Introduction to the Special Section: Convergence of Automation Technology, Biomedical Engineering, and Health Informatics Toward the Healthcare 4.0

Industry 4.0 is spilling out from manufacturing to healthcare. In this article, we provide a brief history and key enabling technologies of Industry 4.0, and its revolution in healthcare-Healthcare 4.0-and its reshaping of the landscape of the entire healthcare value chain. We discuss the shift in the system design paradigm from open, small, and single loop to closed, large, and multiple loops. We provide the example of a Caregiving Home, and...