Experts: Catherine Dehollain (EPFL)
The connection of formerly non-digital devices with each other and with the Internet is opening up many opportunities regarding product development and more efficient production processes. Exploiting these huge opportunities will require courage, clear visions and a design driven by users’ needs. In terms of medical applications, Switzerland is well positioned, but there are more regulatory obstacles for start-ups and SMEs here than in China or the USA. Although the basic technology is well funded, more complex projects that bring together different disciplines do not have an easy time securing adequate financial support.
Picture: Freepik
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision in which potentially every physical object is connected to the Internet. At its core, is the endeavour to take devices that do not traditionally process data, and connect them to each other and to the Internet. This merges the physical and digital worlds, enabling new products and services. Application areas for the IoT include, for example, the smart city, the smart home, smart manufacturing and smart mobility.
An IoT system usually consists of several nodes and a base station, to which the various nodes are connected. The function of each such node is to collect data by means of sensors and to send it as a digital signal to the base station, or to receive data from the base. Some IoT nodes have computing capacity, others do not.
As the IoT is more of a concept than a specific technology, the potential applications are very wide-ranging. IoT applications have huge disruptive potential in a great many, widely varying, industries.
The term "Internet of Things" has been around since 1999. Since then, not only has the concept advanced in leaps and bounds, but sensors and technologies for transmitting and processing data have also become better and cheaper. Numerous technologies, such as RFID, Bluetooth and WiFi, are already widely established. In addition, 5G will make a major contribution to the further spread of IoT applications.
While the discourse surrounding the Internet of Things in recent years has mainly revolved around applications in building technology, digital agriculture and automation in manufacturing (See article Connected machines), to name just a few examples, promising medical applications are now also emerging, especially in the field of patient monitoring. For instance, the health of patients with heart problems can now be monitored remotely. Furthermore, it is conceivable that medication could be administered dynamically, based on continuous recording of vital signs, with the patient’s day-to-day condition being taken into account for calculating the amount of active substance administered.
Medical IoT devices can either be used for inpatient care at hospitals and doctors’ practices, or for monitoring patients remotely. In the latter case, they can be either wearable or implantable medical devices. These devices communicate wirelessly with the base station, which can be a smartphone or a device that either forwards the corresponding data to a healthcare provider or evaluates it directly.
The challenges vary somewhat, depending on the area of application. In the field of medical IoT devices, research efforts are aimed at reducing energy consumption, so as to maximise the service life of the batteries used. This is because changing the battery of an implant always requires surgical intervention. In addition, research is currently looking into technologies for charging these devices wirelessly by means of magnetic, electromagnetic or acoustic couplings that induce a current in the implant. This current is then used to charge the battery.
On top of the technological challenges, there are also legal and regulatory ones. The regulations are particularly strict for manufacturers of medical products. In Europe, the required certifications are very difficult to obtain. This especially applies to SMEs and start-ups. That is why the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues provisional certifications, subject to specific conditions. This allows the companies concerned to push ahead with their research and product development. Europe does not have such a mechanism.
Economic challenges arise for companies in the manufacturing industry in particular. They often have trouble implementing beneficial IoT applications because integrating them into their business processes and products also affects their business model accordingly.
Applications pertaining to the Internet of Things have great potential in various industries, not only with regard to medical devices, but also in agriculture. Devices equipped with appropriate sensors can apply fertiliser or pesticides to specific individual plants.
The manufacturing industry is of central importance to Switzerland. Internal processes can be made more efficient and ecological by interconnecting devices (See article Connected machines) and IoT technologies also open the door to new products and services (smart products). Courage and pragmatism will be required to take advantage of the opportunities offered by IoT applications in the manufacturing industry. A vibrant ecosystem for the production of medical IoT devices is in place around Lake Geneva, thanks to EPFL, Lausanne University Hospital, Campus Biotech, CSEM and many companies based there. Ties with ETH Zurich and other tertiary institutions in Switzerland are strong.
There is adequate funding for individual IoT technologies. In the SNSF and Innosuisse, Switzerland has organisations that fund not only academic research, but also the transfer of technology to industry.
When it comes to the development of IoT devices for medical purposes, funding is rather low, considering the local potential and the situation in China, Japan and the USA.
