GREEN COMPUTING IN MEDICAL APPLICATIONS: SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE HEALTHCARE IT

Healthcare is undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation. From electronic health records and cloud-based clinical systems to artificial intelligence, medical IoT, and
telemedicine, information technology has become the backbone of modern healthcare delivery. While these advances have significantly improved diagnostic accuracy, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes, they have also introduced a growing and often overlooked challenge: the environmental footprint of healthcare IT. Rising energy consumption, increasing electronic waste, carbon emissions from data centers, and the rapid obsolescence of medical technologies demand a new, responsible approach to digital healthcare.
Green Computing in Medical Applications: Sustainable and Responsible Healthcare IT is written in response to this critical global need. The book aims to bridge the gap between technological
innovation and environmental stewardship by presenting green computing not as a constraint, but as an enabler of resilient, cost-effective, and future-ready healthcare systems. Sustainability is no longer optional for healthcare institutions—it is essential for long-term operational viability, regulatory compliance, public trust, and global climate responsibility.
This book provides a comprehensive and structured exploration of green computing principles as applied specifically to healthcare environments. Beginning with foundational concepts and the evolution of healthcare IT, it examines the environmental impact of traditional medical computing and clearly establishes the urgency for sustainable alternatives. Readers are guided through energy-efficient data infrastructures, green cloud computing, virtualization, and low-power hardware solutions tailored to hospital and clinical settings. Special attention is given to eco-friendly medical devices, embedded systems, and IoT-enabled healthcare, highlighting lifecycle assessment, hazardous material reduction, and sustainable biomedical engineering practices. The book further addresses one of the most pressing challenges of the digital era—medical e-waste—by discussing responsible procurement, recycling strategies, regulatory frameworks, and circular economy models for IT asset management. Looking ahead, the book explores future directions in sustainable healthcare IT, including green algorithms, low-energy AI model training, climate-adaptive digital infrastructures, blockchain sustainability considerations, and carbon-neutral healthcare roadmaps. Through real-world global and Indian case studies, it demonstrates how theory translates into practice, offering actionable insights for implementation across diverse healthcare contexts.
This book is intended for a wide audience, including students, researchers, healthcare IT professionals, biomedical engineers, hospital administrators, policymakers, and sustainability practitioners. By integrating technical depth with environmental, ethical, and regulatory perspectives, it seeks to empower readers to design, deploy, and manage healthcare IT systems that are not only intelligent and secure, but also sustainable and socially responsible. Ultimately, Green Computing in Medical Applications is a call to action. It advocates for a healthcare future where digital innovation aligns with environmental responsibility—ensuring that the technologies designed to protect human health also protect the planet that sustains it..

– Authors