Sandra K. Rodriguez, Research Associate, Axendia Inc.03.10.16
Setting up my new printer was easier than programming my coffee pot to begin brewing every morning at 6:00 am. As soon as I turned it on, it ran through a set of diagnostics, asked for my wireless password, and connected to my laptop where I then downloaded the necessary applications to take advantage of the out-of-the-box features. From one application, I was prompted to create a user profile. I then received an email to install an app on my smartphone.
The app enables the printer to notify me once I’m low on ink and I can schedule and reorder ink cartridges with a few taps and swipes. I no longer need to find the closest Office Depot and drive there. Knowing me, I would accidentally buy the wrong cartridge, or worse yet, buy everything but the ink cartridge, requiring yet another trip the following day. Furthermore, it ensures that I am using the manufacturer’s ink and paper brand and not a generic brand from the store.
At the core of this new technology are two new things: connectivity and intelligence; what was always there was old technology: sensors. Combining these elements, we have the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoT is currently as popular an acronym as SaaS (software-as-a-service) once was. However, the definition of SaaS was, for the most part, self-explanatory. Rather than continue to invest in hardware and infrastructure to support growing IT needs, companies quickly embraced the opportunity to access hosted business applications. Last year, salesforce.com announced it had surpassed $5 billion in revenue faster than any other enterprise company.
Meanwhile, in Q2 2015, IBM was listed as the leading IoT company due to a $3 billion investment over the next four years in a new IoT business unit.
SaaS opened the doors to various questions including, “Is the data secure?” “Is the software 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?” and “How will we validate a hosted solution?” Today, IoT questions are similar, if not more complex.
If your organization has been working on an IoT strategy for more than three years with little progress, you’re not alone. IoT continues to be a concept for many companies. In reality and simply stated, it is connected intelligence. After all, what did the internet really give us? Connectivity. Access to data at anytime and anywhere became a reality. Perhaps if IoT had been named Connectivity of Things (CoT), the definition would have been as self-explanatory as SaaS still is. A subset or by-product of CoT would be IoT but with a new name—“Intelligence of Things” (e.g., my printer).
When you are able to create intelligence based on sensor data points, connect that data, and distil it into intelligence, you have an IoT solution.
After all, equipment has been instrumented since the beginning of automation. Since owning a printer at home, each one has had a “low ink” sensor. Earlier models may have had an “ink cartridge low” icon that would appear or perhaps a yellow flashing indicator light next to the ink icon. With IoT, my printer is taking that connected sensor technology further. It now knows what type of ink cartridge I need, where to get it from, and where to send it—all without human interaction.
How does this tie in to life sciences and healthcare? First and foremost, medical devices are becoming more complex. Bluetooth- or wireless-enabled devices can communicate with patients, healthcare providers, manufacturers, and supporting service organizations. Axendia spoke with Rick Valencia, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life Inc. about the Internet of Medical Things last year. The briefing focused on the collaboration between Cerner and Qualcomm Life, aimed at extending medical device connectivity capabilities beyond the hospital to the home. This is all done in the same way my printer communicates with its supply network and me.
Some life science companies are not just conceptualizing IoT, they are changing the way they do business.
When Medtronic and IBM Watson Health announced their partnership to fight diabetes, Medtronic had already collected 125 million patient days of anonymous data from insulin pumps and glucose monitors. Watson Health is able to crunch that data, adding mountains of anonymous medical records and fitness information, and then ultimately understanding. Remember, IoT requires connectivity, which is perhaps why Samsung—a large player in the consumer electronics market—partnered with Medtronic. Due to this three-way partnership between Medtronic, IBM, and Samsung the company is able to connect the following “things”:
From the Internet of Things to the Interoperability of Things, regulators have taken notice as well. In a February 9, 2016 blog post on FDA Voice titled, Interoperability: FDA’s Call to Action, Bakul Patel, associate director for digital health at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote: “We believe now is the time for all stakeholders—including medical device manufacturers, health care organizations, researchers, and information systems firms—to come together and continue to build this case to accelerate the development and availability of safe, interoperable medical devices.”
Collaboration will inevitably continue. Axendia recently published two articles pointing out that multiple technology companies are entering the wellness-care space through partnership agreements. Examples are featured in: “The Race for Your Wrist and Medical Data is Happening – Now!” and “The Apple Watch. It Does Just That.”
