IoT in Healthcare, whenever we seem to talk about this and medical industries, we have somewhere reciprocated this term with futuristic smart hospitals, medical-grade sensors, and equipment. But the solutions being developed go way beyond these possibilities.
In fact, expenditure on IoT-powered solutions in healthcare is expected to reach about $1 trillion by the year 2025.
This growth forecast can be also assessed by other important technologies. IoT is slowly gaining traction and evolving alongside the new ultra-fast 5G mobile wireless connectivity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data. Combining all these powerful technologies with the added benefit of the Internet of Things will likely revolutionize the healthcare industry. IoT in healthcare using the new 5G wireless and AI could possibly, for example, transform the way patients are monitored and treated remotely.
IoT will not only help with a patient’s health but also improve the productivity of the healthcare industry staff and workers.
Sounds incredibly promising!
Although remote-sensored medical devices have been doing the rounds for more than a decade now and the concept of telemedicine and pharmacy apps has been in practice for a while, the underlying technology has evolved roughly about 100X times throughout the past year.
It’s time to say farewell to those long-waiting queues in front of the doctor’s office. Today, we have envisioned a list of multiple interconnected devices that are capable enough to take prompt decisions by working together in a group and sharing information via the cloud – IoT
Let’s explore the following workable IoT applications in healthcare including emerging use cases among modern healthcare settings below.
- Sensors upload updated patient information to the cloud in medical emergency situations, directly from the ambulance or even from their homes.
- Medical devices are capable of predictive self-maintenance. IoT devices will sense and assess their own components, detect low threshold limits, and communicate with medical personnel and the manufacturers via the cloud.
- IoT wearables can help home patients and the elderly communicate directly with a healthcare facility.
- Telemedicine can now be considered a “primitive” form of IoT in healthcare example. With IoT, a patient can be observed, assessed, and in some cases treated remotely via video cameras and other smart electronic actuators.
Dedicated healthcare IoT devices (IoT in healthcare Devices) can now definitely do significantly much more.
Smartwatches
A lot of them (like iWatch Series 4) can even monitor your BP, and heart rate, set alerts, control diabetes, help in speech treatment, aid in improving posture, track your sleep cycle, remind medication, manage exercise timers, and daily step counts and detect seizures.
Smart Insulin Pens and Smart CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring)
These smart devices can monitor all sugar levels and send the data to their dedicated smartphone app. Patients with diabetes can use these devices to track their sugar levels and even send over this data to a healthcare facility.
Brain Swelling Sensors
These small sensors are implanted within the skull’s cranium to help brain surgeons detect severe brain injuries and avoid further internal hemorrhage and edema. They measure brain pressure, are non-invasive, and self-dissolve in the body without any further medical interference needed for removal.
Ingestible Sensors
Prescribed medications are swallowed with a tiny ingestible medical sensor that sends a small signal to the patient’s wearable, which, in turn, sends data to a dedicated smartphone app. This sensor can help doctors ensure their patients take their medication at all times.
Smart video pills
A smart pill can move through the patient’s intestinal tract and photograph internal organs as it travels. It can then send the collected data information to a wearable device, which in turn would send it to a smartphone app (or straight to the app itself in some cases). Smart pills can also help visualize the internal gastrointestinal tract and colon remotely without incision.
Smart hearing aids
Hearables are often touted as the new-age hearing aid for people with hearing loss. The way IoT-powered devices have transformed into smart hearables that are compatible with your smartphones, you can sync your Bluetooth with the device. It also allows you to filter, equalize and add layered features to simulate real-world sounds.
Ingestible Sensors
A smart science marvel, Ingestible Sensors are pill-sized sensors that are swallowed inside our bodies to monitor medications and warn users/doctors in case of any irregularity curbing any chances of abnormal growths or undetected symptoms.
Moodables
A smart mood-enhancing device that helps to regulate your mood throughout the day! It can sound fictitious but it is not far from reality. “Mood-Ables” are smart head-mounted wearables that send low-intensity current to the brain to elevate the psychological mood of patients.
Computer Vision Technology
Computer Vision Technology along with AI has given rise to smart drone technology aiming to emulate visual perception enabling a sense of sight and space and automating decision-making based on it.
Healthcare Charting
IoT-powered devices reduce manual work and the need for physical data logs. For instance, a doctor can use IoT devices during patient charting. Here, IoT sensors can measure and catalog all types of data such as blood pressure, body temperature, etc., and chart it all into an app connected to the measurement devices through IoT.
Additionally, it makes the patient’s data readily accessible for quick reviews. Such an IoT application could save up to a considerable 15 hours/ per week of a doctor’s work hours in manual charting.
Conclusively
The use of IoT in healthcare is surely set forth to grow!
We know that IoT has clearly changed the healthcare industry.
Healthcare is one of the most critical industrial sectors. Constant addition to IoT applications development and execution has significantly changed the way facilities and services are now working and delivering in the healthcare industry.
Technosphere designs smart IoT products and industry-specific IoT solutions including connectivity solutions powered by deploying enhanced It offers system integration, machine learning, sensors, and embedded technologies to help improve any businesses across multiple verticals. to generate growth, retain stability, and compete.
Its reliable and secure data aggregation and seamless cloud connectivity help support IoT data analysis and utilization ready for any successful product implementations.
Incorporated in 2013, Technosphere has offices based in Bangalore, India, and Dallas, USA. It is promoted by industry leaders in electronics and product development engineering, designing healthcare IoT applications, and has a successful industry record of developing IoT products and solutions.