7 Impressive IoT Use Cases in Healthcare

7 Impressive IoT Use Cases in Healthcare
5 min read
28 December 2022

The core healthcare IoT categories are telemedicine, connected imaging, clinical operations management, medication management, and inpatient monitoring. Telemedicine takes the lead with a 24.7% share of IoT medical devices.

IoT penetrates most healthcare areas, from doctor-patient communications to inventory management. What seemed unbelievable decades ago now takes the form of a sleek device providing medical services.

Some examples of IoT in healthcare are truly remarkable and revolutionary. Find some of them below.

How Do IoT Medical Devices Work?

Healthcare IoT systems are specialized devices that collect health metrics and other required data through sensors. They instantly process it using custom software to generate readable information for medical facilities and patients. Thus, any example of IoT in healthcare is a combination of a hardware device with advanced software making it perform its features.

7 Examples of IoT Application In Healthcare

Hospitals and emergency rooms are full of smart devices based on IoT technology. Chances are, you've already come across such devices or may use one for future treatment. Let's review some use cases here.

IoT-powered cancer observation

As cancer patients' survival rates grow, cancer becomes a chronic disease that requires 24/7 monitoring, frequent treatment, and support from medical professionals.

Under these circumstances, IoT devices that enable remote monitoring are becoming more widely adopted. They automate health tracking with sensors and transmit the information to medical staff in real time. It allows oncologists to have reliable patient health data and receive instant alerts when intervention is needed.

Portable ECG cardiac care

IoT devices for ECG cardiac care are an excellent substitute for in-hospital cardiology monitoring. They measure PVS, PAC, and ventricular tachycardia with sensors to detect high-risk abnormalities and automatically update healthcare professionals about it by assigning them tasks in the system. This way, patients don't have to stay at the hospital for observation. They can continue with their lives while a smart digital device cares for them and makes them connected to medical teams.

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's treatment costs soar due to frequent hospitalization. Thus, intelligent monitoring and analysis systems are a must-have to enhance care and make treatment less time-consuming. These IoT systems assess the severity of a patient's symptoms throughout the day to provide clinicians with reliable information for data-driven care.

There are also scientific developments that consider adding Electroencephalography (EEG) chips into patients' brains. Such wearables will substitute dead neurons sending signals to the brain and restoring patients' communication ability.

Mood monitoring

Depression and anxiety result in increased heart rate and blood pressure. IoT devices can capture these indicators to detect the user's mood and trigger the necessary healthcare specialists or software to take action when needed. If the person gets too anxious, a connected app can provide guidelines on breathing exercises or other relaxing techniques.

Even though predicting depression symptoms is challenging, engineers keep working on making mood-monitoring solutions more accurate. Eye movement tracking functionality is one of the latest innovations.

Connected inhalers

Connected inhalers are helpful for asthma or COPD patients who often suffer from unexpected attacks. Such devices give patients more control over their daily routine by helping them detect attack triggers and frequency.

IoT inhalers contain sensors monitoring inhaler use. They are Bluetooth-enabled, so you can pair them with a phone, tablet, or computer to automatically transfer data to a GP, asthma nurse, or hospital team. Once an inhaler software collects sufficient data, it may send patients custom health advice and reminders.

Robotic surgeries

Robotic-assisted surgery has the accuracy surgeons cannot achieve with their hands. The procedure happens with the assistance of a sophisticated robot performing the surgery while a doctor controls it on a separate device. Since the robot is equipped with a camera, the surgeons can see what happens to the tiniest detail.

Robotic surgery is less invasive and requires smaller incisions, which speeds up recovery.

Inventory tracking

For optimized inventory management, healthcare facilities can add beacons to all devices they use. It will allow them to quickly locate equipment or other resources necessary to provide care through an app. Such an approach to inventory processing is easy to implement, considerably speeds up care, and benefits profitability.7 Impressive IoT Use Cases in Healthcare

Wrapping Up

As IoT enters healthcare and the need for remote care increases, we will likely see more smart medical devices soon. These will be tools for patient monitoring, telemedicine, diagnostic solutions, and other devices.

If you have a medical IoT development idea and want to penetrate this market niche, you will need a team of developers and thorough preparation. Start with researching the target audience, develop a product concept, validate it, and then move to development. This way, you are more likely to create a device that will become a success.

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Alex 5.3K
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