Adam T. Drobot, J.-C. Chiao, Jasmin Grosinger, Charlie Jackson
The Seventh IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Vertical and Topical Summit at Radio & Wireless Week (RWW) 2024 is devoted to biomedical IoT applications. Technologies for sensing, signal processing and computing, data storage, and communications are important ingredients in architecting biomedical solutions that are important to human health and human well-being. There are at least five aspects to biomedical IoT applications that are important for the general population. They include the following:
The select list of references [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16] indicates that electronics play an increasingly important role in the evolution of biomedical devices and solutions. Many of the advancements in the field have significantly benefited from the pace of innovation in the capabilities and performance improvements in electronics and the exploitation of methods and techniques for measuring and generating electromagnetic signals across the spectrum—from light to microwave frequencies. They have also benefited from the ability to create new materials, miniaturize electronic components, embed sophisticated signal processing and computation in devices, and lastly, harness new sensing and actuation methods, such as the uses of microelectromechanical systems and microfluidic devices, and new data interpretation techniques, such as the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms.
The applications range from personal wearables, widely available as consumer goods, to specialized medical instrumentation focused on specific diseases or conditions (Figure 1). They cover the detection of pathogens in our environment, the direct monitoring and management of chronic disease symptoms, and ways of dealing with human impairments through devices that restore or enhance body functions. The science and engineering involved are multidisciplinary and require collaboration between technical and professional disciplines and communities of practice. The fusion of biological sciences with advances in the physical, mathematical, and chemical sciences and engineering has led to concepts such as personalized medicine to manage health, taking advantage of personal data based on genomics, and physiological data based on an individual’s condition and history.
Figure 1. Biomedical devices are increasingly used in the digitization of health care for the monitoring, imaging, diagnosis, and detection of diseases and their treatment and management.
In this setting, the IoT plays an important role in providing connectivity for the collection of data from sensors and other sources, access to the resources for analysis and interpretation, and connectivity to distributed decision processes that result in subsequent treatments or regimens. The engineering of biomedical systems and solutions first depends on medical and biological understanding at an increasingly granular level, and second, on the future evolution of the digital and analog electronics that make the Internet of Medical Things possible, safe, and sustainable. The new element here is that sensor devices and networks provide new insights from time-resolved and spatially resolved data that track conditions and can also access powerful analytics and AI/ML processing to create insights. One of the purposes of the summit is to promote interaction between the biomedical and engineering communities, assess the current status of underlying technologies, and identify critical areas of research and pathways to progress. This includes the design of devices and networks; the system tradeoffs between computing, data storage, and communications; the efficient use of energy; improvements in the specificity of information; spectrum use; biological and medical relevance; and the practical implementation of the systems.
The IoT Vertical and Topical Summit will be held in two parts (see Table 1). The first part will be conducted in conjunction with RWW 2024 in San Antonio, TX, USA, as a hybrid event. This consists of two sessions, each 2 h in duration, on the afternoon of 24 January 2024. The sessions include attendance, either in person or live online. We would very much like to encourage in-person attendance for this portion of the summit. The second part is a week of daily 2-hour sessions delivered virtually live online from 29 January to 2 February 2024. We have chosen the format and timing of the summit to attract participation from speakers and attendees from around the world. From past experience, this format makes it easier to attract the best experts and to explore the subject based on a variety of deployment settings and diverse points of view. The summit seeks to provide a balance of perspectives as in the past and will include speakers from industry, government, and the research community as well as end users. The presentations and discussions will address technical, business, operational, and policy issues.
Table 1. The 2024 IoT Vertical and Topical Summit program schedule and topics (2-hour sessions).
There are multiple objectives that the summit aspires to, as follows:
Each session will be 2 h in length with two to four presenters and will conclude with a moderated discussion, including an open Q&A with the audience. We require all speakers and attendees to register for the summit. This can be done through the RWW 2024 website at https://www.radiowirelessweek.org/.
The website and program for the upcoming summit as well as presentation materials from past summits can be found through the following links (where hybrid means in person or virtual and virtual means live online):
In selecting speakers, we have asked each speaker to prepare material for a general but knowledgeable audience. The material presented will be informational in nature, addressing multidisciplinary subjects that should appeal to individuals working on technologies important to the IEEE MTT-S, the IEEE IoT technical community, specialists in biosensors, and the medical professions. The emphasis is on practical results and the sharing of experiences from actual demonstrations, trials, and deployments.
