Healthcare
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IoT medical devices have reinvented the way hospitals and clinics work, monitor patients, and manage medications and equipment. The number of smart medical devices is expected to exceed 7.4 million by 2026, with over 3,850 per hospital. Looks impressive?
We prepared a detailed overview of medical IoT devices, exploring their implementation advantages and remaining challenges. Keep reading and learn how to transform classic hospitals into smart ones.
Internet of Things (IoT) got its name in 1999, while the first examples of it date back to the 1980s. IoT medical devices (also called the Internet of Medical Things — IoMT) are part of IoT and are focused on healthcare and personal well-being.
They include a variety of wearables, sensors, and equipment that help doctors and patients monitor health conditions, measuring heart rate, glucose levels, blood pressure, sleep habits, and more. The devices can collect, transmit, and receive data, enabling remote patient monitoring and predictive analysis.
The global market of the Internet of Medical Things was estimated to be $76.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $392.2 billion in 2030, with a CAGR of 26.2%.
While one estimate predicts the market exceeding $970 billion, the others expect a more modest amount of $814 billion, with a CAGR of 27.97% and 38.5% by 2034. Despite varying evaluations, one thing remains solid: the market will continue to grow fast.
The major contributors to such growth is the rising popularity of wearable devices and telemedicine. The former witnessed a rapid surge in use, with 543 million units expected to be shipped only in 2024. The latter was enhanced by the pandemic and government programs aimed at remote care promotion, and it is now growing with an impressive CAGR of 24.3%.
Medical devices have evolved with the help of IoT. This technology allows the connection of previously siloed data, the ability to send alerts, and real-time remote monitoring of a patient's health condition.
The growing adoption of medical IoT devices is a continuous story of technological progress, socioeconomic advancements, and global demographic changes. The reasons for its rapid adoption include:
Overall, interconnected sensors, devices, and equipment became the answer to the demand for more convenient healthcare and remote monitoring, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rising trend toward well-being and personalized care as well as the prospects of advanced diagnosis and treatment efficiency incentivize the development of healthcare technologies, including IoMT.
IoT for medical devices infrastructure typically consists of wearables and sensors, a network for seamless data transmission, a place for data storage, and reliable software. It features remote care, data collection and analysis, report creation, task automation, item restocking, and automatic EHR updates.
Medical IoT devices implementation in healthcare organizations includes the following stages:
Let's explore how IoT medical devices work in practice with the example of a wearable ECG patch.
A wearable ECG patch continuously records heart rhythms. It collects and transmits data via Wi-Fi or Cellular (4G/5G) to a cloud-based system. Then, AI analyzes the data and detects arrhythmias. If an abnormal pattern is detected, the patient and doctor receive an alert for early intervention.
IoT for medical devices offers advantages not only for doctors and patients. It streamlines hospital management and eases claims validation for insurance companies. All stakeholders and end users of the technology admit its positive impact reflecting in more efficient and error-prone care.
IoT medical devices enable remote monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, reducing the need for frequent doctor consultations and allowing patients to spend less time in hospitals. This consequently lowers waiting times, lessens the burden on the healthcare system, and improves treatment outcomes.
Smart devices for clinics and hospitals minimize in-person doctor visits, allowing staff to manage more patients. Automated data processing and EHR integration reduce manual tasks and save time, enabling healthcare professionals to take better care of patients and optimize hiring staff.
Equipment monitoring tools prevent breakdowns and allow for timely replacements. IoMT-enabled asset tracking ensures hospitals can locate, monitor, and optimize usage of medical equipment, avoiding their under-utilization and over-purchasing.
Medication dispensers and RFID tracking prevent medication errors and reduce waste. They ensure the patient receives the right drug dosage at the right time.
IoT medical devices contribute to data-informed decisions, allowing timely treatment adjustments, identifying health conditions at early stages, and making diagnosis faster. The data collected from wearables facilitates preventive care and makes treatment more personalized.
