Healthcare is undergoing a major transformation thanks to new technological advances. Many of these technologies aim to revolutionize the way people access healthcare and how healthcare professionals monitor and treat chronic diseases. The internet of medical things (IoMT), near-field communication (NFC), remote patient monitoring (RPM) and artificial intelligence in medical imaging are all contributing to the next level of smart healthcare.
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This month’s issue takes a look at some of these technologies—IoMT, NFC, RPM and AI—and how they are contributing to enhanced patient care. We also look at a few emerging technologies, such as quantum sensors and piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (PMUT) arrays on glass.
The IoMT encompasses a range of medical devices, sensors and applications that are connected, including RPM systems, wearables and health-monitoring apps. NFC tags are expected to become an increasingly important part of the IoMT, and together, they hold the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery to enhance patient monitoring and therapy outcomes, according to Sylvia Kaiser-Kershaw, global senior principal marketing manager for connectivity and security at NXP Semiconductors.
The IoMT is useful for collecting, analyzing and exchanging health-related data in real time, Kaiser-Kershaw said, and NFC tags with unique identifiers can be attached to or embedded into medical monitoring and treatment devices, or attached to medication packaging for seamless communication and data exchange between medical products, patients and healthcare providers, supporting medication adherence and enabling pharmaceutical companies to combat counterfeits and supply chain fraud.
Medical wearables are also making a big difference in patient care, particularly for RPM. Over the past several years, we’ve watched consumer wearables for health and fitness monitoring that track daily steps and pulse rate morph into the medical realm where atrial fibrillation can be detected and sleep patterns monitored by collecting and analyzing data from sensors.
But the next level of transformation is happening in medical wearables that enable RPM of acute and chronic diseases. Wider adoption of these devices started to take off during the Covid-19 pandemic, giving healthcare professionals a new way to monitor patients outside of the hospital environment. AI is playing a role in these devices, enabling the analysis of more data for improved and faster diagnosis.
AI also enables improvements in medical imaging. The combination of AI and medical imaging, including X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans, are creating a revolutionary shift in the field of medical diagnosis, contributing writer Stefano Lovati said. “Improving the precision and efficiency of image analysis is a major focus of current research in both AI and medical imaging.”
A major development in medical imaging techniques is the increased use of deep-learning algorithms, which can sift through massive datasets in search of abnormalities and patterns, providing a higher degree of previously unavailable accuracy, Lovati said. This improves diagnostic turnaround time and opens the door for tailored medication, he added.
One of the significant changes for AI in medical imaging is the implementation of edge computing, which can reduce latency and enable real-time analysis, Lovati said. “This not only improves the efficiency of healthcare delivery by speeding up the diagnosis process, but it also paves the way for point-of-care AI applications in which choices can be made immediately.”
A key component that plays a major role in medical applications is sensor technologies. “These devices serve as a fundamental component of electronic health systems that measure and monitor diverse physiological data, such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure and respiration rate,” Lovati said.
He covers the different types of sensors used in medical applications and the key features that engineers should consider in their designs, such as accuracy, reliability, power consumption, biocompatibility, security and privacy. He also looks at key components used in medical sensor design.
There are also breakthroughs underway in sensing technologies. For example, quantum sensors can provide far more data than today’s electrocardiography (ECG) and thus measure the heart’s natural magnetic field while enabling simple measurements over a longer period, reported Majeed Ahmad, editor-in-chief of EDN. They can also be incorporated into items like clothing or mattresses, which can speed up diagnosis in the emergency room and provide easier and more accurate home monitoring, he said.
“As a result, the prospect of contactless early detection of atrial fibrillation—one of the causes of life-threatening strokes, heart failure and dementia—looks within reach for the first time,” Ahmad said.
Don’t miss the roundup of space-saving capacitors and resistors. Board space is always at a premium, but for high-reliability applications, size is not the only factor. Passive component manufacturers also must consider performance and reliability.
We also look at the top 10 circuit protection devices introduced in 2023. One of the biggest trends for these protective devices is miniaturization, but they also need to withstand harsh environmental conditions.
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