Biomedical device and system applications of the IoT are not new, but significant public sector and commercial investments have seen rapid progress in the underlying technologies. At the same time, the use and acceptance of IoT solutions have also seen double-digit expansion in deployments for sectors related to public health and the practice of medicine. You will find the summit stimulating and rewarding if you are a policy maker, an administrator, a product manager, a technologist, a practicing electronics engineer, or a researcher or if you are just curious about the progress and promise of biomedical devices and systems.
Please join us in person or online for the hybrid portion of the program on Wednesday, 24 January 2024 in San Antonio, TX, USA, and live online for the virtual sessions conducted from 29 January to 2 February 2024. We look forward to your active participation as an attendee or as a presenter.
[1] M. Q. Algburi, Wearable Antenna Design for IoT and Biomedical Applications. Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Oct. 11, 2022, pp. 1–132.
[2] F. Al-Turjman, Internet of Nano-Things and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN), 1st ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: Auerbach, 2022, pp. 1–256.
[3] C. Chinmay, G. Uttam, R. Vinayakumar, and S. Yogesh, Eds., Efficient Data Handling for Massive Internet of Medical Things: Healthcare Data Analytics (Internet of Things), 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Springer-Verlag, 2021, pp. 1–402.
[4] D. Can and M.-N. Eden, Eds., Wearable Physical, Chemical and Biological Sensors, 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Elsevier, 2022, pp. 1–328.
[5] D. Garfield, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics: From Gene Editing to Personalized Medicine. Chicago, IL, USA: Independently Published, 2023, pp. 1–111.
[6] G. Manoj, K. Arun, A. Basant, and C. Korhan, Eds., 5G Wireless Communication System in Healthcare Informatics (Advances in Antenna Design, Wireless Communication and Mobile Network Technology), 1st ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2023, pp. 1–196.
[7] E. Kaniusas, Biomedical Signals and Sensors III: Linking Electric Biosignals and Biomedical Sensors (Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering), 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Springer-Verlag, 2019, pp. 1–625.
[8] C. Li, M.-R. Tofighi, D. Schreurs, and T.-S. Jason Horng, Principles and Applications of RF/Microwave in Healthcare and Biosensing, 1st ed. San Francisco, CA, USA: Academic, 2016, pp. 1–342.
[9] K. Pal, H.-B. Kraatz, A. Khasnobish, S. Bag, I. Banerjee, and U. Kuruganti, Eds., Bioelectronics and Medical Devices: From Materials to Devices - Fabrication, Applications and Reliability (Woodhead Publishing Series in Electronic and Optical Materials), 1st ed. Sawston, U.K.: Woodhead Publishing, 2019, pp. 1–1006.
[10] A. Pasquarelli, Biosensors and Biochips (Learning Materials in Biosciences), 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Springer-Verlag, 2021, pp. 1–328.
[11] H. Raad, The Wearable Technology Handbook: The Metaverse Edition. Athens, OH, USA: Ohio Publishing and Academic Services, 2022, pp. 1–239.
[12] E. Sazonov, Ed., Wearable Sensors: Fundamentals, Implementation, and Applications, 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: Academic, 2020, pp. 1–660.
[13] R. Tong, Ed., Wearable Technology in Medicine and Healthcare, 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Academic, 2018, pp. 1–340.
[14] F. Vipiana and L. Crocco, Eds., Electromagnetic Imaging for a Novel Generation of Medical Devices: Fundamental Issues, Methodological Challenges, and Practical Implementation, 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Springer-Verlag, 2023, pp. 1–372.
[15] W. Whittow, Ed., Bioelectromagnetics in Healthcare: Advanced Sensing and Communications Applications (Electromagnetic Waves). Raleigh, NC, USA: SciTech, 2022, pp. 1–338.
[16] J. Zaleski, Connected Medical Devices: Integrating Patient Care Data in Healthcare Systems, 1st ed. Chicago, IL, USA: HIMSS Publishing, 2015, pp. 1–234.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2023.3314289