Constant health condition tracking is invaluable for people living alone or in remote areas. Now, patients don't need to drive hours to the healthcare facility and wait for the appointment.
People with chronic conditions benefit from connected medical devices by staying aware of their state, e.g., glucose levels, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, etc. IoT transforms chronic disease care with continuous monitoring and early detection, enabling more personalized treatments.
Automated data collection, secure transmission, and processing reduce the number of errors that could happen by manual measurements and filling out EHR records. Automated medication dispensing prevents patients from getting the wrong dosage, and standardized data formats reduce inconsistencies.
IoT for medical devices implies using electronic systems, ML, AI, and cloud capabilities, which automate processes and free staff from excessive paperwork. All data is collected and processed automatically, meaning doctors have more time for face-to-face appointments and patient care.
IoT devices promote transparency for insurance firms dealing with their clients, especially in underwriting, pricing, claims management, and risk assessment. They help verify claims, improve fraud detection, and offer personalized plans for customers.
The introduction of medical IoT devices is a complex endeavor requiring thorough planning and a strong focus on security and compliance. Here are the main steps.
First, analyze what current solutions you have, both hardware and software. Decide which gaps in existing devices technology can fill. For example, saving medical personnel time with remote patient monitoring, setting up medical equipment tracking for its timely maintenance, or launching real-time data collection and analysis for better patient outcomes.
Second, set your goals. These could be enhanced efficiency, faster and more precise diagnosis, or cost reduction. Engage stakeholders to set clear requirements considering patients' needs. A big mistake will be ignoring inputs from doctors, nurses, and patients and focusing only on the administration's opinions.
Third, launch strategic planning. Set measurable objectives, identify KPIs, decide on funding, and how you will provide security and regulatory compliance. You can also prepare an implementation schedule and divide it into steps with clear, feasible actions.
Depending on your needs, choose the devices that your organization needs, like sensors, wearables, and smart equipment. Check device compatibility with other hospital systems and seamless data flow. Ensure compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, FDA, and HITECH regulations.
Moving forward, select wireless networks suitable for your facilities, scalable cloud solutions, and IoT gateways. Consider how to ensure data consistency and consider ML and AI for robust analytics. Though cloud service providers offer analytics solutions, check whether they meet your needs.
When everything is set and done, both from the device and software part, it's time to deploy. But what about security? It's a separate topic for discussion because of its major impact on the healthcare system and IoMT in particular.
As sad as it sounds, smart medical devices remain a desired target for hackers — and one of the most vulnerable ones. According to the research, 53% of medical IoT devices have at least one security vulnerability. The top three vulnerable medical devices include nurse call systems, infusion pumps, and medication dispensing systems. What does this mean for healthcare organizations? Security has become a top priority.
To set up a safe medical device infrastructure, you must adhere to the domain's best security practices. They include authentication, API protection, encryption, network segmentation, hardware protection, compliance, EMI shielding, the introduction of device tracking systems, and regular security audits.
If you develop software for IoMT with software development vendors, ask them to refine security requirements, and perform thorough security testing. You may start from MVP or pilot projects, collect users' feedback, and adjust the solution accordingly.
The post-deployment phase is also vital in terms of security. Introduce staff training to avoid security breaches or vulnerabilities inflicted by human negligence and provide tech support to both software and hardware.
Now, when the IoT for medical devices is launched and works like a charm, the activity is yet far from over. Any system needs constant monitoring, performance adjustments, updates, and security patches.
A great idea is to collect feedback from device users. This will allow you to adjust the system for better efficiency, remove initial bugs, and make diagnosis and care more convenient, affordable, and precise.
Let’s break all smart devices into categories to navigate the IoT medical devices market better.
Remote patient monitoring tools: self-explanatory.
Smart hospital equipment: on-premise interconnected devices for 24/7 patient monitoring and tracking vitals.
