In this post, we will guide the readers about what IoT is, what are the examples and few of the cases from the hospitals or healthcare sector.
IoT – Internet of Things
IoT stands for internet of things. These are the billions of devices which are connected to the internet for dating sharing, communication, sending files and for other purposes. The great thing is these devices are digitally connected without any human support.
Examples of IoT
There are thousands of examples of IoT which we can find in our surroundings. Few of the examples in general are given below.
- The lightbulb which you can turn on using a smartphone app is an example of IoT.
- Driverless cars are another example of IoT.
- Remote patient monitoring system in hospitals is also an example of IoT.
- Mobile Health option is also popular in the healthcare sector which is IoT.
IoT Use Cases in Hospitals
The healthcare sector has made the best possible use of new technologies and the internet. There are hundreds of devices and systems in a single hospital which are IoT. Some of these examples are being discussed below for the users.
1. Remote Patient Monitoring
Nowadays, we see a system called as remote patient monitoring which is used for providing telemedicine services to patients in various parts. It has been successfully implemented in NHS England and the patients are making good use of it. This was possible due to the internet and tech devices.
2. Tracked Ingestible Sensors
The World Health Organization in 2003 felt the need of a system which could figure out if the patients take medicine and do not ignore them. For this purpose, a small pill was invented. This device has the same size other pills and it enters the human body. It allows the doctors to capture the interior of the body for further examination and treatments.
3. Mobile Health
Mobile Health is a smartphone app based system which lets patients take care of their health, monitor the health status and keep a record of the updates. Due to the popularity and wide use of smartphones as well as the internet, this mHealth was successful and today, millions of people use it. This is a great example of how the internet is being used in the hospitals.
4. Smart Hospitals
Managing patients, keeping data, storing medicines, reaching to the patients on urgent basis, serving long queues of customers are cumbersome for the hospital staff. Instead all this has been solved with a simple solution using the internet. This is what we call smart hospitals. This is an app or software based system which allows hospitals to manage patients, treatments, payments and other tasks. And coupled with medical 3D imaging technology and more advanced equipment, hospitals are getting better at caring for patients.
5. Enhanced Chronic Disease Treatment
In order to treat chronic diseases, the data is continuously and regularly monitored. But on individual level it was not possible. With the invention of wearables, another great example of IoT, the doctors get updates and record the diseases.
And finally, if you know well about the medical imaging technology definition, then you should know well that with IoT and medical 3D imaging technology, the healthcare industry is changing. Your hospital should adapt to it too.
