September 18, 2023

IoT in Healthcare: Applications, Benefits, and Challenges in 2023

The Internet of Things emerged as groundbreaking technology about a decade ago. Yet, our continuous innovation in tech solutions and IoT devices in Healthcare utilization persists. Consequently, smart devices have now seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. It's likely you know someone who employs smartwatches or has witnessed e-scooters navigating the streets. The implementation of IoT has extended across industries, spanning from retail and logistics to manufacturing and oil production.

However, are you familiar with the concept of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)? Medicine is an ever-evolving field, consistently pushing boundaries. It's no surprise that companies harness the capabilities of IoT devices in Healthcare to offer doctors and patients more streamlined solutions.

The breadth of IoMT implementation within healthcare is remarkable. Experts anticipate a staggering surge in the global IoMT market, reaching over $181 billion in 2022 and projecting it to escalate to $950 billion by 2032.

Advantages of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

While the global healthcare landscape continually evolves, it still grapples with significant challenges that can yield profound consequences. These challenges encompass not only discovering remedies for emerging and longstanding diseases but also addressing miscommunication, human errors in symptom identification and monitoring, adhering to routines, and exploring novel research avenues.

So, what precisely are the potential merits of incorporating IoT into healthcare, and how do IoT devices in Healthcare elevate the industry?

• Remote Healthcare: One of the most apparent perks of IoT in healthcare is the capacity for doctors to remotely oversee their patients' health status, enabling individuals to seek assistance anytime, from anywhere. This not only enhances convenience and emergency care but also fosters greater accessibility to medical aid.
• Disease Prevention: Prevention is often the best remedy. Here, IoT healthcare solutions offer tracking and monitoring tools that empower patients to manage their health, modify habits, enhance lifestyles, and detect early indications of potential health concerns.
• Reduced Expenditure and More Effective Appointments: IoT devices in Healthcare and sensors empower patients to independently monitor their health conditions, reducing the need for frequent consultations. Concurrently, the extensive data amassed through IoT applications in healthcare renders these visits more impactful, as doctors possess comprehensive insights at their fingertips.
• Accessible Medical Data: Previously, individuals had to visit labs, consult doctors, or own multiple devices for measuring metrics like blood pressure, heart rate, glucose, or blood oxygen levels. Remarkably, compact IoMT devices now provide routine tracking while offering personalized statistics in health apps.
• Enhanced Diagnostics: The all-encompassing health tracking capabilities of IoT healthcare devices simplify the detection of anomalies and symptoms, aiding doctors in forming a comprehensive understanding of an individual's health status and expediting accurate diagnoses.
• Enhanced Healthcare Management: IoT applications in healthcare extend beyond individual needs to encompass institutional and systemic enhancement. For instance, specific types of medical IoT facilitate the assessment of equipment conditions and efficacy, along with the aggregation of global disease statistics.
• Optimized Drug Therapy: Effective medication therapy is pivotal to treatment success. IoT health monitoring systems are ingeniously designed to maximize the efficiency of drug treatments, ensuring optimal patient adherence and performance.
• Research Facilitation: IoMT devices serve as a valuable tool for research, amassing vast quantities of precise medical data. This enables scientists to focus on intricate tasks, instead of manual data collection, compilation, and analysis.

Delve into the realm of IoT applications within healthcare and explore the functionality of these advantages through real-world examples of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT).

Top IoT Applications in Healthcare

Healthcare and technology have converged in unprecedented ways, giving rise to remarkable advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) that are revolutionizing patient care and medical processes. This intersection of innovation has paved the way for a new wave of Iot applications in Healthcare that redefine the field. Let's explore some of the most impactful applications in the realm of IoT in healthcare:

Internet of Bodies (IoB)

IoB leverages the human body as a rich source of medical and fitness data. Through a network of IoB devices, biometric, physiological, and behavioral data are collected, transmitted via IoT systems, analyzed through backend infrastructure, and delivered to users, often through mobile apps. This encompasses wearable smart fitness devices, biometric authentication, implants, prosthetics, artificial organs, pill dispensers, and various other wearable, implantable, and ingestible technologies. IoB enables continuous health monitoring, precise diagnoses, and support for chronic conditions.

IoMT Wearable Devices

Smartwatches and IoT-powered bands are among the most popular IoT healthcare applications. Beyond fitness and medical uses, they also integrate with other devices, providing functions like timekeeping, weather updates, and message notifications. They offer features such as step tracking, heart rate monitoring, and sleep analysis. Leading tech brands like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and others offer a range of IoMT devices.

Hearables

Advanced hearing aids enriched with IoT technologies empower those with hearing impairments. These devices connect to smartphones via Bluetooth, enabling personalized sound adjustments for real-world environments. The Whisper Hearing System exemplifies this innovation, using IoT and AI to optimize sound experiences through continuous analysis and learning.

Smart Pills

The convergence of science fiction and medical technology has led to ingestible sensors packaged within pill-sized capsules. These sensors provide highly accurate diagnostics, and researchers have developed capsules equipped with sensors and artificial bacteria to diagnose gastrointestinal issues, reducing the need for traditional methods like endoscopy.

Glucose Monitoring

IoT solutions are enhancing glucose monitoring for diabetes patients. Abbott's FreeStyle Libre range offers non-invasive sensors that monitor glucose levels around the clock and notify users via mobile apps of deviations, aiding in timely intervention.

