Patient readmission is a large concern for healthcare providers, with recent studies finding almost one in four patients face hospital readmission within 30 days. This statistic has led professionals to explore new ways of improving patient care, and many of these strategies depend on technologies that leverage remote patient monitoring (RPM) – using the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, so a healthcare team can track a patient’s progress without an office visit.
At the Furtwangen University (HFU) in Germany, students across multiple disciplines are working to integrate this RPM technology into mechanical devices. Their idea is to use the IoT to develop smart wheelchairs and walkers that will transmit patient information to a dashboard, allowing caregivers to monitor health parameters and develop alarms specific to each patient.