Internet of things ( IoT ) in Healthcare-
a primer
Presented by: Dr Raghuram V, MD
Professor and Head
Dept of Community
Medicine
SESSION OBJECTIVES
At the end of the session the learner should be able to
To understand the definition of IoT
To understand the applications of IoT in patient
monitoring and public health
To understand the challenges in implementing IoT in
healthcare
CONTENTS
Introduction
Definition of IoT in healthcare
IoT technologies in health care
Key applications in patient monitoring
Impact of IoT in patient monitoring
IoT applications in public health/infectious disease
surveillance
Challenges in using IoT in health care in India
Future trends
References
INTRODUCTION
Kevin Ashton, a visionary technologist is credited with coining
the term "Internet of Things" in 1999
The Internet of Things, abbreviated as the IoT, is a revolutionary
and rapidly evolving technology that has the promise to change
the way we interact with our surroundings .
It is estimated that by 2025, there will be over 75 billion
connected devices worldwide .
The healthcare industry is one of the sectors that is expected to
benefit greatly from this growth.
CONTD..
IoT involves the interconnection of different kinds of
physical subjects, types of equipment, and sensors via
the Internet, enabling them to communicate with each
other and share data.
In healthcare, IoT technologies are already being
used to improve patient care and outcomes, offering
new opportunities for remote monitoring, personalized
treatment plans , and efficient healthcare delivery .
CONTD..
In addition to improving patient care, the IoT can
substantially and greatly reduce healthcare prices by
streamlining processes, automating routine tasks, and
decreasing the need for expensive interventions .
It enhances patient care by enabling real-time data
collection and monitoring, thereby improving response
times and patient outcomes.
WHAT IS IOT IN
HEALTHCARE?
Network of connected medical devices which involves
real-time data collection, communication, and analysis
IOT TECHNOLOGIES
IN HEALTHCARE
Sensors
•Sensors are an essential component of IoT devices.
•They can measure and transmit data from various
sources, such as temperature, blood pressure, heart
rate, glucose levels, and more.
•These sensors can be integrated into wearable
devices, medical equipment, and even inside the
human body.
COMMUNICATIONS
Communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,
and cellular networks are crucial for enabling data
transfer between IoT devices and healthcare providers.
These technologies help establish a seamless and
real-time communication network between patients,
healthcare providers, and medical equipment.
CONTD.
Wi-Fi
-Wireless internet connectivity is commonly used to connect
IoT devices to the internet and allow data to be transmitted
across short distances.
-Bluetooth
-Helps in uniting different devices through wireless
communication
-Zigbee
-Zigbee is a low-power wireless communication protocol
normally used for low data rate and long battery life IoT
applications, such as remote patient monitoring devices.
CONTD..
Cloud
-While the cloud itself is not a communication
technology, Cloud provides a platform for storing ,
managing, and analyzing colossal amounts of
healthcare data generated by IoT devices.
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE (AI)
AI algorithms have emerged as powerful tools in
healthcare, particularly when combined with data from
IoT devices.
By leveraging the vast amount of data these devices
generate, AI algorithms can provide real-time insights
into patient health and enable personalized healthcare
interventions.
CONTD..
Machine learning models , a subset of AI, can analyze
and identify patterns in IoT data to predict disease
progression and suggest personalized treatment plans.
CONTD..
In the context of IoT in healthcare, AI algorithms can
analyze data from wearable devices and other IoT
sensors to monitor life functions, activity rates , sleep
patterns , and other relevant metrics.
By continuously monitoring and analyzing this data, AI
algorithms can provide clinicians with early warnings of
health deteriorations or relapses, enabling timely
interventions and improved patient outcomes.
BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and public
digital ledger that records transactions in a
chronological and immutable manner.
The combination of blockchain technology and IoT in
healthcare holds tremendous potential for enhancing
data security and facilitating seamless data sharing
among healthcare providers.
By harnessing the blockchain’s decentralized and
immutable nature, patient data can be safeguarded
against unauthorized access, tampering, and breaches .
