Health 4.0: Application of industry 4.0 design principles in future asthma management

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is a well-known industrial concept leveraging individualization and virtualization across different industrial domains. At its core Industry 4.0 empowers industries to evolve from manufacturers to service providers. Recently design principles for Industry 4.0 scenarios have been proposed. This chapter discusses the validity of the design principles for the health domain investigating its suitability for the diagnostics and therapy (theragnostics) of asthma. We come to the conclusion, that Industry 4.0 design principles work very well in the health domain especially with regards to Precision Medicine and the rapidly progressive evolution of smart pharmaceuticals in chronic, non-communicable diseases. The concept appears to be suitable for the health domain but its implementation and uptake will depend on future network specifications and features.