How is the Internet of Things (IoT) influencing the Human Body?

“The Internet of Things is not a concept; it is a network, the true technology-enabled Network of all networks.”  – Edewede Oriwoh

 

Increasing demand for high performance and enhanced computer devices with more advanced technologies has led to meet the requirement of internally connected and energy-efficient devices, also, when we think about a network of devices same as the system of internet-connected devices, it is considered to have a system of low power design at sensor levels as well as sensor networks. 

 

From a published research paper, human body communication has been established to be the dynamic mode of communication, this communication uses low power wireless data communication technology, and internet of things is a way to connect all these sensors through a network, it makes normal sensors into smart devices. With so many such scopes, smart networks and devices can have a wide range of applications including smart health monitoring. In this blog, we will learn about how smart health monitoring can be conducted as part of the internet of things. 

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A network of IoT applications through common servers

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It will have an unbeatable impact on our personal life, environment, and businesses. Many smart devices can be used directly on or close region to the human body that enables massive measurements of activities performed by the body, biopotentials, biomarkers and many other parameters. Smart devices generated data that can be used in personal assistant devices, healthcare devices, securities and defense applications.

 

In the recently released movie “War”,  you must have seen small chips are used by filmmakers in the movie as a tracking sensor, defense applications, body treatment and many more. These chips are classic examples of IoT devices. Let’s learn about more sensor-network connected devices and their applications, benefits to the human body. 

 

 

Consequences of the Internet of Things (IoT) to the Human Body

 

When the Internet of things connects to human bodies, it can be termed as the Internet of Bodies (IoB), IoB basically connects the human body with a spread-network through devices, these devices are ingested, inserted or linked to the body in some way. When connected, data can be conveyed from the body to a device and can be controlled and monitored remotely.

 

You can also learn about the role of the Internet of Things in Healthcare through this blog.  

 

IoT devices are connected to the human body by following three ways; 

 

First Externally, devices including Wearables such as smartwatches, Fitbits, etc can monitor our health externally,

 

Second Internally, many devices such as a pacemaker, digital pills, cochlear installation are implanted inside the body to monitor or direct various facets of human health, and

 

Third Embedded, when technology and the human body are combined together to have a real-time connection with a remotely operated- machine.

 

It is generally believed that most of the people in their old age are living without any medical assistance, due to which they suffer from many chronical or else continual diseases. If proper on-time assistance is provided to them, they could live a good and healthy balanced-life when they are in their old age. An IoB can be the most applied and efficient system for the present time, even though IoB has become an essential part of our life due to its capabilities and functionality.

 

IoT devices or you could say a combination of healthcare sensors, can be connected to the body according to the requirement of the patients. It can help to supervise the human body functions and environment around patients.

 

 

Examples of IoT devices used for human heath-monitoring 

 

Many smart devices are frequently used as advanced applications to monitor human health, such as chronic diseases, continual diseases. In the most identified examples included. A few of the noted examples include;

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Various IoT devices for human health

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1. Pacemaker: A small device put up in the abdomen or chest of the patient, it helps in improving or controlling health conditions abnormal health swings with some electrical pulses. 

 

2. Smart Pills: These pills are embedded with electronic sensors and chips. When a patient swallows pills, these pills collect the data from patients’ organs and send them to a remotely internet-connected device. For example, Gastroparesis is an unexplained stomach condition that can be assisted by smart pills. The first digital chemotherapy pill is the combination of sensors and networks, it stores and shares data with healthcare sources about various activities like heart rate, drug dosage and time.

 

3. Smart contact lenses: Depending upon the information given by eye and eye fluid, these lenses and monitor health diagnostics such as to monitor glucose levels, this helps dianetic patients’ to observe glucose levels in their body without replicating pin-pricks whole day.

  

4. RFID microchips: These chips help to identify and relocate when a person loses something so particular as used as defense application in the military. From the business point of view, these chips permit workers to have access to the building with key, to give payments by a wave of their hand, etc.

 

5. Hearables: These are new-era heading aid, it has made huge changes for the people who suffered from hearing loss interaction with others. They filter, balance and add required features according to real-world sounds. Doppler labs are a famous example of Hearables. 

 

 

Challenges Faced by the Internet of Bodies 

 

Typical examples where IoB can be used are early detection of any disease, its prevention, directing of disease, elderly assistance, and care after surgery, etc. In the healthcare system, IoT is mainly used to obtain rapid access to health conditions. We all know that IoT is the system of interconnected devices on a large scale, many health organizations exchange data and information with each other on a regular basis to address their problems and to enhance their performance. 

 

This data is very important for companies who want to provide better health services to their customers. So on the basis of concern for patients’ data, major challenges and issues are following;

 

1. One of the most concerned issues with the Internet of Bodies(IoB) is the security of the devices and information they store and communicate. The security challenge faced by the Internet of Bodies technologies is similar to that what makes troubles which causes Internet of Things(IoT) usually, it becomes matter of life and death when IoB is implanted in the human body so as a consequence its privacy and security matters a lot. 

 

2. Additionally, data privacy is another supreme challenge, who and why try to have access to confidential data, consider a device observes health diagnostics, it also can trace unhealthy and unexplained behaviors. So, does health insurance company pay or not the coverage when such reports are provided to show the patients’ unhealthy behavior, the data generated by IoB’s device? Another IoB’s device is used to restore the hearing ability of the patient, but what happens when it also stored audios in the patients’ environment. Data will no longer be private.

 

3. Data regulatory and legal conflicts should also need to be resolved. Proper policies need to introduce for the conventional application of the technologies.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Multiple technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, are connected through some networks, and here the Internet of Things has a significant role for commercial applications as well.  

 

Undoubtedly, IoB has changed the way by which facilities are provided to healthcare monitoring,  these technologies develop the products that are responsible for producing a bigger impression by making collectively minor changes. IoT can help human-healthcare in many ways such as it lessens emergency room waiting time, improving drug management, tracing patients and staff, etc. 

 

In this blog, we have seen multiple examples, benefits, and challenges faced by IoT when introduced in the human body or human-healthcare. With the data obtained regarding patients and their real-time conditions, it can be hoped to cure and prevent them from diseases regularly and on-time. It increasingly transforms the traditional ways of treatments and making patients’ problems easier. For more blogs in Analytics and new technologies do read Analytics Steps.