How The Internet of Medical Things Can Impact Podiatric Medicine

In 1965, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, observed that the number of transistors on integrated circuits per square inch doubled every year since their invention in 1947.^1,2 Based on that observation, he formulated Moore’s Law, which predicted that the trend would continue onward.¹ For the most part, integrated circuits have continued to grow at a similar pace since along with software and technologies accompanying the hardware.

These advances in technology have become so pervasive to a point where few aspects of our lives are not technological in nature. For many of our daily activities, there are devices that enable us to complete tasks efficiently and keep track of our progress. With the increased ease of accessibility to the Internet and the increasing connectivity capabilities of technological devices to one another, there is a new concept on the horizon called the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things involves a conglomerate of devices, including appliances, sensors and any physical object with the ability to connect to the Internet and relay data.³ This is a very rapidly growing space that is already changing the way we live our lives. Recently, Business Insider’s research firm, Business Intelligence, projected that there will be 55 billion Internet of Things devices by 2025.⁴ We can already see this with the rise of smart home devices like the Amazon Echo. By uttering a few words to Alexa, Amazon’s voice service and “brain” behind the smart device, tasks such as turning on the lights, adjusting the temperature in the house or even locking the doors can happen wirelessly. The Amazon Echo’s ability to learn and continuously wirelessly update its impressive list of “skills” creates a great opportunity for the medical field to revolutionize its approach to medicine.

This brings us to the topic of the Internet of Medical Things, which is exactly what it sounds like: medical devices connected to a cloud network, which analyzes and stores information.⁵ This concept has already been put to use with remote monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, medication order tracking, infusion pumps with analytics and a plethora of wearable sensors that track the vital signs of patients.⁵ Researchers predict that the worldwide Internet of Medical Things market will hit $136.8 billion by 2021.⁶ The rise of this era in medical technology is very timely, given the increasing burden to the healthcare system imposed by a rapidly growing elderly population. By 2025, there will be 8 billion people on Earth, 1.2 billion of whom will be elderly.⁷

“Virtual home assistants and portable diagnostic devices will help provide better elder care and in turn control medical costs,” writes Reenita Das, the Senior Vice President of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Frost and Sullivan.⁷ Similarly, the Internet of Medical Things can drastically improve the healthcare experience of less mobile patient populations irrespective of age, such as patients who have chronic wounds to the lower extremity.

A study I coauthored in a special issue of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology dives deeper into this topic.⁸ My coauthors, David Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD, and Bijan Najafi, PhD, MSc, have years of experience in this space and mentored me throughout the publication of this study.

The idea that a voice-enabled smart home device, with the help of wearable sensors and other portable health devices, can change the way we manage diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) is not far-fetched. The potential that such a system has in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency may prove to be revolutionary. In fact, most of the technology required to do so has already been invented. I may discuss the intricacies of these wearables and other health sensors in a later piece, but there is no doubt that the field of podiatric medicine will be impacted by this technology. As the technology continues to develop, so do related considerations and concerns for privacy and security.

It is important that the podiatric medical community understands the Internet of Medical Things so it can take part in the conversation on this concept’s development and integration into the healthcare system, and help in molding the Internet of Medical Things to the benefit of its patient population. 

References

1. Moore GE. Cramming more components onto integrated circuits. Electronics. 1965; 38(8):1–3.
2. San Jose State University. The history of the transistor. Available at https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/transist.htm.
3. Morgan J. A simple explanation of the ‘Internet of Things.’ Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/#147498fe1d09. Published May 13, 2014.
4. Newman P. The Internet of Things 2018 report: How the IoT is evolving to reach the mainstream with businesses and consumers. Business Insider. Available at https://www.businessinsider.com/the-internet-of-things-2017-report-2018-2-26-1. Published Feb. 26, 2018.
5. Rouse M. IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) or Healthcare IoT. IoT Agenda. Available at  https://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/IoMT-Internet-of-Medical-Things.
6. Marr B. Why the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) will start to transfer healthcare in 2018. Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/01/25/why-the-internet-of-medical-things-iomt-will-start-to-transform-healthcare-in-2018/#70b57fe24a3c. Published Jan. 25, 2018.
7. Das R. 10 ways the Internet of Medical Things is revolutionizing senior care. Forbes. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2017/05/22/10-ways-internet-of-medical-things-is-revolutionizing-senior-care/#761c9bfc5c8f. Published May 22, 2017.
8. Basatneh R, Najafi B, Armstrong DG. Health sensors, smart home devices, and the internet of medical things: an opportunity for dramatic improvement in care for the lower extremity complications of diabetes. J Diabetes Science Tech. 2018. 12(3):577–86.

Follow the author on Twitter at @RamiBasatneh.