“The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the internet did”.
– Brandon Langdon
In recent times, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a device that is not only responsible for convenience and speed of operations but also for human life. From smart homes, wearables, and smart sensors in transportation, IoT has taken digitalization in all walks and sectors of life to an all-new level. The first ever IOT device created was in 1991, a toaster that could be turned on and off over the Internet. But today, this ground-breaking technology has come a long way. From a progressive, innovative, but little-studied technology, today, IoT has indeed become a reality surrounding us.
IoT has bestowed us with a unique ability to enhance the delivery of healthcare services more effectively and efficiently. Just like how the smartphone revolutionized the telecommunications industry, the IoT is shaping the healthcare industry and changing how users interact with their healthcare providers. With ever-increasing demand in the healthcare industry, IoT’s core focus involves making the sector faster and more secure. Here is an overview of the Internet of Medical Things and its undeniable and irreversible impact on the healthcare industry.
Internet of Medical Things: Begins a New Era in the Healthcare Industry!
IoMT, Internet of Medical Things, also referred to as IoT in healthcare, functions as a network of internet-connected hardware framework, medical devices, and software applications connecting healthcare information technology. Internet of Medical things is a game changer for the healthcare sector! The COVID era underscored several bottlenecks negatively impacting the healthcare industry. One such aspect was the user’s limited access to healthcare facilities. With minimal remote healthcare options, users struggled to reach the correct healthcare providers at the right time. The advent of IoT completely changed the scenario by bridging the gap in healthcare accessibility and empowering medical professionals to monitor users remotely. From virtual medical assistance to rapid disease diagnosis to the identification of suitable treatment options for users, the Internet of Medical Things heralds a new era in the healthcare industry by influencing its every realm.
According to Data Bridge Market Research analysis, the global Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) market valued at USD 61,560 million is expected to rocket up to USD 270,400 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 23.4%.
The Internet of Medical Things Fits Into Every Segment of the Healthcare Industry
- On-body Segment – It includes customer health wearables and other medical-grade wearables, like Fitbit, Apple Watch, Amazfit Smartwatches, etc.
- In-Home Segment – It includes personal emergency response systems (PERS), remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and virtual visits.
- Community Segment – It includes product dispensing kiosks, emergency response intelligence, mobility services, vehicles, and point-of-care devices providing care and maintaining records of medical equipment and goods.
- In-Clinic Segment – It includes point-of-care devices that can be used inside a clinic to provide healthcare services.
- In-Hospital Segment – This includes asset management monitors, personnel management, and patient flow management devices.
Four-stage Process of IoMT Functionality
IoT products function through a tightly integrated four-stage process to capture and process data.
- Deployment of interconnected devices like sensors, monitors, detectors, and camera systems to collect data.
- Digitization of data focuses on collating analog data received from sensors and other devices and converting it into a digital form.
- Cloud migration involves transferring information subjected to pre-processing and standardization processes to cloud data.
- Extraction focuses on applying advanced analytics to processed data for producing actionable insights.
Manifold Advantages of IoMT for the Healthcare Industry
IoT and healthcare go hand in hand. As the load on medical facilities is increasing due to the burgeoning population, IoMT empowers healthcare professionals to address the issues associated with advanced illness and the aging population. It is evident from the fact that 87% of healthcare organizations plan to incorporate IoTs in their facilities. Here are a few essential benefits that IoMTs offer the global healthcare sector.
1. Paves the Way for Simultaneous Reporting and Monitoring
IoMTs in healthcare enable medical professionals to monitor the realtime conditions of users, mitigate the risks associated with ailments like asthma attacks and diabetes, and prevent any emergencies. Owing to these factors, about 73% of healthcare facilities employ IoMTs for monitoring users. An IoMT device can track a user’s vital signs in real time and immediately report it to a physician, helping them to take the required medical action in critical situations. IoMTs can be used to collect and analyze data simultaneously from numerous patients to assist researchers in speeding up the discovery of new treatments and cures.
