Hear Rate Sensor
Blood Pressure Monitor
Respiratory Sensor
Healthcare and Medical industry are highly research and experimentation oriented. Advancements primarily hinge on trials, data analysis, sample sizes, and, naturally, the outcomes achieved.
Thanks to IoT sensors, the healthcare data just exploded. Gathering data and keeping track of the patient’s health can be done in a more efficient way. These smart devices allow for the monitoring of essential vital signs such as pulse rate, temperature, oxygen saturation levels and other important parameters. Whenever medical issues like falls or seizures are detected by these advanced sensors, they quickly alert hospital staff for prompt attention. With the help of IoT sensors; doctors, nurses and caregivers can gain deeper insights into the patient’s overall wellbeing leading to improvised outcomes and increased patient contentment.
By collecting data and monitoring patients, IoT sensors are taking healthcare to new heights – it’s the digital doctor revolution!
Below are some of the IoT sensors used in healthcare;
Heart Rate – the number of times your heart beats per minute – is a fundamental measure of a person’s health. The first thing a doctor checks and with good reason.
So this sensor is an integral part of many wearable devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and chest straps to constantly track the wearer’s heart rate and send the information to a smartphone or other gadgets via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
The sensors used in wearables typically use a light based technology – a combination of a GREEN light and an Optical sensor.
The GREEN light directed onto a vein gets scattered by the volume of blood pumping in and out of it. The Optical sensor then measures the reflected/scattered light to derive the heart rate of the person.
They are specialized sensors that are capable of measuring a patient’s blood pressure, making them valuable tools for diagnosing and monitoring hypertension. By regularly monitoring a patient’s blood pressure levels, it is easier to keep track of the overall health of the patient.
The sensor is non-invasive and the devices today are user friendly to operate without a practitioners help.
The concept is straight forward. Use a pressure sensor on the artery. All the intelligence is in how you process and convert that data.
Respiratory rate refers to the number of breaths a person takes per minute and is an important indicator of respiratory function. This can be monitored via smart watches which are equipped with IoT sensors.
There are many different types of sensors being researched for this functionality, WiFi being one of recent types 🤯
The most commonly used type is to use a belt around the chest to measure it’s movements while breathing. The belt contains a circuit to measure strain and convert that into an electrical signal for capture and consolidation.
What are fall detectors?
Fall detectors are used to identify and monitor when someone has fallen. Fall detectors can be especially helpful for elderly people or people who have mobility problems and are at risk of stumbling. An emergency response team can receive a notification when a fall is noticed from the sensor and trigger SOS actions.
How do fall detectors work?
Cameras are a straight forward idea to monitor people and fall. But they are shunned for privacy reasons.
An alternate technique uses a radar to passively detect people’s movement and position to provide 3 dimensional data view of the user’s environment. From this datapoints one can determine falls and many other motor behaviors of the person being monitored.
Integration of sensors in healthcare has revolutionized patient monitoring and management, leading to improved outcomes. As we saw these smart devices enable continuous and real-time monitoring of vital signs and other important health parameters.
By leveraging these IoT sensors into healthcare, we can gain deeper insights into the patient’s overall well-being, enabling early detection of medical issues and timely interventions.
As technology continues to evolve, the integration of sensors holds an immense potential to further enhance healthcare outcomes and pave the way for a healthier future.