Wireless Patient Monitoring using IoT
Patient monitoring is a vast application of IoT. Internet of things based monitoring helps both the patients and the doctors.
It allows many patients, who need to be monitored, to stay in their homes, while doctors can monitor them remotely.
Patients get to stay in the comfort and familiarity of their homes while the doctors get updates about their current health status.
Even when patients need to be hospitalized, IoT based wireless monitoring system lets them move around instead of being tied to their hospital bed with wires attached for monitoring.
Doctors can also save time by not having to go to each and every patient’s bed to collect the monitored data.
They can also receive reliable and real-time data on their hand-held devices anytime they want. Alerts are also transmitted when any patient needs immediate attention. This prevents delays in help reaching the patient.
See also: Smart Hospitals: Future of Healthcare Sector
There are several different devices in use for different areas of wireless monitoring.
The below table lists the different wireless patient monitoring devices and their applications.
Click on the hyperlinks to know more about any product.
| Name | Application |
|---|---|
| Zephyr VitalSync Physiological Patch | wearable device to monitor the patient's heart rate and breathing rate gets ECG on demand alerts when the patient needs to be repositioned to prevent pressure ulcers* all data is sent to a central monitoring platform (see below) where it can be accessed remotely |
| Zephyr VitalSync Virtual Patient Monitoring Platform | receives information from bedside monitoring devices or other wearable devices and uploads them on the hospital server hospital staff can access this data from any device connected to the hospital network an alarm is transmitted when the patient's monitored status deviates more than the set limit |
| Mobile Cardiac Telemetry Solutions | used for patients who require heart monitoring for an extended period eliminates the need to be hospitalized for monitoring a sensor attached to the patient's body monitors heart rate and ECG data for 30 days irregular heartbeat is notified |
| AliveCor KardiaMobile | takes a proper medical EKG of the heart using the device and a mobile app helps people with heart conditions to monitor their EKG saves the patient the trip to the hospital for EKG when they feel symptoms helps patient transmit readings remotely to their physician physician can offer advice based on the reading for immediate action |
| AirStrip One | provides patient monitoring data, medical history, test reports on the doctor's mobile or handheld device useful for hospitalized patients where the doctor can remotely monitor the patient's current health status can also monitor non-hospitalized patient's status at home |
| Leaf patient sensor | tracks mobility of hospitalized patients to prevent pressure ulcers* alerts staff when assisted movement is required helps to keep the patient's body healthy by enforcing regular turning and movement of the body |
| Propeller Health | a sensor which attaches to an asthma inhaler helps track the triggers for asthma helps patients understand and avoid places and environment conditions triggering their asthma data can also be shared with the patient's doctors |
| Glooko | a mobile app and a syncing device for diabetes management can sync data from 30 different kinds of blood glucose monitors to the mobile app patients can also log their food and exercise details patients can set reminders for medications and exercise provides a visual representation of the data allows patients to see the effects of their lifestyle on their diabetes can create PDF file to share with the doctor doctor can also see data about all their patients on their glooko app |
| Echo Therapeutics | innovative insulin delivery and glucose monitoring system for diabetics A pen-like device exfoliates the outer layer of dead skin to administer insulin without the pain of injections A band-aid-like sensor monitors the blood glucose levels at frequent intervals data can be viewed remotely on wireless devices like mobile Notifications are received when the blood glucose is not within the required levels |
* pressure ulcers – injuries due to pressure on the body when it remains in the same position for long periods
All of these IoT based wireless monitoring devices allow better control of the patient’s health, both to the doctors and the patient.
Many more devices are going to come up in the field of wireless patient monitoring and to improve healthcare.
To read more about IoT in healthcare, read Smart healthcare and smart healthcare for smart India
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