Convergence in Practice!

I seem to spend a great deal of time wondering what the next big thing will be. If e-mail is the killer app of the information age thus far, what will the next one be. Is it social networking? Facebook, perhaps? I don't think so - I think there is potentially something else, notwithstanding the major impact of such social networking sites. However, the rise and fall of Facebook's fore-runners like MySpace and the soon to be forgotten Bebo, make me think that while the fate of Facebook is not clear, it is not going to rise to the throne of that killer application.

One potential area that I believe will grow is that of personal health management. There is already a notable rise in the number of online personal trainers available, as well as a substantial rise in the number of online pharma's offering medication - both of the approved and perhaps, not-so-approved variety. The point is the business of personal health management is a growing one and one which could potentially herald the next killer application.

An example of this is the recently developed, HeartPhone. I found an interesting article on the product on Silicon Republic. Developed at the National Digital Research Centre in collaboration with medical professionals from around Dublin, this is a product that "measures, monitors and manages the weight of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients in their own homes." The convergence of personal device technology with Bluetooth, the monitoring and management software with the service provided by the remote cardiac experts will provide patients with a level of re-assurance and confidence not previously available.

While this solution use bathroom scales to get the required patient data on a daily basis, it is easy to imagine an integration with a mobile phone becoming possible and subsequently, that device relaying critical readings to remote experts. The use of a mobile phone to relay this information is practically inevitable and re-enforces the growing importance of the phone as the device which connects people with the digital world. This ability to monitor a patient in real time could greatly increase the ability of medical professionals to provide healthcare services to people. The potential for this is huge and as real-time monitoring - such as that demonstrated by HeartPhone - becomes more mainstream, the medical profession, will be able to take advantage of it to provide innovative, life-enhancing applications.