Patents are a good information resource for obtaining IoT (Internet of Things) technology development status. Followings illustrate some examples of patents that provide current status of the IoT healthcare/medical devices technology development: smart health monitoring devices, smart haptic medical devices, patient movement monitoring devices, healthcare robots and medical kiosk.

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IoT Healthcare/Medical Devices Insights from Patents
Patents are a good information resource for obtaining IoT (Internet of Things) technology development status.
Followings illustrate some examples of patents that provide current status of the IoT healthcare/medical devices
technology development: smart health monitoring devices, smart haptic medical devices, patient movement
monitoring devices, healthcare robots and medical kiosk.
Smart Health Monitoring Devices
Health monitoring sensor devices including internet connected wearable devices can provide a real time monitoring
of person’s health status such as heart rate and blood pressure and enable remote healthcare services.
US20150120317 (ADAPTIVE INTERFACE FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING DEVICES; DexCom)
illustrates a glucose sensing device that is capable of measuring the concentration of glucose. The glucose sensing
device may be implanted and provides a data that indicative of the concentration of glucose in a host. The data
stream may be raw data signal, which is converted into a calibrated and/or filtered data stream used to provide a
value of glucose to a host, such as a user, a patient, or a caretaker. The data is provided exploiting adaptive
reporting process depending on the behavioral and/or contextual status of the host. For example, if a user is driving,
it may be desirable to provide a concise report of information that can be comprehended while operating a car.
Similarly, if the user is at home watching television, a more robust report may be desirable. Such variations may

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affect patient behavior and impact utilization of the device and/or outcomes from using the device. The behavioral
and/or contextual status of the host can be obtained from the sensed information from various IoT devices and
exploiting cloud based data processing.

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US20150213231 (METHOD, SERVER, AND USER DEVICE FOR PROVIDING USER'S PERSONAL
MEDICINE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SERVICE BETWEEN THE SERVER AND THE USER
DEVICE; Samsung) illustrates a system to manage a person’s medication. A user device includes a medicine
image obtaining unit to obtained medicine image of the user. The obtained medicine image of the user medicine
may include images showing the appearance of the user medicine, e.g., an image showing a shape of a medicine
itself, and an image showing a shape of a medicine package. Also, the medicine image of the user medicine may
include at least one of an image showing non-prescription medicine identification information of the user medicine,
and an image showing nonprescription medicine product information of the user medicine, which are readable
from the appearance of the user medicine. A server receives the user's personal medicine information from the user
device may determine whether the medicine image corresponds to a user's personal medicine based on the user's
personal medicine information stored in the server. If the server determines that the recognition-requested medicine
image corresponds to a user's personal medicine, a medicine information receiving unit may receive at least one of
a prescription history, a purchase history, a medicine-taking history, and a disease history of a user regarding the
user medicine.

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US20100256460 (Wearable Monitoring System; GE) illustrates a wearable monitoring system to collect and
manage physiological information which is indicative of a condition of a respiration function. This device can be
used at home by a doctor remotely to monitor apnea (e.g. sleep apnea that breathing is interrupted).

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US20140275824 (Multiple Sensors for Monitoring Health and Wellness of an Animal; i4C Innovations) illustrates
a wearable device for monitoring the health of an animal. The wearable device may include several sensors, RFID
tag, GPS receiver and wireless connectivity to send the sensed data.

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Smart Haptic Medical Devices
Smart haptic devices employing tactile feedback technology which recreates the sense of touch can be used for an
operator of a surgical instrument or diagnostics of a patient remotely.
US20140336669 (Haptic gloves and surgical robot systems; Samsung) illustrates a haptic glove configured to
transmit haptic feedback to an operator of a surgical robot system.
US9046926 (System and method of dynamically generating a frequency pattern to realize the sense of touch in a
computing device; IBM) illustrates a system for providing the sense that a doctor can feel a wound without being
co-located with a patient. The system comprises an image processing module capable of extracting a plurality of
features from a visual representation of a physical object and a frequency generation module capable of generating
a variable frequency pattern corresponding to the extracted features, and sending the variable frequency pattern to a

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computing device in which the computing device generates the tactile feedback in response to a stimulation applied
by a user based on the variable frequency pattern.
Patient Movement Monitoring Devices
US20140257427 (System for Deep Brain Stimulation Employing a Sensor for Monitoring Patient Movement and
Providing Closed Loop Control; Boston Scientific) illustrates a device for monitoring patient movements, such as
tremors, and for automatically controlling an implantable stimulator device on the basis of the detected movements.
The system includes a motion sensor such as a wearable item that contains an accelerometer to monitor a patient's
movements, such as a ring locatable proximate to a patient's hand tremor. The motion sensor periodically transmits
a feedback signal to the implantable stimulator device instructing it to change the stimulation parameters, such as
current amplitude, in an attempt to reduce the tremor. The motion sensor can additionally communicate with other

