The Internet of Things in Health Care: Transforming the Industry with Technology

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm seeks to integrate physical objects, processes, people, hardware and software, into seamlessly functioning ecosystems. A key application context of this paradigm is the healthcare industry which has the growing challenge of providing affordable quality services with strained resources. This chapter has a focus on the IoT paradigm in the context of the healthcare industry; more specifically, a technological emphasis on IoT use cases in the healthcare environment. The chapter discusses the generic architectural IoT-based healthcare systems and focuses on the development and deployment of wearable and unobtrusive sensing technologies. Although the interest in IoT-based innovation in the field of health care is growing, its widespread usage is rightly encumbered by the critical nature of the applications that necessitate proven reliability through rigorous development and testing. In this chapter, we offer an example of an experimental IoT-based healthcare system and also unpack the details of the various challenges with the different components of IoT systems in healthcare scenarios that affect reliability; we also offer technical insight into future developments and opportunities.