Shirts that detect blood sugar levels, contact lenses monitoring retinal changes and toilets that record vitamin intake and hydration levels will become commonplace for all, according to Bupa research.
Bupa is also helping to advance research and development of mobile health technology through a partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Health Organization.
The global ‘m-Health' initiative is called ‘Be Healthy, Be Mobile', and Bupa and ITU will join forces to fight chronic non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, in low- and middle-income countries.
The first Bupa/ITU/WHO pilot project launches this year in Senegal in response to the national government's urgent need to tackle diabetes there. Over 80% of diabetics in Senegal are undiagnosed.
The partnership involves working to increase people's awareness about diabetes through SMS, using mobile phones to train health workers and for remote consultation services as well as to provide treatment and management support for diabetics.
In wealthier countries, the health insurer said wearable technology and the connected home will transform prevention of diseases in the next decade by gathering data from a number of devices about our bodies and presenting it back to us in simple, visual, practical terms.
Smart tech is expected to empower people to manage their own wellbeing through a highly tailored healthcare plan, helping to identify key illnesses early enough to halt their progression.
Dr Paul Zollinger-Read, Chief Medical Officer, Bupa, said: "Being aware of their likelihood of disease and possible risk factors, coupled with constant monitoring through intelligent technology means that [people] will be able to spot the symptoms of illness from a very early stage, or simply prevent them altogether.
"With a revolutionary smart contact lens which detects glucose levels in diabetes sufferers' tears already in planning stages by Google, and human trials of a miniature artificial pancreas set to begin in 2016, this smart future is closer than you might think."
