The Internet of Things (IoT) has influenced many industries for a few past years. The technology has evolved software and hardware in adapting wireless communications and controls. Some of the major sectors which have adapted IoT are home appliances, the gaming industry, healthcare, cab services, industrial manufacturing, etc.
According to MarketsandMarkets, IoT in the healthcare market is expected to reach up to $188.2billion by 2025 globally. In the healthcare industry, IoT has enabled many possibilities to make healthcare services more proactive. Health monitors, bionic organs, artificial intelligence, disease predictions, routine monitors, etc are continuously evolving and contributing more to the wellness of the people.
With the adoption of internet of things technology in the healthcare sector, the quality of services has grown rapidly. Medical experts can monitor past health patterns of the users through apps, they are also able to predict possible diseases with the help of IoT sensors like pulse monitor, blood pressure monitor, etc.
Influence Of IoT In The Healthcare Market
IoT has influenced the healthcare industry in various ways. To understand this segment better, we will have to talk about different IoT applications in the healthcare sector in detail.
Wearable Biosensors Devices
Wearable biosensors are used to monitor the health of an individual. Even though it’s still evolving, medical experts are using wearable biosensors to monitor elderlies, infants, athletes, psychiatric patients, etc.
- Wearable biosensors help in recognizing or predicting possible risks to prevent them;
- These devices also have solved long queues in clinics and helped medical experts in identifying the priority of patients’ risk;
- Biosensors can monitor pulses or heartbeats and changes in the pattern;
- These sensors can generate reports accordingly and alert the user or medical experts if needed.
Hearing Devices
IoT enabled Hearing devices have revolutionized the world of hearing-aid devices. Modern hearable devices are not limited to hearing voices only, they can also observe the surroundings and create real-time input data for the user to hear.
- By connecting with smartphones, hearing devices can be used to read OTPs, to communicate without touching the phone, to use voice commands to control phones, to use AI chatbots;
- Moreover, some businesses have also enabled hearable devices to monitor the walking or breathing patterns of the user to monitor their health;
- It can count steps, amount of activity the user does, and generate a report accordingly if needed.
Artificial Pancreas or AID
Artificial Pancreas or Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) is used to monitor the glucose level of the user. Smart algorithm systems of this device monitor and provide a report based on the required amount of insulin delivery. Accordingly, these do-it-yourself devices coordinate with Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and adjust the insulin level automatically as required.
- AID removes the need for the finger-prick test to monitor glucose level every time;
- CGM with AID continuously monitors blood glucose level for the best medical assistance;
- Predictive low-glucose suspend systems let you know when blood glucose level will remain low to avoid unnecessary use of insulins;
- CGM is capable of adjusting the insulin delivery to keep glucose levels stable.
Also Read: What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Future of Artificial Intelligence
Smartwatches
Well, whenever we talk about smart health devices, smartwatches are something we can not avoid. Even though these devices were developed as additional accessories to make technology more user-friendly and accessible, smart devices have evolved as crucial health monitor devices.
Many tech giants like Apple, Samsung, etc had to hire dedicated healthcare developer after they figured out the popularity of smart devices especially for health-related necessities.
- Smartwatches are capable of monitoring heartbeats with the help of pulses or blood flow;
- Predictive health reports can inform and save the user from chronic diseases;
- Athletes use smartwatches to monitor and keep track of their health, activities, etc;
- In the case of critical medical situations, modern smartwatches are capable of informing Emergency response teams to save users.
IoT Apps in the Healthcare Industry
Well, with the evolution of the healthcare industry, IoT has found many ways to contribute. IoT enabled smartphone applications have ended medical assistance’s limitations. By coordinating with third-party devices, healthcare applications use IoT as a bridge to observe and record data.
Later, this data is used to generate necessary medical records to assist the user. Many hospitals and developers have adapted the idea of healthcare apps due to their increasing popularity. However, the cost of developing android apps enabling healthcare services might vary according to the features provided.
- Healthcare apps are capable of monitoring blood pressure, cholesterol, etc;
- Collected data through apps can be used to predict chronic diseases before it’s too late;
- Healthcare apps use cloud services to store the data most of the time, it enables digital storage of health records and sharing them anytime;
- These apps can be used to count calories, amount of exercise done and required, etc;
- Currently, in the U.S. 84% of health apps are free and do not include the in-app purchase.
Bionics
Bionics or artificial organs have seen the real contribution of IoT. IoT has opened easier ways of development of bionics. These artificial organs are replacing traditional prosthetics to provide more functionalities to the user. Bionic organs are made of high-quality materials to make them useful for a long period.
- Artificial Organs are controlled by muscle movements to provide almost original experience;
- Bionic hearing aids are capable of converting noises into vibrations and forwarding them to bones of the skull to make the user hear voices and surrounding noises;
- Smart bionic arms use auto grip technology to make grips more natural and avoid items from slipping without much effort.
The use of IoT has evolved the healthcare industry and made it more approachable. Getting rid of traditional recording systems, or old fashioned ways of monitoring health has made the healthcare process faster.
Moreover, many best mobile app development companies have focused on building healthcare apps to enable emergency healthcare responses in critical situations. It is expected that sensor technology will see a rapid gain till 2024 in various healthcare applications and solely focus on coordinating with IoT. The reason behind this growth is the development of wireless communication and data transfer along with the evolution of microtechnology.
Also Read: Top 8 Benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) in Business
