How Are Wearable Devices And IoT Revolutionizing Healthcare?
The past few years have seen exponential growth in the use of wearable devices like smartwatches. Awareness about their versatility in different sectors is also on the rise. Of these, the health sector stands to gain the highest benefits from implementing IoT (Internet of Things) devices into their services.
What Are Some IoT Devices In Healthcare?
Below are a few IoT wearable devices that offer a significant boost to the medical industry.
Glucose Sensor
It has a pin that pricks the tip of the patient’s finger to collect a tiny blood sample. The amount of sugar in this sample is compared to healthy blood Glucose levels.
BPM Sensor
It checks the heart rate of a patient by monitoring the pulse at their wrist.
Remote Health Monitoring System
It assesses patient data and communicates with the healthcare provider. Based on the provider’s decisions, it takes further steps.
Smart Contact Lenses
Google is developing smart contact lenses that help the patient see while monitoring the blood glucose level from their optic fluids.
How Do Wearable Devices Function With IoT?
An IoT device’s functionality has 3 primary components, which are as follows.
1. Sensor
This device inputs health data from your body. Sensors can be of different types, depending on the wearable device.
A BPM sensor on a smartwatch uses a repetitive green light to detect your pulse. A Glucose monitor uses chemical means to measure blood sugar.
2. Server
A server is the place where all the data collected from the sensors is stored.
IoT wearable companies require large servers to parse patient data in bulk. This is also where decision making systems process the data to provide results.
3. User Interface
Most patients need an interface to understand the technical sensor results. An interface can be a mobile app or smartwatch screen.
Other than these, there are three additional elements, which are given below.
- Connectivity
Connectivity is required every step of the way. It is the path through which the data travels to and fro devices or servers. It can be a Bluetooth or LTE network.
- Gateway
Different users will use various connectivity systems to send the data from their sensors. This might cause server issues. So, the gateway parses the varying inputs and sends them to the server as a single package.
- Data Processing
The IoT must make sense of the sensor data and give advice or warnings to the user. Artificial intelligence and Machine learning algorithms facilitate this.
Use the diagram below to understand these components and how they interact.
How Do These Devices Benefit The Medical Industry?
Below are some advantages of IoT devices for health organizations and services.
- They collect real-time patient data, helping doctors make the best decisions.
- Vital sign sensors make patient more health-conscious by constantly monitoring their activities.
- They help doctors schedule reminders for the patient’s medication, tests, and checkups.
- Patient monitoring systems alert doctors in a medical emergency. This is especially important for the safety of the elderly and those living alone.
- They reduce medical errors by aiding EHRs in collecting accurate and recent data.
Future Prospects Of IoT In Healthcare
There is significant room for improvement in IoT implementation in the medical industry. Experts are researching faster and more affordable connectivity to make wearables more accessible to those who need it most. These devices will reduce the readmission rate of patients by catching early signs. This, in turn, frees up hospital staff and resources and allows them to focus on immediate issues.
We have understood the importance of remote medical services during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the future, wearable devices may allow one-click checkups or messages to the doctor. Patients can even schedule online appointments.
Health insurance procedures can be intimidating, but the data collected by IoT will be an excellent help. It will legitimize the patient’s claims and help insurance companies make faster decisions.
IoT will streamline medical processes and diversify the healthcare network. It will enrich health data and improve decision-making.
Challenges In Incorporating IoT Medical Wearables
Incorporating IoT into the health sector is a paradigm shift, and challenges are natural. Below are some key hurdles in the process.
Data Security
Health data is one of the most protected and stringently regulated forms of data and for valid reasons. The common IoT devices need more development to meet privacy and security standards.
Errors
People mistakenly assume machines will make more accurate decisions than humans. But all AI and Machine Learning algorithms are created by human programmers, and they may be affected by our errors and biases. At the end of the day, no program can be more reliable than a medical professional.
Old Policies
Most healthcare policies are primarily concerned with offline services. They are only just beginning to incorporate EHRs. It will take significant work to understand how wearable devices fit into the current policies and update them to meet patient needs.
Summing Up
Wearable IoT devices have improved the communication flow between patients, medical professionals, and healthcare organizations. They will provide life-changing improvements to the sector when more work is done to update their technological capabilities and privacy standards.