## 6 Research Directions  
The following research directions can assist the evolution of Healthcare 4.0 and IoMT. These research directions aim to address challenges, improve healthcare delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and maximize the benefits of IoMT and Healthcare 4.0.  
1. [label=()]
2. Emphasis on medical data analysis and management: There is great demand for developing robust data management strategies to handle the vast amount of data IoMT devices generate. This includes ensuring data security and privacy and using advanced analytics tools to derive valuable insights from the data. With the massive amount of data generated by IoMT devices, there is a need for advanced data analytics techniques and AI algorithms to extract meaningful insights. The research aims to develop predictive models, machine learning algorithms, and AI-driven decision support systems to improve patient outcomes, disease prevention, and healthcare operations.
3. Security and privacy improvement: As healthcare systems become increasingly connected, ensuring the security and privacy of medical data is crucial. Research focuses on developing robust security measures, encryption techniques, and protocols to protect patient information and prevent unauthorized access. Data security is a primary concern for medical data due to the sensitivity of medical records. Encryption, secure networks, and access controls can help protect data from unauthorized access.  
Regular security audits and firmware updates are crucial in maintaining a secure environment. Researchers are interested in deploying decentralized schemes, e.g., blockchain, to assist medical data security. Also, lightweight security algorithms are a new direction to meet the energy requirements of medical sensors. With the vast amount of personal health data being collected, there is a risk of unauthorized sharing or use of this information. Implementing strong privacy policies, acquiring informed consent, and applying data anonymization techniques can help protect patient privacy. It is important to ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations. Trust management techniques are a promising way introduced for achieving these requirements.
3. Interoperability: IoMT devices and systems often come from different manufacturers and may use proprietary protocols, leading to interoperability challenges. Research focuses on developing standardized frameworks and protocols to ensure seamless communication, data exchange, and integration of IoMT devices and systems across healthcare settings.
4. Edge computing solutions: IoMT generates a large volume of real-time data, which can be challenging to transmit and process in traditional cloud-based architectures. Researchers have been investigating the deployment of mobile edge computing and fog computing techniques to assist IoMT and Healthcare 4.0. This includes developing network structures based on edge units, proposing edge intelligence schemes to assist medical data, and developing offloading schemes that meet network requirements.
5. Quality of experience improvement: Understanding the user experience, acceptance, and adoption of IoMT devices among healthcare professionals and patients is crucial. The research investigates usability, user interface design, and human factors considerations to ensure that IoMT technologies are user-friendly, efficient, and meet the needs of healthcare stakeholders.
6. Ethical and legal considerations: There are ethical and legal implications for patient privacy, data ownership, consent, and accountability. Research explores the ethical and legal frameworks, guidelines, and policies necessary to govern the use of IoMT in healthcare settings, ensuring transparency, fairness, and adherence to ethical principles.