Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews 14 (2020) 521e524

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Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dsx

Internet of things (IoT) applications to fight against COVID-19

pandemic
Ravi Pratap Singh a, Mohd Javaid b, *, Abid Haleem b, Rajiv Suman c
a
Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
c
Department of Industrial & Production Engineering, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Background and aim: The current global challenge of COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed the provincial,
Received 23 April 2020 radical, conceptual, spiritual, social, and pedagogical boundaries. Internet of Things (IoT) enabled
Received in revised form healthcare system is useful for proper monitoring of COVID-19 patients, by employing an interconnected
27 April 2020
network. This technology helps to increase patient satisfaction and reduces readmission rate in the
Accepted 27 April 2020
hospital.
Methods: Searched the databases of Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS and ResearchGate using the
Keywords:
keywords “Internet of things” or “IoT” and “COVID-19”. Further inputs are also taken from blogs and
Coronavirus
COVID-19
relevant reports.
Internet of things Results: IoT implementation impacts on reducing healthcare cost and improve treatment outcome of the
IoT applications infected patient. Therefore, this present study based research is attempted to explore, discuss, and
Pandemic highlight the overall applications of the well-proven IoT philosophy by offering a perspective roadmap to
tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, twelve significant applications of IoT are identified and discussed.
It has ultimately forced the researchers, academicians, and scientists to propose some productive solu-
tions to overcome or confront this pandemic.
Conclusions: IoT is helpful for an infected patient of COVID-19 to identify symptoms and provides better
treatment rapidly. It is useful for patient, physician, surgeon and hospital management system.
© 2020 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction security system of the home, smart lighting arrangements, and

many more others which is easily controllable through our daily
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a well-defined scheme of inter- using smart speakers, smartphones, etc. [1,2].
connected computing tactics, digital, and mechanical devices pos- In the present pandemic situation, all the countries, including
sessing the capability of transmission of data over the defined India, are fighting with COVID-19 and still looking for a practical
network without having any human involvement at any level. All and cost-effective solution to face the problems arising in several
these discussed devices are associated with their particular unique ways. Researchers in physical sciences and engineering are
identification numbers or codes. IoT is now well established and attempting to take such challenges, to grow new theories, to
proven technology which acts as a junction to the umpteen tactics, describe new study problems, to generate user-centred explana-
instantaneous analytics, philosophy of machine learning, sensory tions, and to edify ourselves and the overall civilian. This brief re-
products, etc. Moreover, IoT in typical daily functioning is recog- view has aimed to provide awareness of this innovative technology
nised as the utility of the products or the appliances serve the real- and its significant applications for COVID-19 pandemic.
life requirements of human beings in various means such as;
2. IoT and its background for COVID-19 pandemic

In straightforward words, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R.P. Singh), [email protected] (M. Javaid),
system of interconnected devices/operations complied with all the
[email protected], [email protected] (A. Haleem), [email protected] network elements such as; hardware, software, connectivity of the
(R. Suman). network, and any other required electronic/computer means that

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2020.04.041
1871-4021/© 2020 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
522 R.P. Singh et al. / Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews 14 (2020) 521e524

ultimately makes them responsive by supporting in data alterca- situation. This technology is helpful to capture the real-time data and
tion and collection. If we talk a bit more about IoT, it is beyond to a other necessary information of the infected patient [7e9]. Fig. 2
concept that develops the overall architectural background which shows the significant processes used by IoT for COVID-19.
ultimately allows the integration and the effective exchange of the In the first step, IoT is used to capture health data from various
data between the person in need and the service providers. In the locations of the infected patient and manage all the data using the
present typical situation, most of the problems are arising because virtual management system [10,11]. This technology helps control
the non-effective reachability to the patients, which is the second the data and follow up on the report attained.
most considerable issue after the concern of vaccine development
[3,4]. The use of the IoT concept makes the reachability to the pa- 6. The overall impact of IoT in context to COVID-19 concerns
tients quite useful, which ultimately help to provide them with (i.e. contact tracing, cluster identification and compliance of
significant care so that they can get out of this disease. quarantine)

