How the eSIM could Unlock the Medical IoT

The use cases of the medical IoT are vast and sprawling: smart pills, smart home care, personal healthcare management, electronic health records, managing sensitive data, and an overall higher degree of patient care. 

The first IoT-enabled plasters are now in use. These tiny devices can feed data straight back to a medical professional, updating records remotely. 

All this, combined with higher smartphone penetration, improved Wi-Fi capabilities, a greater number of built-in sensors and an increased number of wireless devices are contributing to the idea that the medical IoT is already an unqualified success story. 

Stunted by silos 

Data collection and analysis is the most in-demand and potentially profitable of the medical service sectors, but many analysts point out that a lack of interoperability between IoT devices is a huge bottleneck. Many of the current devices in the marketplace have proprietary data storage and information exchange, which makes it very challenging for different devices from different vendors to exchange and interact with each other. 

Integrating the different IoT devices so they have the interoperability to exchange data is difficult, particularly in the absence of any common framework or standard, and it's holding back the medical IoT from reaching its potential. 

Towards interoperability 

When scientists linked two networks to build a 'network of networks', the internet was born. IoT needs a similar solution, a 'platform of platforms' that allows seamless connectivity between every IoT device and every provider, always moving towards full interoperability. 

The introduction of the eSIM may be an important step towards full interoperability for the medical IoT. Firstly, liberating the network from unsecured Wi-Fi connections with the eSIM would add a bulletproof level of security that’s crucial when handling sensitive medical data. 

More significantly, the fundamental characteristic of embedded SIM technology is the requirement for remote provisioning and the ability to update the SIM over-the-air (OTA) and store one or more operator profiles. 

Unlike traditional SIMs, the eSIM is embedded onto the device motherboard itself. In lieu of being able to swap operator profiles physically, remote provisioning is mandatory. 

Compatibility & interoperability

So far, there is no certification for the interoperability of SIM provision servers. This means that the compatibility of the network with individual products is completely reliant on the close relationships of OEMs and MNOs and, more realistically, the SIM manufacturers themselves collectively. 

If the industry succeeds in its mission to unite behind a single global connectivity solution for the consumer market, consistent with the M2M solution and interoperable between suppliers, the eSIM could prompt significant growth in the medical IoT sector. With the eSIM already in many consumer products, there would need to be common platform built between multiple device networks. 

Towards a solution

While this would begin as a shared connectivity protocol, it illustrates the broader idea that full interoperability is inevitable. Many technology companies, including 1GLOBAL, are working toward a solution in which the IoT, through a set of common APIs, becomes an open platform with streamlined agreements and an open architecture that standardizes devices and manufacturers. 

In this new world, medical organizations would be able to track, operate and control every device with ease. They could monitor, troubleshoot and update every device OTA and integrate those devices using a growing library of APIs, unlocking insights into patients' needs and behavior. 

The IoT will have a much bigger role to play in medical services, and simply needs to break through these final barriers to grow and thrive. 

Find out more about how 1GLOBAL is building a better future with the eSIM, here.