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system components such as an external controller. The motion sensor and the implantable stimulator device
communicate using short range electromagnetic radio waves.
Healthcare Robots

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US20150224640 (COMPANION ROBOT FOR PERSONAL INTERACTION; iRobot) illustrates a healthcare
robot for interacting with a resident in the resident's home. The robot may include a sensor capable of monitoring
the resident when the robot is in the resident's home and the resident is within range of the sensor, a controller
connected to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a transmission control routine configured to enable a
transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for
the transmission, and an override routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor
outside the resident's home (i) in an emergency condition detected by the robot or (ii) after an authorized remote
caregiver sends to the robot an authorization previously permitted by the resident and an emergency condition
indication. The robot may also carry on a dialogue with the resident, reinforce compliance with medication.

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Medical Kiosk
US20150199783 (Medical Kiosk and Method of Use; Healthspot) illustrates a medical kiosk to provide
telemedicine services to a user. The medical kiosk equips with apparatus for providing medical services, diagnoses,
health advice to individuals. Following illustrates a possible use scenario of the medical kiosk.
Jane Doe is not feeling well, suffering from severe nasal congestion and "cold symptoms" for several days. She
realizes she should seek care, but finds it frustrating to schedule an appointment with her primary care physician.
She recently became aware of a medical kiosk in her neighborhood grocery store, and decides to drive to the store
a few minutes from her home to see if she can get a walk-in appointment. Upon arrival, Jane is met by the
attendant who helps her register at the exterior of the medical kiosk for the next available appointment in a few
minutes. She completes the basic information about her medical condition in a short guided questionnaire via the
monitor on the exterior of the terminal. The intake questionnaire captures demographic information that can
include some or all of the following information: name, address, gender, race, native language, age, birthdate,
fingerprint, simple medical history/medications, current symptoms, allergies, medical condition, medications
currently used, preferred pharmacy, insurance information, and a debit/credit card payment and/or some other
types of payment for the visit, and/or time of next available visit in kiosk. Information is gathered and stored
securely to facilitate future visits. Jane then has a seat at a small waiting area near the medical kiosk. When the

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appointment prior Jane's ends by another user, Jane witnesses the attendant cleaning the appropriate surface areas
of the interior of the medical kiosk, and the changing the protective covers of the instruments that were used.
Jane then proceeds to check-in to the kiosk by providing a password or some other type of ID. This check-in can
occur with the registration station on the kiosk and/or with the medical attendant. Once checked-in, the medical
attendant escorts the patient into the medical kiosk. The medical assistant also fits a blood pressure cuff on the
patient, connects the blood pressure cuff to the medical kiosk, and then begins the vital capture process for the
patient. The medical attendant may or may not be present during the complete vitals capture process. During the
vitals capture process, the weight and temperature of the patient is also collected. The Patient Application provides
information to the patient on how to proceed with the vitals capture process. Once the vital capture process is
completed, the patient presses a button or indicates in some other manner that the patient is ready to proceed with
the teleconference with the medical provider. During the vitals capture process, the medical provider can view
Jane's medical history, current medications, symptoms and/or any other information that Jane's entered during the
registration process. The medical provider can also view the results of the vitals that were captured during the
vitals capture process. Once the medical provider receives information that the patient is ready for the
teleconference, the medical provider selects the option to create such connection. The medical provide then appears
on the Provider Screen in the medical kiosk and the patient appears on the screen being used by the medical
provider. The medical provider can then question and examine Jane during the teleconference.

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After the medical provider has spoken to Jane, he suspects a possible sinus infection. The medical provider then
clicks on a button on the Provider Application which causes a door to a medical device cavity or compartment on
the medical kiosk to open for the otoscope. The medical provider then instructs Jane to gently insert the device in
her nose and takes a picture of her nasal mucosa. The picture is displayed on the medical provider's screen and
optionally displayed on the Patient and/or Provider screen in the medical kiosk for Jane to see. The medical
provider proceeds to instruct Jane to use the instrument to look in her ears and throat. The medical provider views
the pictures and determines that the throat and nasal passages are inflamed which is indicative of an upper
respiratory infection. Based on her symptoms and the examination, the medical provider tells Jane he believes that
she has a sinus infection.
The medical provider can optionally prescribe a prescription for the appropriate antibiotic which can be e-
prescribed by the medical provider and sent electronically to the pharmacy of Jane's choice, which in this case
happens to be the pharmacy within the grocery store. Prior to or after Jane exits the medical kiosk, Jane may take a
survey of the visit. Jane may optionally complete an insurance form from the attendant, which she can use to file
with her insurance company for reimbursement. Jane then walks over to the pharmacy and waits on her
prescription, which is available ten minutes later. She returns home and begins taking the medication to cure her
sinus infection.

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