Abstract

Palliative care is a crucial component of healthcare, which has been more reliant on technology in recent years. Recently developed smart sensors and artificial intelligence have the potential to improve diagnosis and therapy. However, it is still unclear how smart sensor technologies (SST) are challenging palliative care principles and their underlying human assumptions, as well as how care can benefit from SST. The purpose of this paper is to uncover SST-related alterations and difficulties in palliative care. Furthermore, normative guiding standards for the application of SST are defined. The foundation for the ethical analysis is the Total Care principle advocated by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). Drawing from this, a phenomenological lens is used to investigate its fundamental humanistic and socio-ethical dimensions. The second stage examines the benefits, drawbacks, and socio-ethical issues associated with employing SST in relation to the Total Care philosophy. The application of SST is then required to meet ethical-normative standards. First, the measurement capabilities of SST are constrained. Second, SST affect human autonomy and agency. Both the patient and the carer are concerned about this. Third, the employment of SST may push some facets of the Total Care principle to the background. In order to use SST to promote human flourishing, the study develops normative standards. It lays out the three standards that SST must meet: (1) proof and purposefulness; (2) autonomy; and (3) Total Care.