IoMT or the Internet of Medical Things has now become one of the technologies that is a priority for hospital managers to deliver more sophisticated services or smart hospitals in maximizing the safety, comfort and health of their patients.
In fact, this technology is also one of the supporting aspects of the smart hospital concept by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data into an integrated patient care system.
According to the Allied Market Research report, the IoMT market in the health sector is predicted to continue to grow. As of 2021, it is reported that the IoMT value in this sector has reached USD 136.8 billion. Today, there are more than 3.7 million medical devices connected to the health system and monitoring various aspects of the IT infrastructure to help healthcare professionals make informed decisions. Other research from Juniper Research also projects that there will be more than 7.4 million IoMT devices deployed in smart hospitals worldwide by 2026, with an average coverage of around 3,860 devices per hospital.
Imagine that in the next few years, this number will surely increase and make IoMT a must for health facilities to provide better services. Therefore, this article will discuss more fully what IoMT is, the advantages and challenges of implementing IoMT in hospitals, as well as technological solutions from Helios that can help create optimal IoMT.
What is IoMT and Why is it Important in Smart Hospital Transformation?
What is IoMT (Internet of medical matters)
As the name implies, IoMT stands for Internet of Medical Things, which is a collection of health devices and applications, connected to the IT health system via a computer network. Just like IoT, these IoMT medical devices are equipped with Wi-Fi, which enables machine-to-machine communication. These devices are also connected to a cloud platform that collects data for storage and analysis. So you could say, the adoption of IoTT really relies entirely on connectivity and security.
The existence of IoMT is also one of the keys to creating an ideal smart hospital, armed with remote monitoring technology that can help health workers provide services remotely, such as examining patients remotely, prescribing drugs and managing patient administration from one system.
What are the advantages of implementing IoMT?
IoMT certainly brings several advantages in its application, both for medical personnel such as doctors, nurses, and patients. Here are a number of benefits offered.
More Accurate Diagnosis and Better Treatment
IoMT devices can help doctors to make a more accurate diagnosis through the support of more sophisticated technology to monitor heart rate, check blood pressure and sugar levels. This device will later collect data that doctors will check for a diagnosis and can help them create a better treatment plan.
Remote Monitoring
As is well known, IoMT devices—such as wearable devices for patients, hospital medical devices specifically for examining patients—rely heavily on networks because they will provide the ability to support technology such as remote monitoring, in which case the device will be embedded with a remote sensor. to be able to “communicate” between devices.
This facility can automatically reduce the need for patients to be able to visit the hospital, because they can carry out consultations and check-ups remotely via telemedicine services.
Cut Costs More Efficient
With remote monitoring, this can reduce risks such as costs for patients as well as health workers, which in turn allows doctors to treat and monitor their patients without having to make scheduled visits. The data transfer process that takes place during remote monitoring also allows for easier maintenance and lower maintenance costs.
What Are the Challenges of Adopting IoMT in Hospitals?
IoMT adoption challenges
Although IoMT brings many advantages, in reality the implementation of this technology still has a number of challenges. Here are some of them.
Interoperability
IoMT devices require great interoperability to work effectively, which must be based on open data standards. This will allow payers, providers, and technology vendors to jointly make the data that resides on devices more readily available to one another.
Rely on Network
IoMT devices completely rely on the network. The remote monitoring methods mentioned above usually require a low-latency, high-bandwidth connection to ensure that patient data transmission is not interrupted. However, this often creates problems because there are still many health facilities in Indonesia that do not yet have an adequate network.
Cyber Security
The increasing number and capabilities of connected IoMT devices also expose cybersecurity risks such as data. Thus, it opens up great opportunities for bad actors to hack the hospital’s IT system and steal their important data.
How to Realize IoMT with Smart Hospital Solutions from Helios
As a Digital IT Solutions Provider, Helios Informatika Nusantara is committed to continuing to support digital transformation in the healthcare industry by providing smart hospital solutions from Aruba and Sangfor.
Aruba CX Switch for Optimal IoMT Adoption
The Aruba OS CX Switch supports IoT adoption by delivering high-performance WiFi services and being the gatekeeper of the IoT infrastructure while providing 24/7 uninterrupted network availability. Here are three advantages presented by the Aruba CX Switch.
Cloud-Native Network Architecture
The Aruba CX Switch features cutting-edge hardware, a cloud-native OS, and intuitive management tools to reduce risk, improve IT efficiency, and ensure network availability.
Reduce Complexity with Automation
Through the Aruba NetEdit administration tool, network management in your data center can be simplified and automated through a single dashboard. This gives you complete and easy coverage of network activity in the hospital.
Intelligent Monitoring
Every Aruba CX Switch features an integrated Network Analytics Engine (NAE) for intelligent monitoring, real-time problem detection, and trend analysis. This capability can secure and avoid future performance and security issues.
Sangfor NGAF for Reliable IoMT Protection
Sangfor Next Generation Application Firewall (NGAF) with Engine Zero is supported by AI technology which can protect IoMT devices from advanced threats with the ability to detect potential hidden cyber attacks on endpoints and servers. Sangfor NGAF offers two capabilities as follows.
- Detect and protect endpoints and servers in real time from cyberattacks such as DDoS, ransomware, malware, viruses, and WAF.
- Has a load balancing feature to help hospitals ensure the stability of their IoMT connectivity.
Read more : Penerapan Smart Hospital 4.0 Memasuki Era Endemi COVID-19
Helios as a Digital IT Solutions Provider for the Health Industry in Indonesia
It’s time to create a smart hospital environment with IoMT supported by Sangfor and Aruba solutions from Helios.
You can get both of these solutions from Helios. A professional, experienced and Helios-certified IT team will help you avoid trial and error during the deployment to maintenance process.
Find out more about smart hospital solutions for IoMT by contacting WhatsApp Helios.
Penulis: Jeko Iqbal Reza
Content Writer CTI Group
