Editorial: Autonomous Health Monitoring and Assistance Systems With IoT

George Azzopardi, Dimka Karastoyanova, Marco Aiello, Christos N. Schizas

Abstract: Research Topic: Autonomous Health Monitoring and Assistance Systems with IoTIntroductionThe sustainability of the current healthcare system is being challenged by the growing percentage of the ageing population. In addition to the financial sustainability entailed by such a trend, other challenges include the long delays in servicing patients, the consequent late detection of serious health issues, and the necessity of hospitalization. Despite certain risks, the majority of elderly people prefer to age in their own homes. As a matter of fact, studies show that elderly people who choose to keep living independently have longer life expectancies than those who join elderly homes. All these put together emphasize the need to develop technological solutions that autonomously monitor and enhance the well-being of the elderly in their homes. The uptake of the Internet of Things (IoT) opens new opportunities for how technology can assist people in improving their health and well-being along with improving the cost-effectiveness and quality of health and social services. These technological advancements result in various low-cost sensory equipment that benefit the healthcare of the ageing population. Such technological innovation contributes to the development of applications, such as the administration of medication, voice command technologies, telemedicine, and others based on artificial intelligence. In particular, machine learning and predictive analysis combined with IoT will...