Hygiene Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of hand hygiene. IoMT badges from companies like Biovigil ensure compliance with hand hygiene protocols in medical settings, contributing to safer patient care.

Moodables

IoMT devices like smart patches from FeelZing influence mental health directly, helping users enhance mood and cognitive abilities through neurostimulation, improving focus and peace of mind.

Smart Hospitals

IoT in healthcare empowers hospitals, fostering efficient collaboration between medical professionals and technical staff, enhancing patient service, and extending the lifespan of medical equipment.

Predictive Maintenance

IoT's predictive maintenance methods ensure seamless equipment function, reduced health risks for patients, and cost-effective repair and become one of the top IoT applications in Healthcare. The Virtos Automatic immunoassay analyzer employs automated IoT monitoring to alert operators of potential malfunctions.

Connected Equipment

Many IoT applications in Healthcare involve smart connected medical equipment, enabling easy access to device characteristics and interaction through mobile apps. Defibrillators, nebulizers, and other monitoring equipment benefit from IoMT integration.

Asset, Staff, and Patient Management

Complex medical institutions require innovative solutions for tracking devices, equipment, and patients. Arrowfinch's IoT tracking system uses sensors, tags, badges, and connected medtech devices to ensure efficient coordination.

Smart Labs

IoMT enters lab settings, automating repetitive tasks and enhancing efficiency. Swittons offers solutions that manage equipment status, trigger maintenance calls, and send emergency alerts.

Chronic Disease Management

IoMT devices assist chronic patients in monitoring their health, medications, and symptoms accurately, fostering consistent care and early intervention. Solutions like Quio's IoT health monitoring system contribute to adjusted treatment plans.

Robotic Surgery

Robotic tools powered by IoT technology excel in surgical precision and speed. These tools perform complex procedures with reduced invasiveness and risks, transforming fields like general, cardiac, spinal, gastrointestinal, and urologic surgery.

Rehabilitation

IoMT devices accelerate recovery during the rehabilitation phase. DyCare's ReHub system, utilizing AI and IoT health monitoring, connects doctors with patients to tailor recovery strategies based on data collected by smart sensors.

The IoT applications in healthcare are vast and transformative, ushering in an era of personalized patient care, efficient medical operations, and groundbreaking technological innovations that promise to reshape the landscape of healthcare delivery and management.

Challenges in IoT Implementation in Healthcare

• Data Security and Privacy: A prominent challenge of implementing IoT in healthcare is the issue of data security and privacy. IoMT devices gather and transmit real-time data, but many lack adequate data protocols and security measures. Ambiguity around data ownership regulation further complicates matters. This vulnerability exposes patient and doctor data, making it susceptible to cyberattacks. Hackers could compromise Personal Health Information (PHI) for fraudulent activities, such as creating fake IDs to buy medical supplies or filing insurance claims.
• Integration of Multiple Devices and Protocols: The integration of diverse devices poses obstacles due to the lack of consensus among manufacturers regarding communication protocols and standards. The variation in these protocols complicates data aggregation, hindering the smooth flow of information between connected devices. This lack of uniformity slows processes and limits the scalability of IoT in healthcare.
• Data Overload and Accuracy: Despite the challenges in data aggregation, IoMT devices generate copious amounts of data. While this data is invaluable for gaining insights, the overwhelming volume makes it challenging for doctors to extract meaningful information. The sheer quantity of data, coupled with varying protocols, hampers accurate interpretation, affecting the quality of decision-making and potentially compromising patient safety.
• Cost Considerations: Although IoT holds promise, its implementation in healthcare has not yet translated into more affordable services for the general population. Rising healthcare costs are a concern, especially in developed countries. While IoT in healthcare is a compelling concept, it has not effectively addressed cost issues. The healthcare cost burden has led to the emergence of "Medical Tourism," where patients seek treatment in developing nations due to lower costs. To realize the full potential of IoT in healthcare, stakeholders must work towards making it cost-effective, ensuring accessibility beyond high-income individuals.

In summary, while IoT offers transformative potential in healthcare, challenges related to data security, integration, data overload, accuracy, and cost considerations must be effectively addressed to fully harness its benefits and make healthcare innovation accessible to all segments of society.

Our Experience

Revolutionizing Street Siren Control

Amidst the ongoing conflict, Stfalcon has remained steadfast in its commitment to aiding and safeguarding lives in Ukraine. Guided by this noble purpose, our focus has shifted towards crafting software solutions that not only enhance lives but also play a pivotal role in preserving them.

Amid the tumult of war, the Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration approached Stfalcon with a critical mission: to automate the activation and deactivation of street warning sirens, effectively disseminating threat information to the populace.

A Smart Lock App

Entrusted with the development of software to seamlessly interface with a smart lock, our team embarked on a journey to create an intuitive application. Our goal was to empower users with the convenience of remotely controlling their home locks through simple commands dispatched from their smartphones.

Conclusion

The showcased IoT applications in healthcare provide just a glimpse into the expansive world of the Internet of Medical Things. This industry spans numerous facets of the global healthcare landscape, showcasing its immense potential. For businesses and developers, this realm offers boundless opportunities to channel creativity and harness technological progress to enhance a critical aspect of human life.

Should you find yourself driven to craft your own IoMT device, rest assured that Stfalcon stands ready as your trusted IoT development partner. Embark on your journey by contacting our team for an insightful free consultation.