Demand for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in healthcare is rising as healthcare systems around the world race to adopt the latest remote monitoring tools, devices and technologies that enable more efficient disease tracking, early diagnosis and treatment.
Healthcare-related IoT revenues are projected to more than double in market size over the next year five years to reach more than US$135 billion (€125 billion) by 2025, reports Shujaat Ali, the founder and chief-editor of Medical Travel Market.
Here is an insight into a handful of IoT solutions across all sides of the world.
1. Electronic vaccine intelligence network (eVIN) – India: India runs the largest vaccination programme in the world with 27 million new children immunised every year. eVIN is a mobile based technology developed by the UNDP and the Government of India to provide real-time logistics management across the vaccine cold chain. The app tracks the location, temperature (from SIM-enabled temperature loggers attached to cold chain equipment) and stock levels of vaccines, ensuring the supply is safe and reliable.
2.Skynet, Alibaba and Mobile Operators – China: China has invested heavily in healthcare industry IoT solutions, from digital health records to smartphone attachments reading EKGs and temperatures. Multiply this by 1.4 billion people, and you can sense the scale of big data available for data scientists to crunch on. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alibaba was able to implement a Skynet to over 100 cities within a week by leveraging smartphone apps and the power of mobile IoT connections. Alipay Health Code became an epidemic prevention and control health code system, which enabled large scale, real-time monitoring to support China in its efforts to stem the spread of the virus.
3.HearScreen smartphone audiometer – Africa: HearX group have pioneered a mobile app that offers a cost-effective and clinically validated means of screening for hearing loss by minimally trained professionals. It is estimated that 466 million people suffer from hearing loss worldwide, and this simple IoT solution is helping transform lives. The average test time is less than a minute, and it is proving popular in multiple settings, including schools, where educationally significant hearing loss can be detected early on through this simple screening method.
4. Electronic bed management system (eBMS) – Africa: Gauteng hospitals in South Africa manage an average of 27.7 million patients annually and often experience access pressures on the availability of beds. Gauteng health services introduced an innovative electronic Bed Management System, which enabled medical professionals to seamlessly identify the availability of beds across a cluster of sites.
