Healthcare is one industry where the Internet of Things (or sometimes referred to as the “Internet of Medical Things”) has potential for great value and impact. Integrating IoT features into medical devices has the potential to greatly improve the quality and effectiveness of a service, bringing greater value to patients who may need constant monitoring and/or preventive interventions (such as for the elderly or patients with chronic conditions). The need to provide more personalized and patient centric care can be facilitated by IoT in a big way. It is estimated that healthcare IoT solutions will reach a staggering $1 trillion by 2025[1]. Today, key trends that are pushing IoT adoption include:
- Remote Health Monitoring Devices & Mobile Apps – These devices feed patient records with real-time data, perform analysis and send coaching notifications to both providers and patients.
- Wearable Devices – These include that provide instant feedback on patient’s day to day activities such as steps, calories burned, heart rate etc. and can help preempt and perhaps prevent medical emergencies.
- Patient Centric Care – Devices that allow providing care tailored to individual patient preferences or needs.
Healthcare has been one of the key emerging users of Big Data. Services provided by Fitbit and Apple’s ResearchKit can provide researchers access to vast stores of biometric data on users, which can then be used to test hypotheses on nutrition, fitness, disease progression, treatment success etc.
IBM has been one of the pioneers in helping clients adopt IoT for their organizations. According to a recent estimate, over a quarter million devices will be connected to the Watson IoT cloud platform. Over 6,000 companies are turning to IBM for IoT innovation, as IBM is ranked as a leading player in nearly every aspect of the IoT market with clear leadership for its IoT platform, software and system integration. IBM’s Watson platform brings a convergence between cognitive computing and IoT, supporting an ecosystem of innovation. Exciting projects include Pfizer’s partnership with IBM Watson for real-time disease symptom monitoring of Parkinson’s patients to clinicians, Siemens Healthineers, who will develop and deploy new population health offerings, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in partnership with HARMAN who are doing pioneering work to bring voice-activated technology to patients’ rooms .
These are exciting times for IoT in healthcare, as in the next few years IoT it is likely to become the ‘centerpiece’ for health care innovation.
Explore this video to understand the working of ‘Internet of Things’:
[1] http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/the-internet-of-things-the-value-of-digitizing-the-physical-world