Why Now Is the Time to Use Advanced Technologies to Remotely Connect Your Medical Devices
There is growing interest in using the Internet of
Things (IoT) in medical devices. The data gathered
with IoT-enabled medical devices—the so-called
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices—can be
used to remotely monitor and fix devices. The use
of IoT brings numerous benefits. Medical device
manufacturers can incorporate data collected from
their fleet of products in the field into product
design considerations. They can also leverage the
data to offer innovative services that differentiate
them from the competition.
To get a better understanding of how advanced technologies like IoT are being used to connect medical devices remotely, we recently sat down with Rene Zoelfl, Business Development Director, PTC.
We explored the role of IoT in medical devices for remote management, how the technology is being used, how the technology can support new business models, and then covered some real-world examples of the IoMT in action.
RTInsights: How can manufacturers, healthcare facilities, and patients best benefit from remote monitoring?
Zoelfl: I would say remote monitoring gives two main benefits. One is remote monitoring lets device manufacturers optimize their processes, and the other benefit is that they can optimize the relationship with their customers, clients, and patients. These things can help transform the way they are doing business.
To get a better understanding of how advanced technologies like IoT are being used to connect medical devices remotely, we recently sat down with Rene Zoelfl, Business Development Director, PTC.
We explored the role of IoT in medical devices for remote management, how the technology is being used, how the technology can support new business models, and then covered some real-world examples of the IoMT in action.
RTInsights: How can manufacturers, healthcare facilities, and patients best benefit from remote monitoring?
Zoelfl: I would say remote monitoring gives two main benefits. One is remote monitoring lets device manufacturers optimize their processes, and the other benefit is that they can optimize the relationship with their customers, clients, and patients. These things can help transform the way they are doing business.
What are the key advanced technologies that are
enabling innovations in the design and use of
remote devices? On one hand, we have IoT technologies
that enable connectivity, advanced
analytics or artificial intelligence, and the ability to
automate decisions and processes to a higher level.
The other key element, the other key technology,
I'd like to highlight is augmented reality, which
gives us a different way, a different capability, to
interact with equipment in the context of its use
and in the context of the location where it is used.
RTInsights: How can companies use these technologies in the product life cycle?
Zoelfl: There are multiple ways. Where to begin? A manufacturer can use IoT technologies internally. They can make sure that when teams are working together on the design of new products, they can more easily communicate and get access to the generated data. Then they also could have the same capabilities or the same technologies to use when it comes to handing over that information into manufacturing.
For instance, when a manufacturer thinks about non-conformances that might occur in the manufacturing process, because of maybe some difficult designs, or maybe some materials that they have selected, they can feed that information back into the development and engineering organizations. They can react much faster before the product might have left the company and not when it is at the patient or the caregiving facility.
RTInsights: How can companies use these technologies in the product life cycle?
Zoelfl: There are multiple ways. Where to begin? A manufacturer can use IoT technologies internally. They can make sure that when teams are working together on the design of new products, they can more easily communicate and get access to the generated data. Then they also could have the same capabilities or the same technologies to use when it comes to handing over that information into manufacturing.
For instance, when a manufacturer thinks about non-conformances that might occur in the manufacturing process, because of maybe some difficult designs, or maybe some materials that they have selected, they can feed that information back into the development and engineering organizations. They can react much faster before the product might have left the company and not when it is at the patient or the caregiving facility.
