Create the Future (HealThyself)
For the project Create the Future we had the assignment of designing for the healthcare in 2052 (so in 30 years). We had to choose a part of healthcare to focus on and we chose preventative healthcare.
We did trend analysis, wrote future sceanios and eventually designed for this future.
It is the year 2052. For the past thirty years the demand on the healthcare system has been high, even more so now because of the aging and expansion of society. Unfortunately, the government has not been very helpful in trying to solve this issue. Private companies have been working hard to develop new healthcare technologies to possibly relieve some pressure on the healthcare system. Despite healthcare providers knowing of the benefits of new healthcare technologies, they refuse to integrate these. They believe that the current situation is better than the possible risk that comes with integrating the new technologies. However, the general public does see the technological developments that private companies are doing and is becoming interested. When the government or the healthcare system can no longer help you, you look for solutions yourself. Private companies are also picking up on this interest of the consumer and that is when HealThyself was founded.
This company produces biosensors that are implanted under the skin of the consumer, in a place that they feel comfortable with (such as the upper arm). The biosensor senses the user’s vitamin levels, iron level, glucose level and mineral levels. When the level of the user drops below their normal level, HealThyself automatically sends the user a package with the required supplements. The pods that contain the required supplements can be clicked onto the implant and the contents are slowly released over a week. If the user wishes to know more about what data the biosensor gathers, they can log into the digital platform of HealThyself. Here the user is presented with all data that is gathered, but also what this information means. They get insights into what their current level is, what their normal level is, what the normal level of the general public is, what supplements are sent, what symptoms they may experience and how the supplements help them. A negative consequence of this product may be that underlying health conditions are not picked up on. For example: an iron deficiency may be a symptom of an auto-immune disorder but is not picked up on because HealThyself continues to send iron supplements. Secondly, healthcare workers are not aware of the health image of their patients, since the patients test and treat themselves. This may become an issue when looking for specific diseases or when taking prescribed medication.
