Beyond Pandemics : Our New Reality and Telemedicine

Smallpox was endemic to Europe, Asia and Arabia for centuries, a persistent menace that killed three out of ten people it infected and left the rest with pockmarked scars. But the death rate in the Old World paled in comparison to the devastation wrought on native populations in the New World when the smallpox virus arrived in the 15th century with the first European explorers, cut the indigenous down by the tens of millions. In 1980 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that smallpox had been completely eradicated from the face of the Earth.

Measles has killed around 200 million people around the world, and it is one of the most virulent, with the capability that a single person can infect, on average, 12 to 18 people in an unvaccinated population.[i] Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963 and the use and of the drug was popularized, epidemics of measles happened every 2 to 3 years and killed around two million people. While measles may be the most virulent, vaccination efforts and herd immunity can curb its spread.

The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic that spread around the world between 1918 and 1919, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was caused by an H1N1 virus, with an avian (bird) origin, though it’s unclear exactly where the virus originated. According to the World Health Organization this virus killed by itself between 3 – 6% of the world population. The CDC estimates that about 500 million people (or one-third of the world’s population) became infected with the virus.

The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic that spread around the world between 1918 and 1919, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was caused by an H1N1 virus, with an avian (bird) origin, though it’s unclear exactly where the virus originated. According to the World Health Organization this virus killed by itself between 3 – 6% of the world population. The CDC estimates that about 500 million people (or one-third of the world’s population) became infected with the virus.

The Black Death caused by the bacteria “Yersinia pestis”, a bacillus that was transmitted through parasites such as fleas and lice that lived in rats, other rodents, and humans; how traveled from Asia and hit Europe in the middle of fourteen century, claimed an astonishing 200 million lives in just four years. Some estimates suggest that it wiped out over half of Europe’s population.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) which spread four decades ago and was first discovered in the early 1980s. Moreover, according to the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, by the end of 2016, there were around 36.7 million people infected by VIH. Now, according to the most recent data from the CDC from 2006, it’s grown to pandemic proportions, with an estimated 65 million infections and 25 million deaths worldwide. New treatments, however, have allowed more people to live with HIV.

This new global virus that keeps us contained in our homes is already reorienting our relationship to government, to the outside world, to the economy, even to each other. Coronavirus will change the world permanently and no one knows exactly what will come. Will nations stay closed? Will touch become taboo? What is going to happen with the education system? And what about healthcare delivery?

Adjusting to this new lifestyle should not be too hard, considering the average American spends 87% of their time indoors, only 7 % of that time is outside and the other 6% is in the car or other forms of transportation. Seeking shelter is a basic human need, and we now live in a society that encourages us to stay inside. Major grocery stores can deliver fresh fruit and veggies right to your door. You can pretty much get anything you need to be shipped on Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube have got you covered for entertainment, and social media has replaced a lot of our face to face human interactions.

But crisis moments also present an opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, which, to date has had a positive impact in all areas and the health sector is no exception.

The practice of using IoMT devices to remotely monitor patients at home is also known as telemedicine. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is the collection of medical devices and applications that connect to healthcare IT systems through online computer networks. Devices equipped with WiFi in sending data wirelessly to other machines or stores; machine-to-machine communication is the basis of the so-called internet of things.

For years, telemedicine has lingered on the sidelines as a cost-controlling, high convenience system. Out of necessity, remote office visits could skyrocket in popularity as traditional-care settings are overwhelmed by the pandemic. There would also be containment-related benefits to this shift; staying home for a video call keeps you out of the transit system, out of the waiting room, and most importantly, away from patients who need critical care.

• Data management in the cloud
• Development of applications for health
• Medical devices integrated into databases
• Health centers can improve the effectiveness of their services; patients benefit from real-time care that improves their life expectancies.
• For example, in the case of heart and cerebrovascular diseases, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) develops devices that allow the blood pressure monitoring service, which is one of the triggers of these pathologies.

• Portable external devices: for example, devices that control blood pressure, glucose, temperature, etc.
• Implanted physicians: for example, pacemakers, infusion pumps, drug delivery devices, glucose monitors, etc.
• Stationary medical devices: X-ray machines and MRI machines, patient monitoring.

• The possibility to receive medical attention without having to leave our homes.
• The costs of health care would decrease.
• Reduces diagnostic errors due to improved data.
• Enhance the patient experience.
• Helps patients follow their treatments.

In todays integrated world, we are continually facing potential threats from viruses and worldwide pandemics. And we have to accept, that at some level, limited interaction scenario could be our new reality.

Alpha-Numero has the capabilities and expertise to support your company in all of this changes with the creation of the firmware for any IoT device. This combine with the experience of engineers with over 20 years working in safety critical applications along different verticals, makes the best partner with the best practices for suit our solutions to the requirements of each specific domain, whether it is the healthcare or the manufacturing industry, or any other field.

In short, we have been listening for a long time how new technologies can help us in our day to day life, in addition to facing threats like the ones we are experiencing. But the truth is that these applications are already real and are already being applied in many sectors. Are you ready to face this change?

• 14 maneres de destruir la humanitat (Màrius Belles y Daniel Arbós)
• https://www.history.com/news/pandemics-end-plague-cholera-black-death-smallpox
•  Ezekiel J. Emanuel is chair of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

As the Sales Manager for USA at Alpha Numero, Vania Vargas is driving business growth and digital transformation for several Fortune 500 companies. Vania has worked in diverse range of industries and geographies. Her expertise involves medical devices and telecommunications technology in different verticals that include internet of things, software and hardware development, FDA and ISO compliance. She is committed with the customer necessities and primarily the satisfaction and benefit of the end users.