Development and Evaluation of a Secure Patient Health Monitoring Internet of Things Mobile Application

Despite advancements in medical technology, healthcare practitioners face challenges in continuous patient monitoring, leading to delayed diagnoses, chronic disease progression and increased healthcare costs. The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology in healthcare enables real-time remote monitoring of patients and connected medical devices, facilitating timely interventions. This study presents a secure IoT-based mobile application (app) for patient health monitoring and evaluates its effectiveness in improving healthcare outcomes and efficiency. The proposed system utilizes various sensors to track vital signs, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, body temperature and electrocardiograms in real-time. It features a smart notification system that displays critical data in red when thresholds are exceeded, alerting healthcare professionals to urgent issues. The system employs a microcontroller and sensors to securely collect and transmit patient data to an online server, accessible to authorized healthcare professionals via a unique login. Results show high accuracy in monitoring vital signs, with error rates consistently below 3% compared to existing IoT systems. Specifically, the highest error rates were 2.857% for heart rate, 2.174% for blood oxygen levels, and 1.701 % for body temperature, while the lowest error rates were 1.075% for 1.031 % and 0.168%, respectively. The mean squared errors (MSE) were 2.80%, 2.35%, and 0.054°C. These findings confirm the system's reliability and effectiveness in patient health monitoring. Moreover, the system empowers individuals to proactively manage their health, ultimately facilitating the transition to data-driven precision medicine.