Tag: Medical Devices

IOMT and medical device cybersecurity ITJ

IoMT and Medical Device Cybersecurity

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 6 Comments on IoMT and Medical Device Cybersecurity

Medical device cybersecurity is a term used to classify the tools and mechanisms that prevent cyber attackers from gaining unauthorized access to or control over medical devices and the data they generate. 

What is IoMT?

Smart monitoring medical devices are part of Internet of Medical Things— the types of medical devices that send patient’s information to healthcare professionals via internet connection. IoMT devices allow rapid and flexible analysis of medical data by updating doctors about the state of patients glucose, temperature, or heart rate automatically without having to schedule a visit. 

IoMT is big. According to a recent Deloitte survey, the overall IoMT market is expected to grow from $41 billion in 2017 to $158 billion by 2022. As the Internet of Medical Things industry grows, it is important to be aware of the possible threats that transmitting patient information through smart devices can represent, and how medical devices cybersecurity is protecting and controlling who receives the data. 

Medical Cybersecurity

While Internet-connected medical devices are revolutionizing the way healthcare providers monitor and treat patients, the digital and automatically generated data also creates opportunities for attackers to try to steal highly personal information by executing cybersecurity attacks, holding patient information hostage, or even trying to interfere with the device by controlling it remotely.

Smart medical devices store and generate patient information through the combination of sensory inputs and software. The types of data stored can include personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI) or payment card industry (PCI) data. Cyber attackers may try to gain access with the purpose of withholding valuable information from healthcare providers, hospitals or insurance companies, forcing them to pay a ransom to regain access to it. 

According to the National Vulnerability Database, 18,353 vulnerabilities were reported in 2020. That’s almost 3 times the volume of vulnerabilities reported five years ago, and higher than any year in the previous two decades.

Having a cybersecurity defense plan for medical devices is critical for any organization that uses the internet of medical things, or IoMT, to assist in healthcare operations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates medical devices and works hawkishly to reduce cybersecurity risks. The FDA shares this responsibility with device manufacturers, hospitals, health care providers, security researchers, and other government agencies.

If the FDA finds a weakness in software or hardware that could pose a risk, it may issue a safety communication: a recommendation with data about the vulnerability detected as well as recommended actions patients, providers and manufacturers can take to protect their information. 

The future of medical cybersecurity

Medical device manufacturers play an essential role in protecting the infrastructure of global healthcare. As we move into a more connected medical future and ensure products are used safely and securely, manufacturers must take an active role in sharing information about the latest emerging threats, new vulnerabilities in technologies, and what patients can do to stay safe. 

About ITJ

ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

The Internet of Medical Things The Health Revolution image

The Internet of Medical Things: The Healthcare Revolution

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 4 Comments on The Internet of Medical Things: The Healthcare Revolution

What is The Internet of Medical Things?

Simply put, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is the network of Internet-connected medical devices, hardware infrastructure, and software applications used to connect healthcare information technology. So basically, when talking about IoMT we are referring to a connected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services.

The importance of IoMT in the Healthcare Industry

Now, since the Pandemic started, we have experienced a growing dependency on technology in the healthcare industry, which demands continuous innovation to deal with the new health dangers. On that note, the IoMT has also increased its importance during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing providers to deliver quality care at a distance. According to a recent Deloitte survey, the overall IoMT market was expected to go from $41 billion in 2017 to $158 billion by 2022, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 29.9% to reach $322.2 billion by 2025.

But how exactly is IoMT impacting and transforming healthcare? Here are 3 examples:

Remote patient monitoring

This is the most common application of IoMT, where remote devices can automatically collect health metrics—like blood pressure, temperature, oxygen levels, heart rate, etc. This allows health providers to collect patient data, eliminating the need for physical contact, or for patients to collect data themselves. Also, by collecting the patient’s metrics, algorithms may be used to analyze the data to recommend treatments or generate alerts.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring

For the more than 30 million people living with diabetes, glucose monitoring has traditionally been difficult. The challenge goes beyond the inconvenience of manually recording the glucose levels, the real difficulty is to accurately report these levels as they fluctuate widely, making it complicated to detect a problem. Now, IoMT devices help address these challenges by providing continuous, automatic monitoring of glucose levels in patients. This way Glucose monitoring devices eliminate the need to keep manual records and can alert patients when glucose levels are problematic.

