IoT in healthcare

The digital transformation of the healthcare system will lead to better, more affordable healthcare services.

IoT adoption in healthcare is already delivering on its promise to improve the experience of patients and medical staff at every step of the patient journey, offering better outcomes at a lower cost. With demand for health services on the rise, innovation in digital healthcare solutions will be vital to continuing to improve healthcare quality of care while keeping associated spending in check.

The internet of things (IoT) and digital technologies are transforming every step of the patient journey, leading to:

• Better health outcomes
• Improved patient experience
• Improved work experience by health professionals
• Lower cost of care

Read on to learn how your business can benefit from the digital transformation of healthcare and find out how u-blox can help you develop end-to-end secure, reliable, futureproof connected solutions while mitigating risks common to IoT system development such as IPR litigations or mandatory radio certification.

What is IoT in healthcare

IoT in healthcare combines sensing and positioning technologies, wireless communication, data and security services, and the cloud to improve preventative healthcare as well as the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of health conditions.

Ubiquitous connectivity and the internet have enabled a new generation of connected healthcare devices that monitor vital parameters and schedule or control the administration of medication. IoT-based healthcare solutions have been shown to improve the efficiency and quality of therapies achieving considerable cost savings.

Benefits of IoT in healthcare

Increased visibility into behavioral patterns

Wearable health devices provide improved insights into personal fitness and wellbeing, potentially coupled with health insurance premium reductions that reward a healthy lifestyle. Smart watches and activity trackers promote healthy habits at home and at work, reducing the risk of injury or illness.

Simplified access to medical care

Teleconsultations, smartphone applications, and the internet offer easier access to medical care and healthcare-related information, removing barriers and increasing the capacity of the medical system.

Continuous patient monitoring and diagnostics

Mobile sensors, wireless communication, and cloud-based platforms are enabling a new generation of health and medical devices capable of accurately sensing physiological parameters and diagnosing disease, leading to faster, more effective personalized treatment.

Big medical data

Drawing on anonymously aggregated health data collected using connected healthcare and medical devices, cloud-based healthcare applications can be used to derive new health-related insights. At the same time, health data repositories provide an exchange platform to streamline collaboration between medical workers and accelerate research.

Increased autonomy for patients and the elderly

By enabling health monitoring outside the clinic, home health monitoring devices help support patients suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypertension. At the same time, user-friendly assisted living technology increase patient autonomy and promote faster re-integration into society.

Connected healthcare solutions

Because of its impact on human wellbeing, the healthcare market is particularly risk averse and typically slow to adopt new technologies.

• Safety and security are of special concern, as poorly secured connected devices can become targets to hackers.  Medical devices are required to comply with safety standards such as IEC 60601 in addition to FCC, CE, or MNO certifications.
• High performance in terms of processing times, reliability, and connectivity are essential, particularly in fast-changing and packed hospital environments.
• Connected medical devices need to be able to connect to the cloud infrastructure of the healthcare system and must, therefore, be equipped with a reliable antenna and network interface.
• Wearable devices operate with highly constrained power budgets to provide long-term care to patients with temporary or permanent disabilities.

u-blox strengths in IoT for healthcare

u-blox has proven its strengths and capabilities in this challenging market with health and fitness related wearables and medical devices, as well in clinical devices.

• Our hardware-agnostic service offering increase design flexibility and helps you build service-based product offerings that generate recurring revenues
• Form-factor and software compatible modules using different chip platforms supports reduces the risk in your supply chain by enabling second source components without increasing the design complexity
• Sourcing all key technology components out of one house simplifies purchasing, reduces risk, and speeds up time to market.
• Our solutions are designed to protect your customers’ privacy, e.g., by ensuring that no patient data is stored in the device.
• Our best-in-class patent coverage offers superior protection against litigation.
• We are a private Swiss company with manufacturing in Europe and in locations that are not the subject of current trade disputes.