Ethical dilemmas and their solutions of Internet of Bodies technology empowering smart healthcare
10.12026/j.issn.1001-8565.2025.09.10
- VernacularTitle:身联网技术赋能智慧医疗的伦理困境及其纾解之道
- Author:
Lijia ZHAO
1
;
Yingbin WANG
1
Author Information
1. School of Marxism， Hebei Normal University， Shijiazhuang 050024， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Internet of Bodies;
smart healthcare;
medical health;
ethical dilemma
- From:
Chinese Medical Ethics
2025;38(9):1164-1170
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
The Internet of Bodies （IoB） refers to an embodied technology that treats the physical body as a network interface and embeds technological objects into the human body， aiming to collect massive body data. As an emerging technology， the widespread application of IoB in the field of smart healthcare will bring both advantages and disadvantages. It poses ethical risks in terms of physicality， psychology， and sociability， primarily manifested in the uncertainty of technology that may harm patients’ bodies， the easy restriction of patients’ autonomy by external technologies， and issues of fairness and equality caused by the technology gap. Faced with the realistic ethical dilemmas arising from IoB technology empowering smart healthcare， solutions were proposed across several levels. On the ethical mechanism level， an interdisciplinary and multi-field expert alliance should be established to promote the optimization of ethical governance mechanisms. In terms of ethical governance methods， a governance strategy prioritizing “pre-control” should be adopted to front-load ethical risks. On the practical application level， it was vital to clarify the reasonable application boundaries of technology in practice and integrate ethical morality into technology application behavior. Regarding social justice in technology resources， a dual approach of strengthening grassroots investment and educational guidance should be implemented to ensure ethical justice and accessibility in medical practice， thereby guiding the development of IoB technology to align with the fundamental principles of bioethics.
