Digital transformation and development opportunities in the healthcare sector

The three-stage evolution of digital transformation

The healthcare sector is facing the challenges of digital transformation, with opportunities arising from healthcare IT ecosystems, the shift of non-IT healthcare budgets to digital healthcare, and medical devices. However, healthcare institutions also encounter fundamental challenges, such as the rapid growth in healthcare demand driven by factors like rising patient expectations and an aging population, which leads to increased prevalence of chronic diseases. At the same time, there is a global shortage of healthcare professionals.

Digital transformation will promote the development of new technologies like telehealth and artificial intelligence, which can help address many of these challenges. This is an evolutionary process that can be divided into three stages. The first stage involves electronic data capture, where standardized formats must be used to gather electronic health data (e.g., patient demographics or clinical records). This is the starting point for any digital transformation project.

The second stage focuses on data sharing and interoperability. As electronic health data evolves, it becomes possible to share data with other healthcare professionals and institutions. This enables new service models such as telehealth and e-prescribing, as well as the adoption of advanced technologies like medical AI.

The third stage involves advanced applications of connected data technologies and analytics. With the integration of clinical, financial, and operational data, healthcare providers can improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of clinical care. Additionally, AI, business intelligence, and analytics can predict population health outcomes, helping healthcare systems improve overall health results and ensure financial sustainability.

Key focus areas of digital technologies in healthcare

Digital technologies such as IoT and AI will propel the industry forward and deliver tangible benefits to patient care, especially amid population growth. Specifically, these technologies must address three critical aspects.

First is efficiency improvement. The primary beneficiaries of digital healthcare are patients, who gain access to less intrusive, less stressful, more accurate, and faster experiences. Healthcare institutions like hospitals and clinics can operate more efficiently by gaining real-time insights into equipment (asset management), professionals (clinical efficiency), and patients (remote patient monitoring).

Second is the advancement of connectivity technologies. The diversity of care locations, regional differences, budget constraints, and varying device types necessitate flexible connectivity solutions for transmitting patient data. Finally, security is a paramount concern. Challenges related to patient data security, privacy, fragmentation, and implementation must be addressed and overcome.

Differences in global healthcare funding (public, private, or hybrid models) add another layer of complexity for IoT providers, who must collaborate with both government and private healthcare institutions. If providers can meet the growing demand, digital investments in healthcare will present growth opportunities for IT vendors, semiconductor suppliers, hardware and software providers, telecom companies, and service and support providers. Those offering flexible, open, and comprehensive solutions will be best positioned to leverage this significant new initiative, unlocking immense potential for the global healthcare industry.

The expansion of telehealth and AI in healthcare

Telehealth can enhance the experiences of both patients and healthcare professionals by reducing costs, improving efficiency, and addressing gaps in medical resources. Increased telehealth capabilities, higher patient acceptance, and regulatory support from governments will drive its continued growth. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, government support has been crucial for normalizing telehealth. The pandemic accelerated global adoption, improving the efficiency of patient monitoring, including triage and remote condition tracking to reduce in-person appointments.

On the other hand, AI deployment can benefit many areas of healthcare, particularly in improving clinical outcomes (e.g., personalized medicine and enhanced diagnostics). This is especially true for large institutions with extensive, high-quality databases for building AI tools. AI can also assist with repetitive administrative tasks, such as scheduling and admissions.

An increasing number of IoMT devices are being used in remote patient monitoring applications to send and receive data, such as automatic pill dispensers, blood glucose monitors, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, conventional health hubs, medical tablets, mobile cardiac telemetry, and mobile personal emergency response systems.

These IoT devices are central to telehealth, as they help manage chronic conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. Connected IoMT devices are becoming increasingly popular, with most still relying on smartphones as gateways to connect to cellular networks and transmit data. However, high-end patient monitoring devices (e.g., blood glucose monitors, heart rate monitors) now often include dedicated connectivity or use specialized gateways that connect to a home router.

Moreover, IoT is ideal for compliance and validation. IoT technology can provide data on medication adherence (e.g., connected pillboxes) or therapy usage (e.g., non-invasive CPAP machines). Healthcare professionals can use this data to treat patients more effectively, while insurers can verify therapy usage before reimbursing patients.

