IoT Healthcare Applications

Healthcare system and IoT

Iot allows healthcare officials to be more attentive to their patients. It deploys various technologies to manage, reason and handle patients effectively.

IoT uses a rough 4 stages architecture. The process is inter-connected in a way that the data transfers from one stage to the another.

Stage 1: Categorization of Iot devices

These include the inter connection of devices such as sensors, cameras, actuators , detectors. These devices are capable of gathering real time information.

Stage 2: Conversion from analog to digital

The data coming from IoT hardware devices is in analog form and needs to be converted to digital form for further processing. This conversion takes place in this stage

Stage 3: Pre-processing

Once the data is digitized it moves from the data centres to giant clouds for further reviews

Stage 4: Data Analytics

Complicated analytics are done on this data for making better decisions and for improvising the functionality of regular healthcare systems.

Factors affecting IoT healthcare applications

1. Data security

Iot faces a problem of privacy in any domain. In the healthcare field, hackers can hack the data and real time information regarding patients to manipulate it for their own benefits. Even though protocols offer maximum security, there is a chance to expose sensitive information to the outside world.

2. Data overload and accuracy

IoT collects a large amount of data in a short period of time. Reliable methods must ensure a means to handle this data in an effective manner.

3. Cost concerns

Iot systems and Iot healthcare devices are highly expensive and costly. However, when one sees the benefits of IoT based systems in the long run the costs only translate to gross profits and higher returns.

Advantages of IoT in healthcare systems

1. Complex operations cost a lot of money. Expensive hospitals at times expolit the patients and charge them very high fees. IoT reduces the cost of operation and improves the patient’s condition by using the best medical services.

2. Even today, a large percent of the population fear visiting the doctor’s office due to a bad experience. IoT improves the patient experience by being more responsive and attentive.

3. IoT increases the precision during a surgery. This increases the chance of survival of a patient and the chances to recover from a serious accident.

4. IoT monitoring systems offer disease management to avoid the heavy dependence on medical staff. By the use of sensors and actuators doctors and health professionals gather information to improvise disease management systems.

Applications of Iot in healthcare

Listed below are a few of the most effective applications of the Internet of Things in the healthcare industry.

1. Research

Current medical research deploys unreliable methods for gathering information. It uses old, leftovers, controlled environments for medical examination, and IoT opens up opportunities for real-time information gathering from various fields.

IoT guarantees better results in any research trials since it uses modern methods of technology, standard instruments and reliable data sets. It avoids risks involved in older methods of research such as human testing and gathering of information from dangerous areas.

2. Care

IoT helps healthcare professionals to make better use of their training, education and knowledge to manage their patients. They use better equipment to obtain exact and effective results. Iot reduces administrative tasks of healthcare officials and allows them to better focus on their jobs of saving lives.

3. Devices

IoT bridges the gap between devices and the method of delivering healthcare by offering integrating systems that strive to work efficiently. It improves huge flaws in healthcare devices and removes these patterns.

4. Emergency situations

Through IoT, we improve the emergency support services. IoT offers to handle an emergency situation in a much better way remotely. IoT allows access to the status and details of the patient before their arrival to the hospital in order to prepare the doctors right ahead. This reduces the chances of losing lives and improvises a healthcare system.

5. Medical Information distribution

Medical care faces the challenge of distribution of reliable and accurate information to the patients. Iot is helping improve the health and lives of individuals by increasing dependency and connectivity.

IoT carries healthcare out of cubicles, operations theatres, hospitals and offices into homes. This way doctors have direct access to the condition of the patient 24/7. Individuals now manage their health in a much better way and rely less on older methods of healthcare.

6. Remote patient monitoring

IoT devices are capable of collecting information regarding the patient such as pulse rate, temperature and blood pressure even when the patients are not physically present in the hospital. Doctors view this information and take the necessary precautions.

7. Glucose monitoring

IoT improves the quality of healthcare facilities by reducing their manual work. A doctor needs information about glucose levels before treating the patient. Testing the patient’s glucose levels becomes tiring and time consuming. IoT systems offer real-time data about glucose level, temperature and the condition of the patient before the patient enters the hospital.

8. Ingestible sensors

A team of researchers in MIT developed an IoT sensor to detect and treat gastric problems. The sensor contains a chip and bacteria that grows in stomach bleeds. The electronic chips pick up this light emission and convert it into a signal. The user application receives an alert about the status of the disease.

9. Robotic sensors

The internet of things bridges the gap between the physical and digital world. Its main purpose is to make our lives easier. Surgeons can perform a largely-complicated surgery that takes hours and hours by including mini robots. Robotic procedures use IoT hardware devices that reduce incision size and increase precision This way the patients take lesser time of recovery.

10. Connected inhalers

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease and asthma attacks are two diseases that occur without any warning. The condition worsens when the patient is alone and there is nobody to call out for help. IoT connected inhalers keep a track of the attacks, the frequency of attack and the cause of attacks. Doctors look at these reports to suggest effective medication.

11. Connected contact lenses

Smart contact lenses are one of the lesser known yet powerful discoveries of IoT. It is an efficient way to collect health data. They also include cameras that click pictures when you close your eyes and one such example is the google connected contact lenses.

12. Heart-rate monitoring system

Even when patients are present in healthcare wards monitoring their heart rate and glucose levels constantly gets difficult, especially in large institutions that treat a large number of patients. An IoT heart rate monitoring system collects data of the patient constantly and alerts the hospital officials in case of fluctuations. Most of the Iot equipment provide a high accuracy rate meaning that they are reliable and trustable.

13. Depression and mood monitoring

Smart tech wearables can monitor the mood changes of a person and advise them better about their mental health. Mood aware IoT sensors collect and analyze the data incoming from the body and predict the health condition of the person. Reports go to therapists who prescribe necessary therapy and medication on the basis of the health details.

Summary

In this article, we looked at applications of Iot in healthcare facilities. We can conclude that Iot is developing the world of medical sciences at a rapid rate and the industry has a large scope in the near future.