Mobile Health: Roles of Sensors and IoT in Healthcare Technology

Due to the increase in the human population and the changing lifestyle of society, there is a continuous increase in health-related issues. Some issues are related to the diagnostic, communication, real-time healthcare facility, and cost factors. To solve these issues, technology can help the medical field much better. The three best and most prevalent techniques are mobile, the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud. Mobile technology has permitted real-time two-way phone communication and real-time bilateral textual message delivery since the 1980s. Smartphones have become more feature-rich in recent years, incorporating image and video sensors (camera), accelerometers, global positioning systems (GPS), gravity sensors, near-field communication, and other technology. Smartphones can show standard web pages and transfer email between phones or other devices by wireless techniques. With the support of the IoT, emerging information and communication technologies have been essential in integrating diverse fields of the health sector with mobile technology. The miniaturization of the sensors and IoT and the increasing capability of the smart mobile with Internet facility having the speed of Mbps range help society use mobile as a healthcare instrument too, and the need will increase as will the increase in mobile-based health (mHealth) technology. Healthcare systems are increasingly shifting towards new care models based on integrated care procedures shared by multiple caregivers and a patient-centered approach. In this chapter, we discuss different sensors used in mHealth. We have also discussed the role of IoT and the cloud in mHealth. The features of smart mobile apps were also discussed in this chapter. Different applications of mHealth, like community remote health data collection, healthcare information to medical experts and the user, real-time monitoring of health diagnostics, treatment support for the patient, remote monitoring of patients, emergency response systems, and health management for telemedicine are discussed in this book chapter. It also examines mHealth technology as a support system for public health convenience and safety and the prospects to develop its applications for unforeseeable future health problems. In this chapter, the authors discuss different sensors used in mHealth, the role of IoT and the cloud in mHealth and features of smart mobile apps. They also discuss different applications of mHealth, like community remote health d