Internet of Things Applications in Health Systems' Equipment: Challenges and Trends in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the creation of medical devices, for transforming healthcare delivery and enhancing patient health outcomes presents a paradigm shift during the fourth industrial revolution (FIR). Understanding the challenges and considerations is a step to successfully integrate IoT into health systems. This review examined the challenges and trends of using the fourth industrial revolution’s IoT technology to connect the development of health systems' equipment and supplies. A thorough literature search of scholarly articles was undertaken across various databases including Google Scholar, CrossRef, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore to analyze the present state of medical device development and use of IoT technologies. The study pays particular attention to the emergence of the industrial revolution, and the current trend in the development of IoT-enabled medical devices for various healthcare systems use. It was discovered that IoT technology has several advantages for the creation of medical devices, including better data sharing and communication, higher precision and safety, and lower costs for the deployment and upkeep of devices. Additionally, IoT technology may lead to better health care and higher levels of patient involvement, but several challenges, such as cybersecurity, possible device malfunction, cost, and quality of service preventing its effective functioning were identified. The use of IoT-enabled medical equipment comes with some hazards that must be managed despite their potential advantages. Navigating these challenges calls for futuristic interventions for effective and seamless integration of IoT into safe healthcare.