Digitization has opened up several possibilities in the healthcare sector. Nowadays, healthcare organizations are connected to the internet and collect valuable data from multiple sources. Furthermore, it gives health experts insights into the patient's health status and ongoing health trends. The Internet of Things connects devices to communicate with each other. They collect, analyze the data, and share the data that comes in through sensors.
The
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a connected infrastructure of software applications and medical devices. It uses wireless communication and allows the exchange of healthcare data. When healthcare and IoMT are combined, it improves the quality of life and provides better care services. The IoMT is making a strong impact on the healthcare sector and delivering better results and lower costs.
This technology is improving the patient experience and eliminating the need for personal visits. A large amount of data is manually collected in hospitals using medical devices. Sometimes this data is stored in spreadsheets and is difficult to analyze and combine. The solution to this problem is the interconnection of medical devices and using a distributed platform.
What Do You Understand by the Term Internet of Hospital Things (IoHT)?
Internet of Hospital Things is a concept that describes the identifiable devices connected to the internet and can be used in the medical field. These devices increase safety by providing medical care and detection errors. They automatically analyze the data collected by devices and remotes medical consultations.
The Internet of Things has already changed the world. It has influenced people's lives and work. The other industries have connected the devices and the IoT more quickly, making their work more automated and efficient in the future.
Important Examples of Internet of Hospital Things (IoHT)
The future will see a revolution in the diagnosis of diseases. IoHT has opened up several possibilities in the healthcare sector.
Here are a few examples of IoHT that are making an impact in the healthcare field.
1. Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Pens
Today, over 70% of people have diabetes. It is believed that diabetes has given birth to several smart devices. A CGM (Glucose Monitor) checks diabetics continuously while monitoring blood glucose levels at regular intervals.
The first Glucose Monitoring device was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999. Smart CGMs like Freestyle Libre send blood glucose levels to Android or Apple Watch and allow the users to check their health status. As it becomes possible to check status, more patients could take the necessary steps early.
Smart Insulin pens are also improving the lives of diabetic patients in several ways. Insulin pens like Esysta automatically record the time and the type of insulin injected. These devices are connected with the smartphone and store long-term data.
2. Connected Inhalers
Asthma has also affected the lives of millions of people. Thankfully smart
health technologies have started sharing great insights into patient’s health and also control the symptoms.
Propeller Health is one of the leading companies in producing connected inhalers. They have created a sensor that attaches to a Bluetooth spirometer. It helps people with asthma and understands their allergies (if any), and provides them allergen forecasts.
Connected inhalers can share the reports generated with healthcare professionals. With connected inhalers, patients can be alerted of temperatures to prevent asthma. It accurately monitors the current status and prevents future attacks. Furthermore, it calculates data from the sensor and advises patients to take the necessary steps.
3. Apple Watch That Monitors Depression
Wearable devices are designed in a way to help the healthcare field. The Takeda Pharmaceuticals in the USA and Cognition Kit Limited collaborated in 2017 to explore the use of the Apple Watch app for assessing patients with major disorders. The app’s daily assessments were found to correspond with cognition tests and patient-record outcomes.
Like other devices that collect data, Apple watches give patients and healthcare professionals an insight into their condition and allow more conversations about care. This is an innovative example of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. Researchers are developing more applications to connect with fitness activity and sleep cycle. It also monitors the patient's depression level and stores data in the cloud.
4. Connected Contact Lenses
Do you know tears put a thin layer over the eye to keep it functioning, but it can do more with IoT based connected contact lenses? Medical smart contact lenses are an excellent application of the Internet of Hospital Things. These connected contact lenses detect the changes in the size of the eyeball and also provide the solution of presbyopia.
5. Hearing Aid
IoT based hearing aid is already available in the market. Today, nearly 460 million people have hearing loss problems. With a hearing aid, users can listen to multiple conversations at the same time. It also helps in listening to the sound in a noisy environment. A hearing aid can also be connected to the internet to listen to doorbell rings and other purposes.
6. Wearable External Devices and Implanted Medical Devices
Wearables are biosensors that monitor data with wireless communication. The data can then be used for inpatient monitoring. These devices could monitor blood pressure, continuous oxygen, and temperature.
The implanted medical devices replace a missing biological structure and support a damaged structure. It includes drug delivery devices, glucose monitors, and more.
7. Automated Treatment Devices
These devices improve the quality of life for chronic patients and help doctors in medication adherence. The best example of Automated Treatment Devices is the Philips medication dispensing service that is created for old people.
Benefits Offered by IoHT in the Healthcare Sector
Let us find out what benefits IoHT offers to healthcare professionals.
1. Instant Monitoring and Reporting
With IoHT, you can instantly share information between connected equipment. This makes monitoring and reporting easier. Real-time reporting and monitoring share the records with doctors, and patients are treated wisely.
2. Enhanced Management of Drugs
The Internet of Hospital Things solves the problem of drug distribution. Many people have begun using drugs in the context of not necessarily serious illness and developing an addiction. Opioids are not the only drugs that are used in treatment like hydromorphone. Polish patients have the opportunity to use electronic prescriptions when they receive on phones. It is more convenient than paper prescriptions, which can be lost.
In the case of older patients, IoHT is interesting and reminds them to make medicines. The patient does not have to remember about the drugs and the time. They will be reminded by a notification. The doctor sets the schedule, and this will be carried out by different programs.
3. Connectivity and Affordability
Patient care has become important in healthcare. It has become automated, and technology has made this possible. The IoHT is improving automation efforts, and new health-care facilities are becoming feasible. The increase in automated technologies has enabled IoT interoperability, reliable information exchange, and machine-to-machine communication.
Processing data manually is not time-consuming but also costly. Patient data is shared within multiple systems, making the data complex for doctors for vital research. The sharing of information makes data accessing difficult and expensive to carry out. With the help of IoHT, data collection and sharing can happen in real-time.
4. Enhanced Management of Medicine
The Internet of Hospital Things (IoHT) provides better management of drugs and ensures a better understanding of patient care. Interconnected devices share data and allow the staff to spend less time searching and tracking for drug information.
These IoHT things have demonstrated that they can help patients with their treatment schedules and allow doctors to track compliance with prescriptions. Technology is revolutionizing and enhancing healthcare facilities to operate.
5. Decreased Costs and Reduced Errors
When healthcare providers offer advantages of connectivity of the healthcare solutions, it cuts down unnecessary visits by doctors and decreases costs. Also, homecare facilities are getting advanced and cut down on hospital stays.
Automated workflows combined with data-driven is an excellent way of cutting down on waste and reducing system costs. The accurate collection of data minimizes errors.
6. Better Treatment Outcomes
IoHT (Internet of Hospital Things) gives medical professionals the ability to maximize their efforts. Healthcare solutions better connect and result in better analysis.
Final Words
The Internet of Hospital Things (IoHT) gives accurate diagnosis and recommendations for practitioners. Furthermore, patients also share better experiences and deliver the best results. Here are other
healthcare trends that you should look forward to in the coming year.