Facility environment control: smart lighting, power, humidity, and temperature sensors that help to establish the right environment for patients.
Inventory management for medical supplies: RFID tags and readers that enhance resource management by tracking the location of medical equipment.
Cold chain supply tracking: controlled storage of temperature-sensitive medications, vaccines, and clinical trial materials and timely alerts in case of temperature deviation.
Healthcare manufacturing: sensors integrated into the production of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals for monitoring humidity, temperature, air quality, and contamination levels.
Hospital operation tools: interconnected medical devices in clinics and hospitals for real-time patient monitoring, better diagnostics, and care outcomes. Examples include wearable health monitors, smart mattresses, and instruments for robotic surgery.
At-home gadgets: are applied outside healthcare facilities to monitor chronic health conditions and might include pill dispensers, blood pressure monitors, smart beds, pulse oximeters, and smart inhalers.
Emergency response devices: used in hospitals and at home for seniors or disabled patients. These devices swiftly inform doctors or caregivers about potentially dangerous situations and health conditions. For example, fall detection devices can automatically indicate a sudden patient fall and send alerts so that the patient won't be left without help.
Note: Ingestible devices are sometimes placed as an independent category. These are devices designed to be swallowed to monitor or treat conditions of the gastrointestinal tract without minimal invasion. Examples include cameras, sensors, and sampling devices.
Despite the extensive benefits associated with IoT in healthcare technology, there are some flies in the ointment.
Security comes as №1 priority and concern for the healthcare industry when it comes to technology use. The hackers target social security numbers, prescription information, clinical notes, names, addresses, and telephone numbers. In 2024, the total number of healthcare data breaches hit the records of 10,000, with the average cost of a single breach increasing by 10% to $4.88 million.
Medical devices still raise concerns about data breaches. According to the research, more than 60% of medical devices are at some degree of security risk. Thus, data encryption, access control, and timely firmware updates are necessary for the IoT medical devices market and healthcare facilities.
Medical devices enhanced by IoT provide real-time data that still requires a critical evaluation. The lack of precision, different calculation methodologies from device manufacturers, and sudden device malfunctions might compromise data reliability and require thorough verification.
Sensor failure or data loss is not uncommon, disrupting the monitoring processes and producing false alerts. To prevent discrepancies, you may apply data validation and error-checking algorithms, AI-powered data validation filters, and blockchain for secure data transmission. Additionally, the whole system needs monitoring, timely maintenance, and updates.
IoT medical devices might provide inconsistent results, stemming from the collection of data across multiple devices that operate in diverse formats and adhere to varying standards. Healthcare organizations need to develop a comprehensive data integration strategy, set data quality standards, use modern integration platforms, and shift from legacy systems.
Smooth integration with other healthcare systems like EMR, inventory management, patient portals, and CRMs is another issue to consider.
The initial cost of medical IoT device app development varies from $30,000 to $200,000+, depending on the features included, complexity, integrations, and selected technologies. And this is only the software part. Other expenses include purchasing wearables and sensors, setting up networks and infrastructure, maintaining and supporting the app. In addition, security and compliance tools, system monitoring, and staff training will cost a pretty penny.
Healthcare is quite a regulated domain, with HIPAA, GDPR, HL7, FHIR, DICOM, and other requirements and standards for secure data collection, sharing, storage, use, and processing. As these requirements and standards develop and change, your software must stay compliant and safe.
IoT medical devices market demonstrates opportunities for better care, efficient hospital management, and faster and more precise diagnosis. The application field is vast, yet not without challenges.
Implementing the Internet of Medical Devices requires reliable software that can handle large amounts of data, is secure, and offers advanced analytics capabilities. Need a new medical system to adopt innovation? Contact NEKLO to discuss the details.
US-based and operating globally, NEKLO spearheads digital transformation initiatives for businesses worldwide. We deliver software solutions complying with your market and legislation.
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