3. Need for the study As discussed, the internet of things concept utilises the inter-
connected network for the effective flow and exchange of data. It
In the problematic current pandemic situation, the number of also enables the social workers, patients, civilians, etc. to be in
infected patients is increasing day by day globally, and there is a vast connection with the service benefactors for discussing any issue
need to utilise the well adequate and organised facilities offered with and cooperation. Therefore, by employing the proposed IoT tactic in
the Internet of Things methodology. Furthermore, IoT has already COVID-19 pandemic, the effective tracing of the patients, as well as
been employed to serve the asked purposes in different domains in the suspicious cases, can be completely assured. The symptoms
which the Internet of Healthcare Things (IoHT) or Internet of Medical related to the coronavirus are now known to most of them, civil-
Things (IoMT) are associated with the present issues. By following up ians. By developing a well-informed group of a connected network,
the guidelines and the facilities of IoHT/IoMT, the number of resolved the identification of the cluster can be made out significantly. Some
cases can be enhanced and improved too. particular smartphone-based application can also be developed so
that the needy ones can get be benefitted out of it [12e15]. The
proper reporting of the symptoms and the recovery must be up-to-
4. Key merits of IoT for COVID-19 pandemic
dated to the controller, i.e. doctors, physicians, caretakers, etc. so
that the impressive move can be opted out to optimise the overall
IoT is an innovative technology which ensures that all infected
quarantine period.
persons due to this virus are quarantine. During quarantine, it is
helpful for a proper monitoring system. All high-risk patients are
7. Global technological advancements to resolve COVID-19
tracked easily using the internet-based network. This technology is
cases rapidly
used for the biometric measurements like blood pressure, heart-
beat and glucose level [5,6]. Fig. 1 shows the critical merits of IoT for
Thus, to overcome and make the civilians more aware about the
COVID-19 Pandemic.
COVID-19 pandemic, the government of India has launched a
With the successful implementation of this technology, we can
smartphone application named as e ArogyaSetu, which is aimed to
see an improvement in the efficiency of medical staff with a
develop a connection between the important possible healthcare
reduction in their workload. The same can be applicable in the case
services and the people of India. Similarly, in China, the mobile
of COVID-19 pandemic with lesser expenses and mistakes.
application called as e Close Contact (English translation) is
launched for its civilians. This application tells the app holder about
5. Processes involved in IoT for COVID-19
the closeness to the corona-positive person. So that the extra care
can be taken while moving outside. USA government is soon going
IoT is an innovative technological platform to fight with COVID-19
to launch a similar kind of mobile application for its civilians at the
pandemic and can fulfil significant challenges during the lockdown
end of April 2020.
After China, Taiwan was the most predictable to have more
number of cases of COVID-19. However, Taiwan quickly militarised
and instituted specific methodologies for any possible coronavirus
case identification, suppression, and resource provision to guard
the health of the community. Taiwan provided and integrated its
national health insurance database with its immigration depart-
ment and took catalogue to instigate the creation of big data for
analytics; it generated real-time warnings during a clinical visit
based on travel antiquity and medical symptoms to aid case iden-
tification. They have also made use of this latest technology, which
includes scanning of QR code, connected reporting of transport
history, etc. for the possible identification of the infected ones [16].

8. Significant applications of IoT for COVID-19 pandemic

IoT uses a large number of interconnected devices to create a

smart network for the proper health management system. It alerts
and tracks any types of diseases to improve the safety of the patient.
It digitally captures the data and information of the patient without
any human interaction. This data is also helpful for appropriate
decision-making process [17e21]. Table 1 discusses the major ap-
Fig. 1. Major key-merits of using IoT for fighting COVID-19 pandemic. plications of IoT for COVID-19 pandemic.
 R.P. Singh et al. / Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews 14 (2020) 521e524 523

Fig. 2. Step-up Process chart for executing IoT for fighting COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 1
Major applications of IoT for COVID-19 pandemic.

SNo Applications Description

1 Internet-connected hospital The implementation of IoT to support pandemic like COVID-19 needs a complete integrated network within hospital
premises
2 Inform the concerned medical staff This integrated network will allow the patients and the staffs to respond more quickly and effectively whenever needed
during any emergency
3 Transparent COVID-19 treatment The patients can avail the benefits offered without any partiality and favours
4 Automated treatment process The selection of treatment methods become productive and helps the appropriate handling of the cases
5 Telehealth consultation This especially makes the treatment available for the needy ones in the remote locations via employing the well-connected
teleservices
6 Wireless healthcare network to identify Various authentic applications can be installed into smartphones, which can make the identification procedure smoother
COVID-19 patient and more fruitful
7 Smart tracing of infected patients The impactful tracing of patients ultimately strengthened the service providers to handle the cases more smartly
8 Real-time information during the spread As the devices, locations, channels, etc. are well informed and connected, the on-time information sharing can be done,
of this infection and cases can be handled accurately
9 Rapid COVID-19 screening As the case arrived/found at first instance, the proper diagnosis will be attempted through smart connected treatment
devices. This ultimately makes the overall screening process more superior
10 Identify innovative solution The overall quality of supervision is the utmost goal. It can be achieved by making innovations successful to the ground
level.
11 Connect all medical tools and devices During COVID-19 treatment, IoT connected all medical tools and devices through internet which convey the real-time
through the internet information during treatment
12 Accurate forecasting of virus Based on the data report available, the use of some statistical method can also help to predict the situation in the coming
times. It will also help to plan the government, doctors, academicians, etc. to plan for a better working environment.

IoT is used for various applications to fulfil the important

requirement of alleviating effects of COVID-19 pandemic. It has the
capability to predict the upcoming situation with the help of
appropriate captured data. Its applications are applied for proper
management of this pandemic. The patient can use IoT services for
proper monitoring of heart rate, blood pressure, glucometer and
other activities for personalised attention. It helps to track the
health conditions of older people. The significant applications of
this technology in healthcare are to track the real-time location of
medical equipment and devices for smooth treatment process
without any delay. Healthcare insurance companies can use this
technology to detect fraud claim and provide transparency in the
overall system. This improves treatment workflow of the patient
with efficient performance and also helpful for decision-making
process during complex cases. Fig. 3. Summarised view of issues and challenges in implementing IoT for COVID-19.

9. Various issues and future scope of the study Moreover, future work should be targeted over data storage and
management. The process of making cost-effective adoption ap-
The primary point of concern while employing the Internet of plications will also to be considered in further studies.
Things in the present pandemic situation COVID-19 is about the
security and privacy of the data received, which is unique and
imperative from patient health point-of-view. The second thing is 10. Conclusion
about the care to taken while integrating the data network among
the devices involved and protocols. Fig. 3 depicts the summarised IoT provides an extensive integrated network for healthcare to
view of issues and challenges in implementing IoT for COVID-19 fight with COVID-19 pandemic. All medical devices are connected
pandemic. to the internet, and during any critical situation, it automatically
524 R.P. Singh et al. / Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews 14 (2020) 521e524

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