EDGE COMPUTING
Edge computing plays a pivotal role in IoT in healthcare,
offering significant advantages in real-time data
processing and improved performance.
In the context of IoT in healthcare, edge computing
addresses the challenges posed by network latency and
the need for fast response times .
Traditionally, IoT devices would transmit data to
centralized cloud servers for processing and analysis,
which can introduce delays in critical healthcare
applications.
However, with edge computing, data processing occurs
at the edge of the network, near the data source itself.
KEY APPLICATIONS IN
PATIENT MONITORING
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
Wearable Devices
Smart Beds & Sensors
Ingestible Pills
Home-based ICU monitoring
OTHER APPLICATIONS
Clinical laboratories
Pharmacy services
Radiology
Emergency medical services
EXAMPLE
DEVICES( ONLY FOR
ILLUSTRATION NOT FOR
ENDORSEMENT)
Fitbit, Apple Watch, Omron BPM
Medtronic CGM (continuous glucose monitoring)
BioButton (COVID symptom monitoring)
FACTORS INFLUENCING IMPLEMENTATION OF WEARABLES IN CLINICAL SETTING
Integration
Clearly into a
system of Technology
defined
healthcare support service
problem
delivery
Focus on Deployme
Personaliz the end-
ed human nt of
user
experienc experience
physician
e champions
Impact on Patient
Monitoring
Early Detection
Series 1
Series 2 Reduced Hospital Load
Series 3
0
Personalized Medicine
10
0
Series 1 Series 2 Improved Outcomes
Series 3
INSERT LOGO HERE
WHAT IS A “SMART”
HOSPITAL?
Smart hospitals involve the application of recent information
and communications technology (ICT) innovations to medical
services
Services based on location recognition and tracking
technology that measures and monitors the location
information of an object based on short-range communication
technology
High-speed communication network-based services based on
new wireless communication technology
“Four ‘lesses’” (filmless, chartless, slipless, paperless) method
RANGE OF SERVICES AT
A SMART HOSPITAL
Internet of Things-based services that connect objects
embedded with sensors and communication functions
to the internet.
Mobile health services such as mobile phones, tablets,
and wearables
Artificial intelligence-based services for the diagnosis
and prediction of diseases
Robot services provided on behalf of humans in
various medical fields
Extended reality services that apply hyper-realistic
immersive technology to medical practice; and
telehealth using ICT.
IOT IN HEALTHCARE IN
INDIA -CASE STUDIES
10-Bed ICU Project with Tele-ICU Support
Launched by technologist Srikanth Nadhamuni, this
initiative established over 200 ICUs in rural India,
including Bagepalli (Bhagyanagara) in Karnataka.
Each unit is equipped with IoT-enabled monitoring
systems and connected to urban specialists via tele-
ICU platforms.
This setup allows intensivists in cities like Bengaluru
to guide rural medical staff in real-time, significantly
reducing patient transfers and improving critical care
outcomes.
CONTD..
GOQii: Wearable Health Monitoring with
Coaching
GOQii, offers wearable fitness bands that track health
metrics like heart rate and activity levels.
These devices are integrated with personalized
coaching, enabling users to receive real-time health
advice.
The platform's IoT infrastructure supports continuous
health monitoring and proactive wellness management
CONTD..
E Health Point: Telemedicine and Clean Water
Services
E Health Point operates in rural areas, providing a
combination of clean drinking water, medicines,
diagnostic tools, and telemedical services.
Their units utilize IoT devices to offer real-time
consultations with doctors, ensuring evidence-based
healthcare reaches remote communities.
CONTD..
Ultrahuman: Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Bengaluru-based Ultrahuman provides wearable
devices like the Ultrahuman Ring and M1, focusing on
metabolic health.
Their IoT-enabled continuous glucose monitors offer
real-time insights into blood sugar levels, aiding users
in managing their diet and exercise routines effectively
IOT AND PUBLIC
HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
Traditional surveillance data collection can be
cumbersome, expensive, and slow, often relying on
paper-based and digitally extracted data sources
Sources like Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Reddit
have been successfully used to explore behavior and
health outcomes .
