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Top1. Introduction
Technological advancements such as Internet of things, wireless technology, block chain technology and Artificial Intelligence have led to the emergence of a hyper-connected world (Ziouvelou and McGroarty, 2019) which have attracted practitioners and researchers to develop ways for the practical implementation of these technologies to address various challenges encountered by industries from various sectors. This has led to emergence of the concept Industry 4.0 and has been publicized by the industrialist as the next wave of revolution in the industrial sector which features advancement in technology towards the achievement of faster and efficient processes, supply efficiency and optimisation (Caruso, 2018). This is captured even in the manner by which information, communication, data analysis and other service-related businesses conduct their businesses today. Fortunately, industry 4.0 which combines the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Big data analytics, Blockchain technology, cloud computing and even 3D printing technology under one umbrella which proves to be highly applicable in the health sector towards the management, preventions and even treatment and research (Dang et al., 2019). Health 4.0 has emerged from Industry 4.0 due to its intensive scientific achievement as well as its heavy reliance on data and digital technologies encompassing mobile healthcare, smart care, remote health, electronic/online health systems, telemedicine etc. this introduces a new healthcare model which is potentially disruptive to the existing systems as well as value network. The data required for the functionality of this digital technologies are derived from several devices such as smart phones, embedded sensors, wearable sensors, social networks etc. (Dhanvijay & Patil, 2019), this data is then analysed using advanced AI algorithms (machine learning, pattern recognition, computer vision etc), which is then used in controlling equipment’s and devices or decision making. This therefore propels the health system towards more diverse application such as remote monitoring, captology, prediction and detection, targeted condition assistance i.e. mental health, depression assistance etc.
Health 4.0 boost a lot more functionality with the adoption of this digital technologies. Some of the preliminary benefits are; profit maximisation, accuracy of services, faster processing and cost reduction, automated inventory management, cloud computing and data storage, 3D representation of medical models, medical supplies management, automated surgeries, inter facility connections for research and development, remote diagnosis, automated data analysis, AI aided vaccine development etc. (Thuemmler & Bai, 2017; Aceto et al., 2020). Recent occurrence in the medical sector brought to light by Coronavirus pandemic shows the need for mobile facilities as well as diagnosis devices which can be mass produced in the shortest time for a very large population (Li et al., 2020; Cui et al., 2020; Dash et al., 2021). While some solutions to this involved mobile applications in symptom analysis, other smaller testing devices have also been developed. Similarly, digital technologies can now be used in real-time data collection and condition monitoring. This involves the development of a distributed patient centred system such that all the medical requirement of a patient is assessable. Analysis of patient data obtained from embedded sensors and equipment can assist in precision medical care (Dhanvijay & Patil, 2019; Singh et al., 2020; Rghioui et al., 2014; Khan, 2017; Kumar & Rajasekaran, 2016). This shows that smart manufacturing systems are important as they play a major role in the medical industry. The complete implementation will feature in an interconnected medical service based on real-time communication.