Digital health in practice: from telemedicine to dental scans

Telemedicine increases access to care and enables consultations without the physician’s physical presence. Wearable devices – watches or rings – monitor heart rate, blood pressure, saturation, temperature, and sleep, delivering longitudinal data that are more useful than the short “window” of a typical Holter. Robotically assisted remote procedures and early warning systems for health deterioration are also emerging. Work with voice interfaces and VR/AR is also groundbreaking, making learning, therapy, and rehabilitation more accessible.

A concrete example is dental monitoring: using a mobile phone, the patient creates a short video scan, and AI regularly evaluates hygiene, the presence of calculus, caries, inflammation, or minor tooth movements. From among many patients, the system automatically selects those who need a doctor’s attention, reducing both time and the risk of overlooking a problem. 3D photo monitoring assembles a “point cloud” from the video, tracks the shape and position of teeth, and flags deviations down to tenths of a millimeter, for example when teeth tend to relapse after treatment. In practice, a simple motivational app also helps, guiding the patient toward regular hygiene and wearing their braces—and thus shortening treatment and reducing complications.

Security, regulation, and the near future

Hand in hand with this boom comes the major topic of cybersecurity, as health data attract attackers and many providers still have gaps in protection. Interoperability will be key—the interconnection of systems and the secure transfer of data, for example from a patient’s watch to the doctor—as will the new rules brought by European AI regulation. In social services, assistants and sensors are already helping today; abroad, solutions such as voice assistants, vital-sign monitoring systems, and simple social robots are mentioned. Alongside the benefits, ethics and model bias cannot be overlooked, because the goal is care that is personal, preventive, and affordable for everyone.