Imagine
a pill bottle that reminds the patient when it’s time to take a
medication, or a watch that monitors heart rate or automated insulin
pumps that monitor and respond to blood glucose levels. Every single
of these premises rely on an early detection of an emerging problem
that can be addressed with a preemptive treatment response,
maximizing the chances of a successful treatment with cost
effectiveness. Digital health industry innovations like these,
including the inculcation of the cloud based technology into all
digital health systems and the introduction of unique software for
practice management, predictive analysis and care management software
will drive the growth with great impact.
The
digital health market size is estimated to exceed US$ 379 billion by
2024 as per the latest research report by Global Market Insights,
Inc. This is because connected medical devices, and connected
services have better safety & effectivity to offer, through
real-time monitoring of patient adherence, state of the disease and
the recovery process. Emergence of healthcare IT coupled with growing
penetration of smart phones, tablets and other mobile platforms have
led to increased adoption of new business models. Digital technology
has enabled people make smarter choices and receive products with
value added services.
IoT
and healthcare
In
future the medical treatment will evolve to have – what it is
called as P4 Medicine. This means Preventive, Predictive,
Participatory, and Personalized. To achieve P4 Medicine goal, a
continuous measurement of virtual parameters that can define patient
health is needed. IoT enabled devices achieves this goal. Based on
the indications, we can see that IoT devices will be pervasive within
a decade. This will forever change the way healthcare is accessible
to all. Quality and affordable healthcare for all can become reality
through IoT.
Designing
IoT devices is creating massive opportunities for existing businesses
and giving rise to brand new markets and companies. Engineering
simulation helps engineers develop the best possible “things” in
the Internet of Things. The engineering challenges of designing IoT
devices have proven that the Simulation-Driven Product Development
approach is even more applicable to designing the connected,
low-power devices of tomorrow, whether they are wearable consumer
devices, medical implants, connected cars or industrial turbines. The
belief is that creating the best possible “thing” (IoT device)
absolutely requires engineering simulation. After gathering the best
practices from the extensive work with IoT leaders, across
industries, we can now have a fair insight into a comprehensive
framework for applying engineering simulation to the Internet of
Things.
Design
challenges for Internet of things (IoT)
IoT
enabled devices – implanted or wearables – need to have highest
reliability i.e. the devices need to be faster, smaller and cost
effective. Most devices will get power from battery, so power
consumption and power efficiency should be favorable for device to
run longer. Device should have good wireless connectivity with low
amount of data to be transferred. On top of this, device should be
safe and meet regulation for safety and efficacy. For example, device
should be compliant to be used in MRI. Also, Electromagnetic emission
(EMI) should be in permissible limit.
One
of the key challenges for the designers of medical devices is to
understand and optimize the connectivity and communication between
the user and the device. For example, incorporating a radio link in
an implanted medical device can increase its range of applicability
and improve quality of life for the patient. The developments in the
supportive electronics decrease design risk, but the implanted
antenna still remains a critical component of the communications link
that operates at a very low received power. The transmitted power is
limited both by regulatory restrictions and, for most implanted
devices, by power source capacity. Dielectric losses and wave
trapping in the body result in transmission losses much greater than
seen in free space communications. Small antenna size is required for
physiological acceptability. Design optimization must trade antenna
size, geometric complexity and material cost against efficiency, as
well as operating bandwidth and driving power. Designs must also work
in differing body morphologies.
IoT
engineering simulation and India as a market
Technology
will play critical role in achieving quality and affordable
healthcare for 1.2 billion population in India. IoT based devices
will enable the vision of bringing quality healthcare in rural area
and by connecting patient with doctors and medical professional
sitting far away. Indian as well as multinational companies have been
putting emphasis in creating product lines created specifically for
India market.
Creating
new connected products will have its own product development
challenges as mentioned before. By deploying engineering simulation
upfront in design cycle – will not only reduce the design and
development time but will also ensure that product is meeting high
quality with low cost. Pioneering companies like Cambridge
Consultants were early adopters of engineering simulation to model
the behavior of medical devices and their communication components
together with the surrounding environment – and particularly
“through-body” communication, where implanted devices communicate
with external devices. Competing goals of reliability, robust
connectivity and low-cost can be achieved to create India specific
IoT enabled medical devices using extensive usage of engineering
simulation in device design.
Future
strategy: Accelerating globalization to meet local needs
Globalization
of healthcare addresses the lack of engineering resources in
non-industrialized countries. It also enables the healthcare industry
to customize global concepts (device, product or process) to meet
local needs. Key variables include patient diversity, a population’s
average health, treatment affordability, access to energy and
regulatory standards. Thus, a single medical solution may not meet
all needs. Present technology in practice usually involves a trip to
the doctor’s office to download data from a patient’s device for
review. But this is not enough: There is a need of Medical Internet
of Things (Medical IoT) which should extend the connectivity and
transmission of health data from the patient to the physician on a
regular basis, or immediately and continuously in an emergency.
Thus
engineering simulation is at the heart of this globalized product
development approach. As can be seem throughout simulation can mimic
multiple scenarios as required by local regulatory approvals; patient
variables can be tested in silico; and virtual human laboratory data
can be adjusted to represent a local population. The outcome of these
is affordable medical treatment through reduced
manufacturing/operating costs. There has been a significant increase
in demand for remote patient monitoring services, healthy and sound
investment outreach and of course, better and favourable government
initiatives that will primarily drive the global digital IoT health
market. So here’s a big shout out to the healthy IoT enabled
future!
(The
author is Sr. Manager, ANSYS)