What could be adding to the reluctance of adopting this three-lettered concept is that there is now a fourth letter being added. Hello, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things). IIoT is gaining popularity in the automation and maintenance world. Smart facilities are running smart equipment that can communicate operational status and even location. How often equipment is serviced is often based on OEM recommendations and not necessarily because of the frequency it is used or the environment it is used in. IIoT can eliminate unnecessary maintenance or the storage of excessive spare parts, and can provide the type of data necessary to fuel a reliability program.
After all, while all things IoT start and end with connected data and intelligence, an action is still required either by someone or something. Example: I do have to install the new ink cartridge in my printer once it runs out.
Another easily understood example comes from the automotive industry. Before my printer, my car taught me something about IoT as well without realizing it. Currently, my car will send me a text when the engine’s oil life falls under 25 percent remaining. This basically lets me know I should look into scheduling an oil change in the near future. My next vehicle will contact the dealer and make that appointment for me, just as the OnStar system is currently doing. Since self-parking and self-breaking cars are inching us closer to the finish line where self-driving cars await, it is also safe to envision my future car driving itself to that oil change or service appointment.
Of course, there is a downside to intelligent, connected vehicles that report their status whether you want them to or not. This was the case in December when a woman fled the scene of a hit and run. Her own vehicle did not let her get away with it and called 911 on impact.
Connecting “things” to the internet is the easy part. On the other hand, interpreting, storing, and securing the data is the hard part. The connections that allow for this data exchange are not necessarily 100 percent secure; therefore, security concerns in wireless-enabled medical devices continue to be real. For example, while serving as vice president, the wireless feature in Dick Cheney’s pacemaker was disabled out of fears it could be hacked after he watched an episode of Homeland.
In an article running in Security Week, Torsten George points out, “IoT products preceded the creation of a common security framework or standard.” In order for industry to reap the benefits of machine intelligence and machine-to-machine communication, secure frameworks need to be established first and foremost.
Following this article will be “Securing IoT Data—Things to Consider,” so keep an eye out for that second part.
Until then, I will enjoy knowing that if an ink cartridge shows up in the mail that my printer is getting low on ink.
The app enables the printer to notify me once I’m low on ink and I can schedule and reorder ink cartridges with a few taps and swipes. I no longer need to find the closest Office Depot and drive there. Knowing me, I would accidentally buy the wrong cartridge, or worse yet, buy everything but the ink cartridge, requiring yet another trip the following day. Furthermore, it ensures that I am using the manufacturer’s ink and paper brand and not a generic brand from the store.
At the core of this new technology are two new things: connectivity and intelligence; what was always there was old technology: sensors. Combining these elements, we have the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoT is currently as popular an acronym as SaaS (software-as-a-service) once was. However, the definition of SaaS was, for the most part, self-explanatory. Rather than continue to invest in hardware and infrastructure to support growing IT needs, companies quickly embraced the opportunity to access hosted business applications. Last year, salesforce.com announced it had surpassed $5 billion in revenue faster than any other enterprise company.
Meanwhile, in Q2 2015, IBM was listed as the leading IoT company due to a $3 billion investment over the next four years in a new IoT business unit.
SaaS opened the doors to various questions including, “Is the data secure?” “Is the software 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?” and “How will we validate a hosted solution?” Today, IoT questions are similar, if not more complex.
If your organization has been working on an IoT strategy for more than three years with little progress, you’re not alone. IoT continues to be a concept for many companies. In reality and simply stated, it is connected intelligence. After all, what did the internet really give us? Connectivity. Access to data at anytime and anywhere became a reality. Perhaps if IoT had been named Connectivity of Things (CoT), the definition would have been as self-explanatory as SaaS still is. A subset or by-product of CoT would be IoT but with a new name—“Intelligence of Things” (e.g., my printer).
When you are able to create intelligence based on sensor data points, connect that data, and distil it into intelligence, you have an IoT solution.
After all, equipment has been instrumented since the beginning of automation. Since owning a printer at home, each one has had a “low ink” sensor. Earlier models may have had an “ink cartridge low” icon that would appear or perhaps a yellow flashing indicator light next to the ink icon. With IoT, my printer is taking that connected sensor technology further. It now knows what type of ink cartridge I need, where to get it from, and where to send it—all without human interaction.
