital and physical health systems is under intense strain due to exponential demand surges. Smart sensing technologies, deployment through mobile channels, decentralized healthcare dispensing, ability to manage individual and population well-being are of prime relevance. Among others, this is due to low cost of deployment stemming from overwhelming penetration of smartphones in global population. Government, healthcare providers, academics, technology innovators are focused on newer capabilities to sustain global health delivery as variable and uncertain scenarios emerge.