IoMT devices also improve patient treatment processes. Various IoT medical devices serve multiple purposes in both home and clinical environments. The proliferation of consumer wearables like smartphones and smartwatches has lowered the barrier for users to monitor their own health, driving the growth of telehealth services.

The popularity of wearables enables more effective fitness tracking, while devices like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are widely used to help manage conditions like diabetes among the 463 million affected individuals. Additionally, devices like pulse oximeters (for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels) have increased awareness of personal health monitoring. IoMT is playing a pivotal role in healthcare and patient treatment processes.

Silicon Labs enables new IoMT solutions

Clearly, the security, operation, and interoperability requirements for IoMT devices are stringent. Additionally, transitioning products from consumer health wearables to medical monitoring devices requires provides evidence of efficacy and safety to regulatory bodies like the FDA. This complexity increases exponentially, adding pressure on market entrants who are often more focused on solving medical problems than technical ones.

To navigate this complex journey, most IoMT innovators need partners with expertise in wireless and other supporting technologies. Collaborating with such partners minimizes time-to-market and costs while ensuring devices meet the highest performance standards.

The World Health Organization estimates that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, with arrhythmias being a major contributor. Accurately and quickly identifying individuals at highest risk of arrhythmia and ensuring they receive timely treatment can prevent premature deaths.

Diagnosing CVDs begins with accurate ECG tracking. While personal heart monitors have existed for years, their practicality and accuracy have been limited. For example, traditional Holter monitors require multiple wires, can only be worn for 1-2 days, and provide only basic heart rhythm analysis.

Addressing these limitations, Bardy Diagnostics developed the CAM (Carnation Ambulatory Monitor) patch, a novel ambulatory cardiac monitor designed for continuous use for up to 14 days. This product is based on Silicon Labs' EFM32 architecture. The compact and lightweight CAM patch is a complete reimagining of traditional cardiac monitors, combining advanced technology and semiconductor miniaturization to overcome the cumbersome design and accuracy issues of conventional ECG devices. The CAM patch is designed to detect the smallest, most nuanced electrical signals from the heart, enabling better diagnosis of abnormal heart rhythms and facilitating treatments that can prevent severe outcomes like cardiac arrest, stroke, or loss of consciousness.

At the core of the CAM patch is Silicon Labs' EFM32TG210 MCU, which connects to patient interface sensors and provides critical integrated peripherals (ADC, SPI, ASYNC serial interfaces, and timer functions). A key feature of the EFM32TG210 is its ultra-low power operation, allowing the CAM patch to use a smaller battery. This results in a lighter, smaller, and more comfortable device, all of which are crucial for improving patient compliance.

These low-power capabilities are largely due to the power management of the Cortex-M3 microcontroller, which offers superior energy efficiency compared to other architectures. By rapidly entering and exiting sleep states, enabling autonomous peripheral operation, and generating low-power clocks, the CAM patch achieves up to 14 days of continuous ECG recording using just a 48mAh CR1225 battery.

Importantly, this low power consumption does not compromise accuracy. The CAM patch effectively captures minute cardiac details that other monitors might miss. Specifically, the EFM32 architecture includes a high-performance ADC that ensures precise readings while maintaining an electromagnetically quiet emission profile, preventing interference with delicate signals.

The CAM patch has the potential to revolutionize ambulatory cardiac monitoring and diagnosis. It exemplifies how leaders in medicine and technology can collaborate to create state-of-the-art medical devices that benefit patients worldwide.

Conclusion

The healthcare industry presents significant opportunities for digital transformation, including technologies like IoT, telehealth, and AI. IoT is increasingly becoming the preferred choice for remote patient monitoring applications. More IoMT devices, such as non-invasive ventilators (CPAP), blood glucose monitors, and heart rate monitors, are being used to send and receive data in these applications. IoMT devices serve various purposes in both home and clinical environments, while the proliferation of consumer wearables like smartphones and smartwatches has lowered barriers to personal health monitoring, driving the growth of telehealth services. Silicon Labs' IoT solutions enable the creation of inclusive, transformative, and minimalist medical devices that improve patient outcomes and significantly enhance healthcare efficiency.