2. Enhances Connectivity and Data Sharing
IoMT in the healthcare sector enhances connectivity and data sharing using the latest technology. It’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features make tracking and identifying illnesses more effortless and quick. By connecting devices and systems within medical and healthcare facilities, IoTs improve care coordination and efficiency among healthcare professionals and bring down care cost expenditure by 57% and 40% surge in ROI. IoMTs, like smart pills and wearables, can drastically bring down readmissions by assisting in remote monitoring of users suffering from chronic ailments.
3. Hassle-free Analysis and an Assortment of Data
A significant benefit associated with IOMTs in the healthcare industry is massive data storage. Analyzing such data might seem a near-impossible task. However, IoMTs transmit this data to other devices, gather, analyze, track, send, and receive it with the help of a cloud base, giving realtime results to healthcare professionals to accomplish the tasks in minutes.
4. Assisted Living for the Elderly
IoMT is changing the way healthcare facilities are providing care to senior citizens. IoMTs are being used to track the vital signs of senior citizens, send them reminders for consuming medications, and mitigate the risks associated with their health. IoMTs are being used to monitor falls and immediately notify healthcare professionals, enabling immediate assistance to senior citizens.
5. Preventing Health Complications With Emergency Alerts
Via the Internet of Medical Things, timely emergency alerts can be sent to healthcare professionals and initiate the required action to save the user’s life. IoMTs track the user’s medical information in real time and alert the healthcare professional whenever the data shows abnormal values. It empowers healthcare professionals to take immediate action and prevent severe health conditions.
6. Provides Assistance and Treatment on the Go
Through the IoMTs, users can get in touch with healthcare professionals through their mobile devices whenever they need immediate assistance. As these sensor-equipped medical devices can transmit user data to a central location where healthcare personnel can access it, they can identify the user’s underlying cause of the ailment and provide a quick remedy.
7. Increasing User Satisfaction
Through IoT-enabled user check-in, the healthcare industry can fast-track registration processes in medical facilities to reduce waiting time, improve user experience, and increase satisfaction scores. Tracking the location of users and healthcare professionals in real time helps in resource allocation and maintaining user flow in healthcare facilities. Via IOMT-enabled good resource management, healthcare facilities can successfully boost the productivity of healthcare professionals.
8. Effective Maintenance of Equipment
Medical and healthcare facilities have numerous medical equipment, and even a short downtime can lead to severe consequences, putting innumerable lives at risk. It is merely impossible for healthcare professionals, nursing home administrators, and healthcare executives to track each equipment’s last serviced date. With an IoMT system, the sensors transmit data to a central database, generate reports, analyze, and send maintenance alerts to the concerned staff.
9. Efficient Prescription and Medication Management
Data collection is a vital aspect of healthcare industry and several bottlenecks obstruct this process negatively impacting the sector. IoMTs lend precise support that the healthcare sector needs with data collection. With the data collected by IoMT devices, healthcare providers can leverage this information to keep a tab on user’s medication adherence and identify the potential issues associated with any therapy. IoTs can send real–time alerts to users to consume medication and help them maintain chronic ailments. Additionally, healthcare businesses can utilize IoMTs to collect data and monitor the storage and transportation of medicines to ensure that they are held in the correct conditions and avoid the risks associated with tampering.
10. Quick and Easy Detection of Chronic Ailments
Through IoMTs, users can enter their symptoms, and the device matches them with its existing information to identify the ailment. For instance, wearable devices like Fitbit can track heart rate, blood pressure, and sugar levels and help in the effective detection of diabetes and heart ailments.
Prominent Instances of IoMTs in the Healthcare Industry
Approximately 20-30 million IoMT devices are in use today. As specimens of technical brilliance, IoMTs have enabled healthcare professionals and medical facilities to expand their reach and scope of work. This ground-breaking technology is empowering healthcare businesses to offer services beyond the traditional clinical settings and is creating opportunities for connected health. IoMT devices like home monitoring systems benefit patients and healthcare professionals by allowing continuous monitoring of an individual’s health. Additionally, IoMTs are increasing collaboration between users and healthcare professionals reducing the need for in-person visits and the cost and time of treatment.
