Smart Healthcare at Home in the Era of IoMT

*Qian Qu, Han Sun and Yu Chen*

## **Abstract**

Smart Home improves the quality of our life in various aspects such as the convenience of managing our home, efficiency of energy consumption, and secure living environments. Taking advantage of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), smart homes in the context of healthcare have attracted a lot of attention to provide a more convenient, easier accessible, and personalized healthcare experience. Leveraging state-of-the-art techniques like Digital Twins (DT), machine learning (ML) algorithms, and human action recognition (HAR), Smart Healthcare at Home (SHAH) not only provides independent healthcare service options and social support but also gives seniors or other individuals who are in need a reliable way for real-time monitoring and safety preservation. This chapter will provide a comprehensive overview of the technical components of a SHAH paradigm, which is based on an architecture that integrates DT, IoMT, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The design rationales and key function blocks are illustrated in detail. In addition, taking seniors'safety monitoring as a case study, a prototype of a SHAH system is experimentally investigated, and the performance and design tradeoffs are highlighted. Finally, this chapter also provides an overview of this exciting field's existing challenges and opportunities.

**Keywords:** internet of medical things (IoMT), smart home, smart healthcare, digital twins, seniors safety monitoring

### **1. Introduction**

Smart Home, or Home Automation, has become one of the trending fields of the Internet of Things (IoT) since 2004. Smart Home refers to a residential space that utilizes advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) and automated systems to enhance comfort, safety, security, and energy efficiency [1]. With smart home devices and systems, homeowners can control and monitor various aspects of their homes, such as lighting, heating, cooling, security systems, and entertainment systems, from anywhere in the world, using their mobile devices or voice assistants. The proposal and development of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) bring more elements and functionalities into the landscape of smart homes [2]. Integrated with IoMT, Smart Home can leverage smart sensors to monitor and track residents' vital health data such as blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar levels, and more. Moreover, personalized health services are provided based on the data collected by the IoMT

devices, such as setting up suitable room temperature and lighting schemes to improve the living experience.

A Digital Twin (DT) is a virtual mirror of a physical object or system, such as a building, machine, or city in the digital space, or cyberspace [3]. DT is created by combining data from various sources, such as sensors, cameras, and other IoT devices, and using advanced modeling and simulation tools to create a digital replica of the object or system. In the context of a smart home, a digital twin could be used to create a virtual replica of the home that incorporates real-time data on energy usage, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Moreover, digital twins could then be used to improve the quality of service (QoS) for healthcare in intelligent home systems.

Based on the above rationales, this chapter aims at inspiring more discussions and sparking more new ideas in the digital healthcare community by introducing a scenario of smart healthcare at home (SHAH) that leverages these novel technologies to envision the future of medical services, senior safety, and more exciting application domains.

The rest of this chapter is structured as follows. Section 2 provides necessary background knowledge for readers who are new in this area. Section 3 discusses the design rationals and technical components required to enable smart healthcare at home. Taking the seniors'safety monitoring as a case study, Section 4 illustrates the feasibility of such a framework. Section 5 tries to highlight the major challenges yet to be tackled and the opportunities in the near future. Finally, Section 6 wraps up this chapter with some brief conclusions.

### **2. Background knowledge**

#### **2.1 Internet of Things**

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of physical objects or devices that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies to collect and exchange data over the Internet. These objects can be anything from simple household appliances such as smart thermostats to more complex devices such as industrial machinery, self-driving cars, and even medical implants. While the potential uses of IoT are virtually limitless, in this chapter we just highlight several most popular areas.

#### *2.1.1 Smart home*

A Smart Home is a home equipped with various Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are connected to a network and can be controlled remotely and automatically through a smartphone, tablet, or computer [4]. These devices are designed to make life more convenient, comfortable, and efficient by automating various tasks and functions around the house. Here are some examples of smart home devices:


*Smart Healthcare at Home in the Era of IoMT DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113208*


By integrating these devices into a smart home ecosystem, homeowners can automate many tasks and function around the house, making life more convenient and efficient. Li et al. [5] summarized that smart home technology is highly associated with healthcare, energy efficiency, and home security. However, the authors also illustrate challenges such as privacy, security, technology anxiety and negative social influences.

### *2.1.2 Internet of medical things (IoMT)*

IoMT refers to the network of medical devices, wearable sensors, and other healthcare technology that are connected to the Internet and designed to collect, transmit, and analyze patient health data. This data can be used to monitor patient health remotely, diagnose conditions, and deliver more personalized services. Here several examples of IoMT devices are highlighted:


IoMT has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by enabling remote monitoring, improving patient outcomes, and reducing costs. For example, IoMT devices can be used to monitor patients with chronic conditions and intervene early if a problem arises, reducing the need for hospitalization and improving quality of life. With the help of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, real-time monitoring can be realized using lightweight human action recognition [6].

Additionally, the data collected by IoMT devices can be used to develop more personalized treatments and improve medical research.

#### *2.1.3 Smart grid*

A smart grid is an advanced electricity distribution system that uses advanced sensors, communication technologies, and big data to improve the reliability, efficiency, and sustainability of the power grid. The smart grid allows for better integration of renewable energy sources, more efficient distribution of power, and greater control over power usage by both utilities and consumers. By improving the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid, the smart grid can help to decrease energy costs, improve energy security, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the smart grid can enable the adoption of new energy services, such as electric vehicle charging and home energy management systems. Smart grid technology brings revolutions to energy management from smart homes to smart cities in a "bottom-up approach" [7]. Smart grid not only helps to build a sustainable energy consumption ecosystem for smart homes but also gives new strategies for energy trading on large city-level scales.

#### *2.1.4 Smart city*

A smart city is a city that integrates advanced ICT, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and data analysis, into its infrastructures, administration, and daily operations to improve the quality of life for its residents, enhance sustainability, and streamline urban services. Smart city initiatives aim to optimize resource management, increase efficiency, and improve communication and connectivity. A smart city consists of various aspects of the daily routines of a modern city operation, including Smart Transportation, Smart Energy, Smart Waste Management, and Smart Public Safety. By using technology to optimize urban services, smart cities can reduce costs and increase efficiency, while also improving the environment and public health.

#### **2.2 Digital twins (DT) and IoMT**

The concept of DT was first adopted in the industrial manufacturing domain. As the definition of Physical Object (PO) evolved from industrial artifact into almost every real-world object, DT was soon introduced into the context of healthcare, especially in IoMT. The early examples of DT models benefiting healthcare date back to the maintenance of medical equipment. Until today, the application of this technology in IoMT can be roughly categorized into three major subdomains:

• Medical resource allocation: Leveraging DT models, medical/healthcare service providers can improve the allocation of medical resources including personnel, equipment, medicine, hospital beds, and appointments. The digital models help professionals to better understand the need of patients and predict or estimate future trends. These DT-enabled schemes play a more significant role in crises as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic as medical institutions may face shortages in various medical resources under extraordinarily heavy pressure. Some hospitals are collaborating with large healthcare enterprises to establish their own DT platforms or systems to provide better QoS for patients [8]. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and big data, DT models are powerful to optimize resource allocation and scheduling decisions to enable the entire healthcare service system to be operated more efficiently.

*Smart Healthcare at Home in the Era of IoMT DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113208*

