The line between the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of the Body (IoB) just got a little blurrier. In the IoT, everyday devices are interconnected so that they may exchange data and respond accordingly. In the IoB, networked devices include living cells, such as insulin-producing cells. Whereas IoT applications are often pedestrian, such as sensitizing an apartment’s air conditioner to the apartment dweller’s GPS information, IoB applications raise the possibility of remote-controlled therapeutics.
To demonstrate the potential of the IoB, scientists based at ETH Zurich have introduced a device that uses external electric fields to trigger on-demand insulin release inside the body.
