A bibliometrics analysis of medical Internet of Things for modern healthcare

Abstract

The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare has been a popular topic in recent years. This article provides a comprehensive review of the medical IoT for healthcare, empha sizing the state of the art, the enabling technologies to adopt virtuality and reality interaction, and human-centered communication for healthcare (the Metaverse, Extended Reality (XR), blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics). In particular, we assess the number of scientific articles and patents within the period 2015–2022. We then use the two-stage process following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and screening techniques. From that, the relations among the published papers can be visualized. This study examines the insights by evaluating the weights and connections of the nodes in the bibliometric networks. The reviewed papers showcase the rapid growth of IoT-related studies and intellectual property devel opments, reflecting the burgeoning interest and investment in this domain. As this paper delves into the network of interconnections between these works, it fosters a deeper understanding of the current state of IoT applications in healthcare and uncovers potential research gaps and areas for future exploration. This paper also provides a brief view of the role of IoT in healthcare research and application in combination with emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, the IoT-enabled Metaverse, robotics, and cloud computing. The article can serve as a guideline and inspiration for both researchers and practitioners in the smart health service sector.