Traditional and ongoing medical practice involves the use of advanced medical equipment, experienced doctors and standard infrastructure to provide the best possible treatment to patients.
The medical forum works in unity for the betterment of its facilities so that healthcare is accessible and, more importantly, best-in-class healthcare is available to all. To take this quest one step further, a concept called IoMT, Internet of Medical Things was introduced, system that uses technical tools at our disposal to formulate a medical system that is accurate and efficient. A collection of biological instruments and applications that are able to interface with healthcare data management infrastructures is a part of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). By promoting the relationship between patients and their doctors and facilitating the sharing of medical records through a secure platform, it has the potential to decrease needless hospital visits and ease the burden on the medical system.
In short, IoT technology implementation in the healthcare industry is known as IoMT. It is the fusion of software, sensors, medical equipment, and communication networks to build a networked ecosystem in the healthcare industry. Smart gadgets like activity trackers, smart medical implants, and portable health monitors are made to record pertinent medical information like blood sugar levels, vital signs, physical activity, and sleep patterns, among other things. Healthcare professionals receive this data via the Internet, allowing them to monitor and make informed decisions in real time. In order to provide remote healthcare and patient monitoring, it is essential to capture and keep each patient’s medical history in the cloud using IoMT. Additionally, IoMT seeks to raise the efficiency of healthcare facilities, both public and commercial, and optimise operations and treatment efficacy.
IoMt is also useful for remote patient monitoring which is very beneficial in a population with increasing health complications and disorders. Patients’ quality of life can be enhanced, and doctors can avoid complications by using real-time data on their illnesses to modify treatment plans. IoMT also makes it easier for various healthcare providers to quickly and securely share medical information, which improves teamwork and collaborative decision-making. More precise diagnosis and individualised treatment are made possible by electronic health records and the availability of real-time data. IoMT improves healthcare institutions’ operational effectiveness, simplifying facility management for administrators and providers. This gives medical practitioners access to modern technologies, including high-resolution digital imaging, robotic surgical assistance, and increased visibility.
Precision medicine
The majority of medical therapies are one-size-fits-all and created with the “average patient” in mind. The concept is also useful in personalised medicine, which adjusts illness prevention and treatment based on individual variations in genetics, environment, and lifestyle. Providing the appropriate medications to the right patients at the right time is the aim of precision medicine. Sabyasachi Ghosh from Future Market Insights adds, “People are becoming more aware of the benefits of personalised treatment, and more genetic databases are being developed. These factors have been driving the global market for personalised medicine.”
Precision medicine allows healthcare providers to use the patient’s genetic information as a part of routine medical care. This gives doctors a variety of insights to work with apart from the usual line of treatment. Precision medicine’s major breakthrough is enabling the medicos to have a better understanding of why diseases occur. Multiple genome datasets are used to analyse the origin of the disease and the reason for its occurrence at a particular point of time. Precision medicine has the capability to formulate the best treatment for a particular condition for a specific individual. Doctors can create personalised treatment frameworks for every individual, thereby giving the best solutions inside a shorter span of time. This leads to an improved approach to diagnosing, treating, and even preventing diseases. A database of medical records is maintained through Electronic Health Records(EHRs) so that medical data can be accessed by all medical institutions under a single entity. This makes it easier for doctors to view the medical history, previous visits, and various other insights to formulate the best course of action.
In order to move precision medicine from the lab into the medical system, like major hospitals, academic researchers are collaborating closely with medical professionals in clinical settings. The study of illness mechanisms and the early stages of developing diagnosis and therapy plans are among the fundamental discoveries that researchers are concentrating on. They also research the business, legal, and ethical aspects of healthcare and train scientists and medical personnel. Healthcare providers aim to apply precision medicine on a large scale in order to enhance population health and provide value-based treatment. Doctors need to know the clinical and financial benefits of precision medicine before they recommend them. This guarantees that patient fees are fair and that the outcomes are applicable. Genetic information about patients must be accessible to doctors within the context of their current workflow, which arises from electronic health records.
The fusion of IoMT and precision medicine
IoMT is a rapidly developing technology that is drastically altering preconceptions about healthcare. People may carry around portable devices in the future to keep an eye on their vital signs and notify medical professionals of any irregularities. These devices may develop into predictive tools that use AI and machine learning to spot shifts in biological signals and foresee possible problems. Healthcare practitioners will switch from a prescriptive to a preventive approach as IoMT technologies develop. There is a huge void in the precision medicine segment with reference to the use of IoMT. IoMT can facilitate a fast and efficient transition of healthcare systems into the Precision Medicine way of things. Doctors can use the IoMT tech and machinery to make seamless systems that aid precision medicine. The confluence of the IoMT and Precision Medicine is a win-win situation for the medical fraternity which is in a state of transition.
IoMt can prove to be the missing link for precision medicine to achieve results in a relatively faster period of time. IoMT-based precision healthcare is a new idea with a number of interoperability-related integration issues between disparate medical sensor networks. There has been extensive research on the possibility of processing large amounts and different types of data generated, keeping devices interoperable, replacing unstable IoT architectures, maintaining heterogeneity of the connected smart devices, and preventing the shortage of expensive medical sensors. Incorporating new technology, sensing devices, and IoMT applications for individualised healthcare is the way forward for the Precision Medicine market.
Sabyasachi Ghosh is Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights. He holds over 12 years of experience in the Healthcare, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceutical industries.
