Applications of IoT in the medical device industry

US companies Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies (GLN) and Vivonoetics have partnered to offer a wearable respiratory testing device for Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche’s FIREFISH clinical study. The purpose of the study is to compare treatment efficacy with respiratory muscle function and breathing patterns in infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).  

The FIREFISH study leverages Respiratory Inductance Plethysmography (RIP) systems to measure the body’s respiratory functions in a non-invasive manner. The systems measure and analyse the movement patterns of the chest and abdominal wall to evaluate pulmonary function. GLN provides a wireless, wearable data acquisition system BioRadio that records infant RIP data in real time and transmits it to a computer using Bluetooth. 

 The data is then sent to the Vivonoestics analytics team for analysis and post-collection processing. Vivonoetics’s proprietary VivoSense analysis software, in association with trained data analysts, enables the specialised analysis of RIP data to evaluate infant breathing. It aims to observe clinically relevant changes in respiratory mortality and morbidity.  

Traditional methods for measuring pulmonary breathing utilise masks and mouthpieces, which are not suitable for infants, resulting in ineffective evaluation of respiratory function measures across several SMA-1 trials. GLN aims to provide a wearable respiratory device that would enable researchers to non-invasively measure respiratory muscle functions in infants. It claims to decrease the level of discomfort for infants and improve the evaluation of SMA-1 interventions in clinical trials. 

US pharmaceutical company Noble International, part of Aptar Pharma (Aptar), has launched AdhereIT, a connected medical device designed for patients suffering from chronic illnesses who require autoinjectors for drug administration. It trains patients to understand the proper usage of autoinjectors and supports a multitude of autoinjector platforms to help patients overcome anxieties about self-injecting.  

AdhereIT integrates with an existing digital platform from Aptar and enables patients to connect their autoinjector via Bluetooth to their mobile devices. It detects the particular method of administration being used and provides real-time visualisation, audio, and haptic feedback regarding the smooth implementation of the process.  

AdhereIT simplifies the collection of data generated at the point of self-administration, which is stored in the server and can be accessed by relevant stakeholders for continuous monitoring and improvement. Initially, it helps patients to onboard with the correct usage technique, then helps to track, monitor, and guide them towards better adherence to their treatment regimen. It also provides a cloud-based analytical dashboard that contains patients’ vitals, responses to adherence, and therapeutic feedback, which delivers valuable patient-specific adherence behaviour information.  

Moreover, AdhereIT’s connected app provides patients with a complete end-to-end platform for continuing treatment support while promoting patient adherence when they self-inject. It also gives information on prior and scheduled injections, as well as specifics on medicine reordering and instructional videos.  

It works in two design alternatives—one-handed and two-handed modes of injection—offering feasibility to the patient during the self-injection process. Studies have revealed that most patients who follow self-therapy or self-administration of prescribed adherence discontinue treatment because of a lack of confidence during self-injection, insufficient training with an instructor, high anxiety, and lack of control. AdhereIT aims to rectify this situation for the patients by enabling them to gain confidence and patience, and to minimise anxiety during the self-injection process. 

The ultimate goal is to provide an efficient diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions, with enhanced drug management. Aptar acquired Noble International as a part of its strategy to diversify its healthcare portfolio and incorporate digital technology into multiple disease management aspects such as nasal, pulmonary, dermal, ophthalmic, and injectable means of administration. 

Seoul-based startup ICON.AI has launched a two-in-one Smart Healthcare Device. It comes with health monitoring features and a touch-sensitive recording of health information that can be sent to a phone or tablet and can be shared instantly with family members and doctors for early health assessment. The device offers a built-in smart display speaker by Alexa and a detachable health tracker. The device has a liquid crystal display (LCD) touchscreen, a 5W speaker with Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.  

The health tracker has instant connectivity with doctors and family members, and immediately sends alerts in an emergency. The user puts two fingers on the device and it can track six vital health readings—heart rate trends, heart rate variability, blood pressure trends, SpO2 (oxygen saturation level), electrocardiogram (ECG), and photoplethysmogram (PPG)—in nearly 60 seconds.  

The patient’s health status can be recorded on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Health issues are rapidly increasing at present, and healthcare facilities are also rising to the challenge to provide better health management to individuals, but the need for quick assessment and diagnosis at the right time and in the right place is vital.  

ICON’AI's smart healthcare device can help fix the gap between the patient and the doctor, enriching the smart health track and timely health diagnosis by the doctor.