The potential of the internet of things in healthcare
All of us are already accustomed to using devices such as fitness trackers, glucometers, and blood pressure monitors. Such tools are developed with the aim of increasing the computations. In addition, devices help reduce healthcare costs by requiring fewer nursing staff. IOMT tools quickly and accurately analyze health indicators and transmit them to the control panel. The role of such software is great since it can be used to control data in dynamics and predict the development of diseases. Forbes publications declare the dramatic growth of IoMT backing up the claim with indisputable facts.
Let’s take a closer look at IoMT and its implementations.
What is IoMT?
The Internet of Medical Things is the practical use of IoT devices in medicine. In recent years, IoMT devices increased in their popularity. They make it easier and more accurate to collect data, analyze the results and transfer them both to internal servers and to the cloud. This interaction of sensors and healthcare professionals simplifies patient monitoring processes. As a result, doctors make accurate diagnoses and can prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Another significant advantage is location independence. Patients do not have to make an appointment to measure blood pressure, for example. All the necessary procedures can be done from home, and the measurement will be sent to the doctor.
Let’s consider an example: a middle-aged patient with an established diagnosis of diabetes. One day he felt unwell and decided to measure the indicators using a smart glucometer as prescribed by the doctor. The device has IoMT functions, so the doctor gets the measurement results instantly.
An experienced doctor who knows the patient’s medical history analyzes the data obtained and makes a conclusion based on them. Thus, the patient effortlessly receives accurate indications and guidance from the doctor. In critical situations, the patient would receive immediate medical attention or hospitalization.
Benefits of the internet medicine
Now let’s highlight the main strengths of IoMT devices.
The scenario described above is just one of the many possibilities available with IoMT technologies. The efficiency and accuracy of analyzes are not the only advantages of Internet medicine.
Remote Monitoring
With the help of IoMT devices, patients receive better care from medical workers and hospitals. Do you remember your standard appointment procedure? It requires waiting, going to the doctor, and anxiety. This is not a problem for young people. But the elderly may experience a lot of difficulties being the most frequent visitors to medical institutions. The situation can become more complicated when it comes to people with reduced mobility.
IoMT devices solve this problem by providing patients with a convenient way to monitor their health. Designers of IoMT devices take great care to ensure that devices are as easy to use as possible and at the same time precise. The combination of mobile apps, medical technology, and the IoT creates devices that measure vitals. The devices display them on a dashboard and transmit them to the doctor. In addition, very often the data is sent to the devices of family members. In an emergency case, they can immediately provide assistance to the patient.
Unloading hospitals
There is also a significant advantage for hospitals and doctors. Huge queues and a series of visits have always made the work of doctors overloaded. Now that some of the tasks are taken over by medical devices of the Internet of Things, the doctor is free from routine work. So, they only have the responsibility of analyzing indicators and making decisions based on them. Reduced patient workload allows doctors to more accurately diagnose diseases and individually approach each patient.
The bottom line
Of course, now we are only at the beginning of the development of IoMT. There are many areas of healthcare where such devices would solve a lot of problems. This requires the well-coordinated work of engineers, talented doctors, and designers. Imagine how many lives can be saved thanks to such devices and what potential this industry has.
