This article is general information about technology. It is not medical advice. Decisions about any medical device should be made with a qualified professional.
What the term means
The Internet of Bodies, or IoB, describes internet-connected devices that are worn on, attached to, swallowed or implanted in the human body. It extends the idea of everyday connected objects, such as those of the internet of things, from homes and factories to people themselves.
The term is used loosely, and there is no single official definition. It is useful mainly as a way to group devices that share a distinct feature: they collect data about a body, or act on a body, and they communicate over a network.
Three broad categories
Researchers and policy writers often describe the field in three levels, from least to most intimate.
Body-external devices. These are worn or carried, such as smartwatches, fitness bands, connected rings, smart clothing and continuous glucose monitors that attach to the skin. They are the most common and the easiest to remove.
Body-internal devices. These are placed inside the body, usually by a medical procedure. Examples include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, insulin pumps with internal components, cochlear implants and neurostimulators. Many are designed to be monitored by a clinic remotely. Some can have their settings adjusted from outside the body.
Body-embedded or merged devices. This is the most speculative category, where technology is more fully integrated with the body, including brain-computer interfaces and experimental implants. Some exist in clinical trials, but they are not everyday products. The issues overlap with those of the human-computer interface.
Ingestible sensors, such as a camera in a capsule that is swallowed to examine the digestive tract, sit somewhere between these categories.
How the technology works
Most IoB devices follow a similar pattern:
- Sensing. A sensor measures something such as heart rhythm, glucose, movement or temperature, or a device delivers something such as a pulse or a dose.
- Processing. A small processor on the device filters the signal and may make decisions, such as when to deliver a treatment.
- Communication. The device sends data using short-range radio such as Bluetooth to a phone or bedside unit, which in turn forwards it over the internet. Pairing works much as it does for other Bluetooth pairing of earbuds or speakers.
- Analysis. A cloud service or an app stores and analyses the data, possibly using machine learning, and shares results with the user or a clinician.
- Power. Batteries, sometimes rechargeable by induction like a wireless charging pad, determine how long a device lasts. Implants with non-rechargeable batteries may need replacement surgery.
Design constraints are tight: devices must be small, safe for the body, low in power use and highly reliable.
Possible benefits
- Continuous monitoring can reveal patterns that occasional clinic visits miss.
- Remote care may reduce the need for travel, especially for people with long-term conditions.
- Automated treatment, such as systems that adjust insulin delivery based on glucose readings, can ease the daily burden for some people.
- Restoring function, as with hearing or movement, is a major goal of implanted technology.
- Personal insight into sleep and activity is available to anyone with a consumer wearable.
Benefits depend heavily on the device, the person and the quality of the evidence, and they are not guaranteed.
Privacy questions
Body data is unusually personal. It can indicate health conditions, pregnancy, stress, habits and routines. Combined with location tracking, it can also show where someone goes.
Questions to consider include:
- Who owns and controls the data? The user, the manufacturer, the clinic, or several of them?
- Who else might see it? Possible parties include advertisers, data brokers, insurers, employers or researchers. Some of it may be de-identified, but combining datasets can sometimes make people identifiable again.
- How long is it kept? What happens if a company is sold or closes?
- Is consent meaningful? A person who needs a medical device may have little choice but to accept the terms.
Legal protections vary a great deal. Some health data held by clinical providers is subject to special rules, while data collected by consumer apps may not be. The overview of data protection laws is a useful background.
Security questions
A connected device that can be updated or controlled remotely can in principle be attacked. Security researchers have shown weaknesses in some medical devices in the past, and regulators in several countries now expect manufacturers to consider cybersecurity as part of safety.
Typical concerns include weak or default passwords, unencrypted communication, outdated software and limited ability to patch devices already in someone’s body. An implanted device cannot be swapped out as easily as a phone, so long-term support matters more, which is why software updates matter so much.
In practice, attacks on individual patients appear rare compared with the more common risks of data breach at companies or poorly protected accounts. Even so, the potential harm is higher when a device affects physical health, which is why security by design is stressed.
Ethical and social questions
- Consent and autonomy, especially when devices are required by an employer or insurer, or used in schools.
- Equity, since access to beneficial devices may depend on income or location.
- Dependence, when a person relies on a device from a company that may stop supporting it.
- Surveillance, when body data is used to monitor people in the workplace or in other settings where they cannot easily refuse.
Sensible habits
Without turning into advice for any individual, some general habits are sensible: keep device software and the companion app updated; use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication where offered; review what data is shared; ask the manufacturer or clinician how long support will continue; and report problems promptly.
The Internet of Bodies is not one technology but a spectrum. Its promise is real in medicine, and so are the questions about who controls the data and the devices once they become part of a person’s body.