These are now being accepted as potential data
sources across several health domains .
CONTD..
Wearables and sensors can track personalized
parameters of healthy living, including sleep, physical
activity, and sedentary behavior .
These devices can provide insights into population
health, disease management.
Smart healthcare, monitoring of activities of daily
living, monitoring for medical management, robotic
personal assistance devices, fall monitoring and control
devices and implantable medical devices .
NEXT-GENERATION DATA
SOURCES FOR
PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
Researchers have attempted to build and analyze
health indicators using innovative data sources like
smartphones , online searches, social media ,
wearables , ambient sensors , electronic health records
(EHRs) ,medical-administrative records and pharmacy
sales to broaden the scope of surveillance.
IOT IN INFECTIOUS DISEASE
SURVEILLANCE
ADVANTAGES OF IOT
DATA
IoT data has several advantages over traditional
surveillance data: high volume and frequency of data
collection, data triangulation, real-time availability, and
minimal acquisition effort.
FUTURE TRENDS
Integration with AI & Machine Learning for real time monitoring and
predictive analytics for early diagnosis or intervention alerts (e.g.,
sepsis risk, glucose spikes).
Blockchain for secure health data
5G enabling real-time, low-latency monitoring
Virtual ICUs & smart hospital ecosystems
Community Health Worker Empowerment-Train non-clinical
personnel (like ASHAs or health "Saathis") to operate IoT devices
for basic diagnostics.
CONTD..
Hybrid Infrastructure Models
•Combine on-site diagnostics (using IoT devices) with
cloud-based platforms for real-time data sharing
and telemedicine.
•Ensure offline functionality for regions with
intermittent connectivity.
Example:
NanoHealth's Doc-in-a-Bag: collects health data
offline, syncs when internet is available.
ROLE OF MEDICAL
FACULTY
Educating students on digital health tools
Research on IoT-based interventions
Guiding clinical integration in hospitals
Participating in ethics & regulatory discussions
CONCLUSION
IoT is revolutionizing patient monitoring ,public health
surveillance and preventive services offering real time
and personalized care , but it comes with its unique set
of challenges which need to be overcome to facilitate
its wider application .
REFERENCES
1. Chunyan Li , Jiaji Wang , Shuihua Wang, Yudong
Zhang .A review of IoT applications in healthcare.
Neurocomputing 565 (2024) 127017
2. Kirti Sundar Sahu, Shannon E. Majowicz , Joel A. Dubin,
Plinio Pelegrini Morita. NextGen Public Health
Surveillance and the Internet of Things (IoT).Frontiers in
Public Health . December 2021 Volume 9 Article
756675
3. Guanghao Sun , Nguyen Vu Trung, Le Thi Hoi, Pham
Thanh Hiep, Koichiro Ishibashi, Takemi Matsui.
Visualization of epidemiological map using an Internet of
Things infectious disease surveillance platform. Critical
Care (2020) 24:400
CONTD..
[Link] Kwon, Sunhee An, Ho-Young Lee, Won Chul
Cha, Sungwan Kim, Minwoo Cho, Hyoun-Joong Kong.
Review of Smart Hospital Services in Real Healthcare
Environments. Healthc Inform Res. 2022
January;28(1):3-15.
5. Matthew Smuck , Charles A. Odonkor , Jonathan K.
Wilt, Nicolas Schmidt, Michael A. Swiernik . The
emerging clinical role of wearables: factors for
successful implementation in healthcare. npj Digital
Medicine (2021) 4:45
6. Jorge Calvillo-Arbizu , Isabel Román-Martínez , Javier
Reina-Tosina. Internet of things in health:
Requirements, issues, and gaps. Computer Methods
and Programs in Biomedicine
[Link]
CONTD..
7. Verdejo Espinosa, Á.;López, J.L.; Mata Mata, F.;
Estevez, M.E. Application of IoT in Healthcare: Keys to
Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sensors 2021, 21, 2330. https://
[Link]/10.3390/s21072330
“The Internet? We are not interested in it.” — Bill
Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft (quoted in 1993)
For Your Patient Listening