The 87th China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) will be held at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center from May 14th to 17th, 2023. Since last year, CMEF has demonstrated innovative features such as informatization, digitization, and intelligence. With the rapid development of the global digital economy and increasing industry demand, it is expected that digital healthcare will play a leading role this year.
The informationization and digitalization development level of China's medical device industry is in a leading position globally. Nowadays, the concept of digital development is accelerating its integration into the research and production of medical devices, coupled with precision medicine and smart ward services carried out in clinical practice, digital healthcare has deeply penetrated into people's hearts in China.
The importance of digitization in diagnosis and treatment scenarios will also increase. In foreign countries, digital therapeutics (DTx) has become a new concept of medical science and technology rising in recent years, and has developed rapidly during the COVID-19. The core of digital therapy is to drive the prevention, treatment, and management of specific diseases through highly intelligent medical software. China's attitude towards digital therapy has gradually shifted from conservatism to openness. In November 2020, the first domestic digital therapy product was approved, marking the opening of a new track for digital therapy in China.
The Bluetooth Internet of Things has laid a solid foundation for digital healthcare. In the future digital age, the importance of digitization in diagnosis and treatment scenarios is increasing, and the Bluetooth Internet of Things will play a greater role, "said the engineer from Guihuawang.
In the past, the contribution of Bluetooth technology to digital healthcare was mainly reflected in three aspects:
1. Wireless replaces cables. Under traditional medical conditions, some medical instruments, such as electroencephalography, heart rate, blood glucose and other electrophysiological data, receive electrical signals from the patient's body surface, transmit biological electrical signals through cables to medical equipment for analysis. Due to the connection of cables, the patient's position and movement are restricted, and they can only undergo physical examination in a lying position. Therefore, it is impossible to understand the patient's bioelectric signals within a certain range of movement in other positions or even during exercise. Bluetooth technology has liberated this.
2 . Reduce direct contact. Under traditional medicine, some medical restricted areas such as laminar flow wards, operating rooms, radiology rooms, radiotherapy rooms, and emergency rooms are not suitable for all medical personnel to enter and exit, and strict isolation systems must be in place. Bluetooth can also play a significant role in these areas, reducing the probability of direct entry and exit for staff while not hindering doctors' treatment and consultation work.
3 . Low radiation. The output power of Bluetooth is very small, only 1mW, which is one millionth of the power used by microwave ovens and only a fraction of the radiation emitted by mobile phones. Most modern medical devices are equipped with Bluetooth function.
Guihua.com engineers believe that in the future digital age, Bluetooth will make greater contributions to smart healthcare, mainly reflected in:
1 . Move more freely
The representative application is Bluetooth roaming. Bluetooth roaming is a very important function, and patients cannot stay in the hospital bed all the time. They will move around in the ward, corridor, nurse station, doctor's office and other places. Guihua Network's unique roaming technology can ensure that patients can move freely within the coverage area of the hospital's Bluetooth gateway without worrying about real-time blood glucose data being lost during movement and roaming. The real-time collection and transmission of patient blood glucose data is safe, stable, easy to use, and does not require any manual intervention.
2 . More extensive monitoring scope
Vital sign data is an important basis for judging an individual's health status, especially when patients receive treatment in hospitals, doctors will use it as an important reference indicator to measure the quality of their condition. Therefore, around patients with more severe conditions, hospitals will provide them with medical equipment for monitoring vital signs such as heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, etc.
Bluetooth, as a low-power communication technology, has extended to the field of healthcare, helping users monitor vital signs in real-time. The most typical application is dynamic blood glucose monitoring, which continuously monitors the trend of blood glucose changes, allowing patients to easily grasp their blood glucose status.
In the future, Bluetooth will be applied to a wider range of self health management markets. Not only will CGM blood glucose monitoring become standard, but Bluetooth devices such as temperature patches, ECG patches, oximeters, and blood pressure monitors will also be included.
3 . Application scenarios and greater impact
In the future, with the continuous increase in the weight of digital diagnosis assistance and digital therapy, their application scenarios will be even broader. For example, after a patient receives medical treatment in the outpatient department, the doctor may instruct the patient to engage in "self health management" at home.
Taking blood glucose monitoring as an example. How does Bluetooth technology ensure the digitalization of medical services online? According to the staff of Guihua.com, in addition to using the hospital's professional subcutaneous CGM equipment, it is also recommended that patients monitoring blood sugar at home be equipped with Guihua.com 'M1000 Bluetooth gateway. This is a mini device with a size similar to a mobile phone, which can automatically transmit blood glucose data back to the hospital management platform without any operation. When at home, simply place the device on the table and the mains power will automatically extract data. If you go out, you can also use a power bank to power the M1000, meeting the needs of uninterrupted blood glucose monitoring. 10000mA can provide power for 48 hours, with lower long-term usage costs and great convenience. Compared with other portable CGM+mobile apps on the market, the advantage of Guihuawang M1000 is that it can connect hospital monitoring with home monitoring. The CGM equipment used by patients at home is the same as the CGM equipment used in hospitals, and the data processing algorithm is consistent, so it can provide accurate medical information to doctors. Therefore, the previous routine hospitalization observation can now be transformed into home observation, which saves hospital beds, makes patients comfortable at home, and saves money.
In short, a clear trend is that the demand for data, computing power, and experience in the medical and life sciences industries is exploding, and Bluetooth IoT is the fundamental component of data and computing power. It will provide support for improving hospital service quality, providing new ways of seeking medical treatment, and other new needs, making people's lives more convenient.