Executive Chair of InnoScot Health, Graham Watson discusses the role 5G has in the future of healthcare

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is growing at a rapid rate from an estimated global market value of over $40 billion back in 2018, to recent projections now suggesting that by 2026 the market is expected to quintuple to over $254 billion.

The growth in the industry is no shock having been supercharged by the immense power of 5G, which brings higher bandwidth than its predecessor as well as lower latency – a minimal delay in processing data. Alongside the promise of downloading data at least 10x faster than today’s 4G services, it makes the perfect springboard for the swift and sizable production of high speed IoMT devices.

The demand for those devices is ever growing, with a recent study from Juniper Research suggesting that the number of IoMT devices in smart hospitals is set to exceed seven million by 2026.

The same report predicted 7.4 million IoMT devices to be deployed globally, with over 3,850 per smart hospital.

In addition, these devices could decrease the amount of time a patient needs to stay in hospital while also keeping doctors more connected to their patients — which may lead to a reduction in hospital visits and better care overall.

As well as improving the healthcare systems within hospitals, IoMT will also help to take pressure off them. The advent of 5G can support the refocussing of point-of-care from hospitals, instead transferring it to GP surgeries, day clinics, care homes, patient homes and mobile ambulatory systems. This will simultaneously reduce stress on hospitals while improving the quality of care within them.

Another improvement that IoMT brings to hospitals is the ability to connect a large number of devices in dense areas, facilitating more efficient management and monitoring of healthcare assets and resources such as beds, wheelchairs and monitors.

However IoMT is not only limited to improving the healthcare system and the patient experience in hospitals; it also has a key role to play outside of medical centres too. Smart wearable devices, home-use medical devices, and point-of-care kits all allow patients to achieve a high standard of healthcare from home, monitored in real time.

In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and fears around infection, it has become the new norm for home-based healthcare to be pushed to the forefront with telehealth spearheading a new era. In recent years, the number of remotely monitored patients has skyrocketed, with research from Berg Insight suggesting figures over 40M in 2020.

In Scotland, we also saw those numbers grow significantly during lockdown, with Near Me consultations rising from 300 a week in February 2020, to around 1,400 a week by May 2020 and to roughly 20,000 a week by April 2021.

Despite the easing of pandemic restrictions, COVID undoubtedly has accelerated that trend, and it will continue to be a key part of healthcare moving forward.

Whether that be through IoT devices like a connected insulin pen that could help patients to calculate correct dosages themselves – as well as tracking data which could influence blood sugar levels – or connected inhalers to support asthmatics, smart contact lenses which can detect glucose levels from tear ducts, or ingestible sensors which can be built into medication to monitor prescriptions.

The possibilities for this new wave of tech are endless and whet the appetite for an exciting, interconnected healthcare future.

Fortunately, the Scottish Government's aspiration is for Scotland to be at the forefront of the 5G revolution and, ultimately, to establish the whole country as a leading 5G digital nation. The enhanced connectivity will make us more productive and efficient as a country and play a vital role in the transition to a zero-carbon economy and tackling the climate emergency, e.g. through reduced emissions. Significantly, 5G also has the potential to help sustain remote and rural areas, allowing all of Scotland's citizens and communities to embrace the technology and reap its benefits.

Despite many seemingly futuristic elements being inherent in these new designs, we are already seeing amazing new inventions coming to the fore.

Indeed, the NHS is currently working with Excelerate Technology to create a prototype digital, connected ambulance.

The Hybrid Connex Digital Ambulance of the Future aims to utilise converged terrestrial and satellite networks to underpin technology that keeps paramedics constantly connected, even whilst in rural and remote areas.

This could enable ambulances to function as remote consultation rooms, and through using space-enabled connectivity, paramedics could access medical records quickly and contact other healthcare specialists to support the provision of rapid medical interventions whilst on the move.

The project also aims to streamline how medical devices in ambulances operate. As part of the project’s development phase, specialised communications technology will be used so that devices can be managed more efficiently. Innovations like this will massively improve the patient experience.

Creating an environment for these types of innovations to flourish is key to our strategy and work at InnoScot Health. We specialise in identifying and developing new ideas to help solve problems and address needs in health and social care. We hold a unique and valued position in supporting innovative ideas that originate from within NHS Scotland.

To us, innovation is an exciting leap forward - sometimes the result of brand-new knowledge, but more often it is an experimental change or a combination of existing ideas and experiences. In essence, it improves upon something that came before or fixes a problem that needs a solution, and whether small or incremental, large or disruptive – it is all about change, and those with direct first-hand experience bring so much knowledge and insight to improve and transform care.

At InnoScot Health, we believe that embracing change is key to delivering a new model of healthcare that meets the challenges and expectations of modern society, while anticipating future needs.

Our multidisciplinary team provides expert services including intellectual property advice, protection, and regulatory expertise – all of which are vital in this new age of IoMT inventions.

At InnoScot Health we are striving to capitalise on the new wave of opportunities that 5G brings and with the NHS environment changing, the different ideas 5G inspires for using tech in new ways.

Whilst driving forward technological innovation offers benefits to patients and staff, it also offers environmental benefits. We as a society need to do more to ensure we help the environment and in our partnership with NHS Scotland we are keen to aid them in their goal of net zero carbon by 2040, inspiring the workforce at all levels to submit their ideas through our sustainability innovation call.

In aiding the forward-thinking NHS innovators of tomorrow in their quest to bring about a modern and sustainable health care system, we have no doubt that the IoMT will be helping to spearhead this great period of change.