Internet of Things case study: Boston Children’s Hospital and smarter healthcare

Healthcare is one of the richest areas of opportunity for the Internet of Things. Shwetak Patel, a MacArthur Fellow and a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University Washington who specializes in developing Internet of Things  (IoT) technologies says, “the next wave of the Internet of Things is going to have a huge impact in healthcare. For example, health sensing in the home is critical for managing chronic diseases.” One of the diseases Patel is targeting with the Internet of Things is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

Patel’s team developed an algorithm that measures lung health by analyzing the sound of someone blowing on a phone’s microphone. This replicates a spirometer without the expense and hospital visit. All a COPD sufferer has to do is call a toll-free number and blow on their phone. Networked computers take care of the rest by performing complex calculations, then delivering the results a few seconds later via a voice or text message. Read the full article here.