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The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT, Health IoT) is an infrastructure of smart devices, software, healthcare systems, and individual smart services. IoMT improves and develops the healthcare industry, helps to provide assistance remotely and collects more information about the patient.
And the choice of a vendor that will provide a medical startup with high-quality healthcare development services is also important. But today we will talk about how the Internet of things is used in the field of healthcare.
Benefits of Implementing IoT Systems in Healthcare
The use of IoT systems significantly improves the work of a medical institution. With their help, you can optimize workflows and get many benefits:
- Improving the quality of outpatient care through analytics and remote monitoring.
- Increasing the level of patient safety and their satisfaction with the work of the clinic.
- Minimize the risk of equipment failure.
- The ability to optimize investment in assets through a detailed analysis of their cost and features of operation.
- Reducing the burden on medical staff by automating everyday tasks (such as disinfection of equipment, and determining the vital parameters of patients).
- Increasing the level of labor discipline.
- A permanent control of movable property, prevention of its theft.
- Opportunities for the rapid search for patients or medical equipment.
IoT Trends in Healthcare
What are the trends in the use of IoT for the medical field in the modern market and how can this help patients and healthcare workers now?
Smart patient monitoring
IoMT helps to monitor the condition of equipment in the wards, and monitor the condition of seriously ill patients using special sensors. Thus, such devices are able to track and monitor the health of patients from the moment they arrive at the clinic, collect and update data about them without involving junior medical staff (which saves time and resources).
Smart sensors that are used in medical facilities are most often located on hospital beds. For example, it is possible to produce special sensors that prevent bedsores in critically ill patients. They measure the pressure on the mattress and help distribute it correctly so that a person does not develop ulcers. There are also devices that monitor heart rate and respiration. They monitor patients’ vital signs and alert hospital staff if critical changes occur.
Of course, in order for all IoT devices to work correctly, you need to create special software for them that can be created by specialists from various healthcare development services.
Remotely monitor the condition of patients
But sensors, gadgets, and other smart devices are used not only in medical institutions. One of the most important features of IoMT solutions is that they allow you to provide some medical services, as well as monitor health remotely.
Remote health monitoring, or telemedicine, makes it possible to:
- collect data about the patient’s health even before his direct visit to the doctor;
- consult people remotely on urgent issues;
- make a map of the patient’s activity, and manifestations of his chronic diseases;
- quickly provide assistance in critical cases (for example, with strokes).
At the same time, instead of medical workers, basic actions are performed by various devices in conjunction with smart applications. For example, for the rehabilitation of patients after a stroke, special flexible gadgets are used. They are attached to the neck to control the ability to swallow, as well as monitor speech disorders (aphasia).
Thus, a patient who has suffered a stroke can be at home and go about their daily activities, and not lie in the hospital, wrapped in wires. All information is monitored in real-time and speeds up the rehabilitation of a person.
What Clinical and Hospital Systems Can IoT Implement?
The use of monitoring and navigation systems in medical institutions makes the healthcare environment safer and more comfortable for both clinicians and patients. Technologies allow you to accurately track the location of any object, build routes to wards and offices, and provide convenient navigation for medical personnel.
Tracking the location of assets and other objects
Staff and management can monitor the location of equipment in real-time and instantly determine its current availability. This approach improves asset management and gives the administration the necessary analytics to optimize logistics within the clinic.
Thanks to the introduction of technology, it is much easier to prevent the theft or loss of assets. Medical equipment is equipped with special sensors that track its location and send notifications if it is taken out of the hospital.
Building optimal routes to offices and wards
Many medical institutions consist of a large number of offices and buildings, which makes it difficult to find the necessary premises. Difficulties with navigation increase patient dissatisfaction and waste personal time. With the introduction of technology, the following tasks can be solved:
- create digital maps showing the location of offices;
- perform turn-by-turn navigation through the clinic;
- build routes to any point within the medical facility;
- send personalized messages based on location.
Through the system, you can better navigate the territory of a medical institution. Patients just need to install a mobile application on their phones and easily find the right rooms.
Navigation for staff
With the help of positioning and navigation systems, it is possible to optimize the routes of medical personnel. The platform builds a detailed interactive map of the hospital, which displays all the key components and assets of the enterprise. When using it, you can build short routes to objects, navigate through the list of tasks, and change the status of tasks for employees.
The introduction of technologies allows us to meet the high requirements for current business processes in medical institutions. Navigation can improve clinic management and increase the operational efficiency of staff. An important aspect is the ability to track the workload of staff in order to optimize the schedule and set daily tasks.
Conclusion
Healthcare is the fastest-growing IoT segment. Devices, gadgets, and smart systems are designed not to replace doctors and nurses, but to facilitate and optimize their work.
The main driver that will contribute to the growth of the IoMT market is the need for gadgets, applications, and high-quality healthcare development services that can implement ideas for healthcare software. Now IoT solutions for medicine are used mainly in economically developed countries of the world, for example, in the USA. The main problem of the widespread introduction of such devices and systems is compatibility and safety, as well as the high cost of technology.