How does this tie in to life sciences and healthcare? First and foremost, medical devices are becoming more complex. Bluetooth- or wireless-enabled devices can communicate with patients, healthcare providers, manufacturers, and supporting service organizations. Axendia spoke with Rick Valencia, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life Inc. about the Internet of Medical Things last year. The briefing focused on the collaboration between Cerner and Qualcomm Life, aimed at extending medical device connectivity capabilities beyond the hospital to the home. This is all done in the same way my printer communicates with its supply network and me.
Some life science companies are not just conceptualizing IoT, they are changing the way they do business.
When Medtronic and IBM Watson Health announced their partnership to fight diabetes, Medtronic had already collected 125 million patient days of anonymous data from insulin pumps and glucose monitors. Watson Health is able to crunch that data, adding mountains of anonymous medical records and fitness information, and then ultimately understanding. Remember, IoT requires connectivity, which is perhaps why Samsung—a large player in the consumer electronics market—partnered with Medtronic. Due to this three-way partnership between Medtronic, IBM, and Samsung the company is able to connect the following “things”:
- People: Patients, doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers
- Medical products: Insulin pumps and glucose monitors
- Communication devices: Smartphones, tablets, and cognitive computing systems such as Watson Health
From the Internet of Things to the Interoperability of Things, regulators have taken notice as well. In a February 9, 2016 blog post on FDA Voice titled, Interoperability: FDA’s Call to Action, Bakul Patel, associate director for digital health at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote: “We believe now is the time for all stakeholders—including medical device manufacturers, health care organizations, researchers, and information systems firms—to come together and continue to build this case to accelerate the development and availability of safe, interoperable medical devices.”
Collaboration will inevitably continue. Axendia recently published two articles pointing out that multiple technology companies are entering the wellness-care space through partnership agreements. Examples are featured in: “The Race for Your Wrist and Medical Data is Happening – Now!” and “The Apple Watch. It Does Just That.”
What could be adding to the reluctance of adopting this three-lettered concept is that there is now a fourth letter being added. Hello, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things). IIoT is gaining popularity in the automation and maintenance world. Smart facilities are running smart equipment that can communicate operational status and even location. How often equipment is serviced is often based on OEM recommendations and not necessarily because of the frequency it is used or the environment it is used in. IIoT can eliminate unnecessary maintenance or the storage of excessive spare parts, and can provide the type of data necessary to fuel a reliability program.
After all, while all things IoT start and end with connected data and intelligence, an action is still required either by someone or something. Example: I do have to install the new ink cartridge in my printer once it runs out.
Another easily understood example comes from the automotive industry. Before my printer, my car taught me something about IoT as well without realizing it. Currently, my car will send me a text when the engine’s oil life falls under 25 percent remaining. This basically lets me know I should look into scheduling an oil change in the near future. My next vehicle will contact the dealer and make that appointment for me, just as the OnStar system is currently doing. Since self-parking and self-breaking cars are inching us closer to the finish line where self-driving cars await, it is also safe to envision my future car driving itself to that oil change or service appointment.
Of course, there is a downside to intelligent, connected vehicles that report their status whether you want them to or not. This was the case in December when a woman fled the scene of a hit and run. Her own vehicle did not let her get away with it and called 911 on impact.
Connecting “things” to the internet is the easy part. On the other hand, interpreting, storing, and securing the data is the hard part. The connections that allow for this data exchange are not necessarily 100 percent secure; therefore, security concerns in wireless-enabled medical devices continue to be real. For example, while serving as vice president, the wireless feature in Dick Cheney’s pacemaker was disabled out of fears it could be hacked after he watched an episode of Homeland.
In an article running in Security Week, Torsten George points out, “IoT products preceded the creation of a common security framework or standard.” In order for industry to reap the benefits of machine intelligence and machine-to-machine communication, secure frameworks need to be established first and foremost.
Following this article will be “Securing IoT Data—Things to Consider,” so keep an eye out for that second part.
Until then, I will enjoy knowing that if an ink cartridge shows up in the mail that my printer is getting low on ink.