Internet Of Things: IOT In Industries And Healthcare

What’s the internet of things?

Internet of things is becoming a very frequent topic in our lives because of the huge impact it makes on our lives. So what’s the internet of things (IoT)? basically, the Internet of things is the concept of connecting objects or devices around us to the internet, and by objects, we don’t just mean smartphones or laptops, anything you can think of could be connected to the internet, for example; smart microwaves, smart lighting system, coffee makers, Self-driving cars, wearable fitness devices, and many other things. The IoT is a network of connected machines and people.

How it works

The term “internet of things” was invented in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, he used it as a title of a presentation he presented in his job, he had an idea of putting an RFID tag on some lipsticks and made them communicate through a radio receiver to know when restocking was needed by tracking their sales. Using embedded sensors, all the web-accessing devices can send, receive, and act on data. People can connect with the devices to set them up and send them instructions but the devices will do all the work and sometimes these devices can connect to other related devices, these devices are often called “smart” devices, they allow us to have a way easier life by being able to monitor our houses and jobs while we are away. The IoT technology has been in the making for a long time even before the invention of computers, the communication between two devices was firstly used in 1912 by using telemetric systems to transfer information from a power plant in Chicago to a central office. The computer has been in our lives since the middle of the 20th century, the internet started since the ARPANET launched in the U.S, since that time the web developed more day by day and it started entering our houses and offices, wireless networks became all over the place, computing equipment became smaller and smaller by time which made all the technology we have today possible. The devices connected in IoT consist of computing hardware with embedded programming processors that guide them along with the sensors that do the reading, for example: reading the temperature, the light, heart rate, movement and chemical scales, and the communication hardware would exchange signals. The smart devices work in concurrence with tagging mechanics such as RFID tags, QR codes and barcodes, these devices need an outer power source such as a solar panel, companies are working for developing a wireless source in the future.

IoT in industries

Nowadays, IoT is being used in many industries, such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, transportation and many other industries, which improved industries and made the services easier and faster by helping the processes be done more efficiently, save time and money and increase customer satisfaction. IOT improved manufacturing in lots of ways, manufacturing companies are applying IoT technologies to almost every system to increase customer satisfaction. Individual machine functions are monitored by sensors to keep maintenance or predict a close breakdown which allows the plant managers to focus on invaluable activities and act as the need emerges, for example, when a machine is slowing down, IOT sensors send alarms to the control panel so that the maintenance is arranged, breakdowns are reduced and production levels are maintained, and this results in a powerful predicting tool that helps the collaborators more precisely in the future. IoT also helps in field services, it helps track vehicles, properties and personnel locations which benefits the manufacturers resulting in a higher profit. IoT also helps facility management be done more efficiently, it helps the managers monitor multiple operations simultaneously, in addition, enterprise resource planning (ERP) which plays a huge role in IoT, helps in integrating purchasing inventory, sales, marketing, finance and human resources by establishing sensors that monitor and track these processes so ERP helps in reducing human errors and this results in tasks being done with greater advantages. Let’s talk about how IoT is used in retail, RFID inventory tracking chips are installed on things and products, retailers are taking advantage of IoT in lots of areas, for example, smart stores that analyze mall traffic by Wi-Fi monitoring to see if customers stay in a specific product area, and that helps them to monitor traffic in stores. Also in smart transportation, as many retailers are using GPS to track and route trucks recently. Predicting equipment failure is also an example as most grocery stores have complex equipment. When refrigeration units are installed with sensors, people can predict future maintenance issues. IoT in healthcare allowed doctors to monitor patients’ health without physical interactions by using devices that make remote monitoring possible, which helps the patients reduce the length of their hospital stay and this is very helpful especially for elderly patients because it enables continuous tracking of the patient’s health and it’s helpful the most for people who live alone. Another thing is that IoT has a huge impact in reducing the costs of healthcare services. IoT isn’t only used in hospitals for monitoring patients’ health, there are many hospitals that use IOT for tracking the location of medical equipment such as oxygen pumps, nebulizers, wheelchairs and other equipment, they install devices attached with sensors that track their location which makes the process of finding equipment and serving patients much faster and easier.

IoT in healthcare

IoT is very helpful in the field of healthcare for all of the patients, physicians, hospitals, and health insurance companies, as a matter of fact, it has a lot of advantages on the healthcare industry like the way it enhances treatment, reduces errors, manages drugs and medical equipment, it also helps in diagnosing diseases faster and more efficiently. IoT is redefining healthcare by improving treatment outcomes and ensuring better care. Being able to transmit information to healthcare providers means fewer visits and appointments which many patients would appreciate. Lots of medicines are becoming more capable because of technology, for example; head and neck cancer is being treated and patients are experiencing less symptoms by a smart monitoring system called CYCORE as this system tracks the symptoms and sends them to the physicians that make them know the patients’ responses to treatments. Most patients who were kept an eye on by this system experienced less severe symptoms. Asthma is a disease that affects the lives of many people around the world, technology is providing connecting inhalers that give physicians control over the patients’ health and symptoms. Propeller Health is the biggest producer of smart inhalers, they created an inhaler with attached sensors that connects to an app and help people with asthma to understand their situations and conditions. Another IoT innovation in the field of healthcare is when Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA and a platform for measuring mental health called Cognition Kit Limited collaborated to inspect the use of an Apple smartwatch that monitors patients with depressive disorder. The results of this inspection were very positive as the patients used the smartwatch daily to monitor their mood and give them more insights into their condition. Another disease that IoT is improving its’ treatment is Diabetes, it’s a disease that affects one in ten adults. In 1999, a device known as a continuous glucose monitor was firstly approved by the US food and drug administration, this device allows diabetes patients to repeatedly monitor their blood glucose levels. According to a study by the World Health Organization in 2003, 50% of the medicines are taken by the patients as the doctors direct, so a company known as Proteus Digital health created pills with ingestible sensors, these pills dissolve in the stomach and send a small signal that is picked up by a sensor placed on the body, and then this data is sent to the physicians through a mobile app to ensure that the patient has taken the medicines as directed. In 2016, a device for coagulation testing was launched to help the patients check how quickly their blood clots and to lower the risk of stroke. IoT does have many advantages in healthcare as explained but on the other hand, security risks should also be considered, hackers are always there when it comes to private information, and healthcare involves many sensitive information as we all know, such as medical history, medical prescriptions and social security numbers and when the hacker steals such information it might give them the ability to steal the victim’s identity and a major problem happens to the healthcare provider (hospital or clinic) because it’s their responsibility if any security problem occurs. Sometimes the hacker has straight control over IoT medical equipment which may have lethal results.