Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 27 | Page 47

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Arab Health, the largest gathering of healthcare professionals in the MENA region, has revealed that 45% of GCC residents find wearable technology, such as fitness trackers or smart watches, an effective way to monitor personal health. In a GCC-wide survey commissioned by Arab Health 2018, which took place in Dubai earlier this year, 50% of respondents aged 18 to 24 were in favour of Smart Health Technologies. The wearable sensors market in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is projected to increase to $3.97 million and $3.08 million by 2018, respectively, supporting this emerging trend in the two largest populated markets in the GCC. Ozlem Fidanci, CEO Philips Middle East and Turkey, said: “Philips understands the value of connected health and the potential these devices have to help patients and clinicians monitor chronic www.intelligentcio.com conditions, important vital information such as blood pressure and even sleep quality. We are continuously developing new wearable sensing technologies to offer accurate and reliable methods of monitoring of cardio, respiratory and activity metrics.” Ross Williams, Exhibition Director, Arab Health 2018, said: “There has been a FEATURE: IOT growing interest and awareness from across the region about how to leverage life changing technological advancements to improve personal health and medical techniques.” The survey was conducted by YouGov in December 2017, with over 2,700 participants from across the GCC. n WITH MORE CONNECTED HOME DEVICES INTRODUCED EACH YEAR, IT CAN BE A CHALLENGE TO MAKE SURE THEY ALL REMAIN INTERCONNECTED. INTELLIGENTCIO 47