Some of the prominent examples of IoMTs in the healthcare industry include the following:
Hearables
Integrating IOMTs with hearing devices has wholly transformed the interaction for people ailing from hearing loss. These hearables can analyze and synchronize sounds to create customized real-world sounds for the user as they are synced via Bluetooth to the person’s smartphone. For instance, the Whisper Hearing System has combined IoT with AI to create hearing aids that analyze and optimize surrounding sounds to provide the best hearing experience to the user.
Wearables
IoMT wearable devices like smart watches can track health metrics and help users take timely action to prevent any chronic conditions. For instance, the Apple Watch Series 6 smart wristband allows users to read their blood oxygen levels, track their sleep, and take an ECG and sends real-time alerts when heart rate or other values dip or spike too high.
Moodables
IoMTs, as moodable devices, claim to improve post-traumatic stress disorder and help users relax. For instance, Emotiv’s neuro headset when mounted on the head, passes low-intensity currents to the brain, causing electric impulses that improve attention, focus, and excitement to reduce stress levels.
Smart Thermometers
Smart thermometers are IoMTs that allow continuous monitoring of a user’s temperature, and the inputs received can help both the user and healthcare professional detect any early signs of illness.
Smart Pills or Ingestible Sensors
Smart pills or ingestible sensors are pill-sized medical equipment that can monitor body functioning and alert users in case of an anomaly. For instance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created ingestible sensors that are small capsules packed with sensors and artificial bacteria that can be used to detect gastrointestinal problems.
Insulin Pens
Insulin pens are devices that have integrated the Internet of Medical Things into insulin delivery. They not only administer insulin but track dosage timings and even offer reminders, enabling effective management of chronic diabetes.
Smart Inhalers
Smart inhalers are IoMTs equipped with sensors to monitor and record the usage of inhalers by users suffering from asthma or chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder (COPD). Smart inhalers can send reminders to users about usage. With the data it collates, it can provide healthcare professionals with a clear view of the user’s respiratory care, increasing the scope of hyper-personalized treatment regimens and enhancing symptom management.
Future Trends of IoMT in the Healthcare
The Internet of Medical Things in the healthcare industry has a promising future. With more healthcare providers adopting IoMTs, it will percolate into several domains and pave the way for innovative process creations that were once deemed impossible unimagined.
A few of the trends that will have a significant impact on the future of the healthcare industry include:
- IoMT tagging
IoMT devices with sensors and barcodes can be used as tags to associate the user with their medical history. For instance, a healthcare professional can tag a specific part of the body with an IoMT and scan the barcode to obtain complete information about the condition to zero in on the treatment.
- IoMT Vocal diagnostics
IoMTs will find their use in the realm of vocal diagnostics, where verbal analysis technology will be employed to identify dementia-related cognitive impairment.
- IoMT 3D printing
3D printers powered with the Internet of Medical Things will have the ability to create 3D-printed organs and tissues and medical imaging.
Challenges Associated With IoMTs
- Data Security Breach
Extensive information transferred and stored in IoMTs can be hacked, posing a threat of data security breach for both the user and healthcare provider.
- Difficult to Integrate
IoMTs tend to use incompatible and complex procedures, making integrations into existing healthcare infrastructure difficult.
- Decision Fatigue
As IoMTs collect and store massive amounts of data, it becomes difficult to manage, analyze, and interpret data, leading to incorrect diagnosis and decision fatigue.
Wrapping Up
The impact of IoMT in healthcare is just beginning, and numerous cutting-edge solutions are on the horizon! The Internet of Medical Things provides a wide range of benefits and advantages for both users and healthcare providers. Bridging the information gap and increasing collaboration between users and healthcare professionals, IoMTs are empowering the healthcare industry to avoid neglect and deliver preventive actions or the exact services. IoMTs are enhancing outcomes, making experiences better for users, and improving work environments for healthcare professionals.