Exploring Connectivity for Smart Medical Devices

The global home medical equipment market is experiencing explosive growth.

- Ohad Peled

Smart devices are being used to monitor and treat patients suffering from diabetes, cardiac disorders, and other medical conditions without exposing those patients to the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Numerous organizations, including the World Health Organization and the National Council of Aging, are promoting self-health management to give patients better outcomes. This trend leverages digital technology to benefit hospitals and medical facilities by enabling cost-effective remote patient monitoring. Rather than requiring frequent hospital visits, healthcare professionals can monitor health data from a distance, bringing patients in only when necessary.

The underlying connectivity technology in these devices is crucial, and has a long-reaching impact on the quality of care. Devices have several options for transmitting data: some use wi-fi, others connect through the patient's smartphone over Bluetooth, while others connect directly to cellular networks. Each of these methods has advantages and limitations in terms of cost, reliability, simplicity, or other features defining the quality of the product. In this article, we'll evaluate and review the different connectivity options in three key functional elements of a remote patient monitoring device to see which technology offers the most benefit to its users.

Onboarding and Installing a Device

Medical devices can be challenging to set up, often requiring professional assistance, to ensure that the device is calibrated to the patient's needs.