Depression and mood monitoring

Information about a patient’s mood is another type of data that has traditionally been difficult to collect making it harder to identify depression symptoms. This happens because, even if the health provider consults the patient regarding their feelings, it’s hard to anticipate sudden mood swings, not to mention that often patients don’t accurately report their feelings.

“Mood-aware” IoMT devices solve these challenges by collecting and analyzing data such as heart rate and blood pressure, then the devices can infer information about a patient’s mental state. Some advanced IoMT devices for mood monitoring can even track data such as the movement of a patient’s eyes.

The future of Medicine is here 

The advantages of new software development and IT within healthcare are clear as water.  The ability of medical equipment to share real-time data opens up a wide number of possibilities and important advantages for both patients and healthcare providers such as:

  • Improvement of care outcomes
  • Streamlining of Remote Patient Monitoring Services
  • Reducing the cost of care, especially in Post Acute Care Settings (PAC)
  • Access to real-time patient health data
  • Remote monitoring of the health and performance of connected devices

And the best part…IoMT devices are already part of people’s lives. Most consumer mobile devices are now equipped with connectivity technologies that enable them to communicate with IT systems seamlessly.

This means that both doctors and patients can take advantage of IoMT and leverage its potential through everyday devices without investing in expensive monitors that can interface with medical devices.

However, while the IoMT has the potential to help alleviate some of the challenges facing healthcare such as cost, access, and care coordination, this generation of data must turn into actionable insight. 

The healthcare sector must develop new strategies to harness the data collected through millions of IoMT and use it to make their business and operating models relevant and competitive to the new era we are living in.

About ITJ
ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

IoMT at Super Bowl

IoMT goes BIG at the Super Bowl

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 5 Comments on IoMT goes BIG at the Super Bowl

Fifteen years ago, the Internet of Medical Things was a niche term only familiar to tech engineers, investors, and healthcare professionals. The closest encounter many of us had to the concept was an MRI scan at the doctor’s office. IoMT has become such a hot topic that ads depicting the newest devices have even made it to the latest Super Bowl. 

Fast forward to now, and the Internet of Medical Things, or IoMT, has become part of thousands of people’s everyday lives through wearables that help doctors monitor patients’ health remotely. Glucose monitoring and heart rate monitoring save patients a visit to the doctor by using technology to send their information directly, thus allowing doctors to track diseases and prevent chronic illness more accurately. 

IoMT is evolving fast. A recent study by AllTheResearch valued the global market of Internet of Medical Things at $44.4 billion and predicted it will grow to 254.2 billion in 2026. 

What’s driving that growth? An aging global population and fast-paced technological improvements are both primary factors. A third factor: IoMT is making health monitoring cheaper. The reduced costs that the Internet of Medical Things saves the healthcare industry through remote patient monitoring is evaluated at 300 billion annually in a recent study by Goldman Sachs.

Creating the technology behind IoMT devices is also becoming easier thanks to the surge of highly skilled talent in developing economies and the seamless processes available for tech companies opening technology centers outside of the US. Tech companies like ITJuana have responded to the new demand by creating teams of highly skilled engineers to tend specifically to the growing medical device sector. 

The Internet of Medical Things demands world-class, high-tech talent in software engineering and app development preferably working in the same time zone. The booming growth of this global market has led to the opening of Technology Centers of Excellence just a few miles south of San Diego that meet those demands. The design of tiny, wearable disposable sensors for glucose monitoring is the type of technology that can now be developed across the border. The ever-accelerating pace of tech advances in medical care is holding open a door to a promising future for our health, lifespan, interwoven global economy.

NPR’s The Indicator recently dove into the many advantages that opening technology centers in Tijuana has for American Tech companies: affordable but highly skilled workforce, proximity to the border and an extremely low cost of living are making Tijuana a hot spot for technology development. 

About ITJ

ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.