Wireless Sensor Network Based Localization for Enhanced Device Tracking in Healthcare Environments

The growing demand for accurate, real-time indoor positioning in healthcare environments has led to the exploration of alternative localization technologies beyond traditional GPS. Hospitals face the challenge of tracking mobile diagnostic equipment and coordinating personnel under tight operational constraints. This paper presents a practical implementation of an indoor positioning system (IPS) within an outpatient medical facility in Hungary, designed to track the movement of a shared mobile ultrasound device. Three technologies were investigated: Wi-Fi (using RSSI fingerprinting), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) with ToF-based trilateration. All solutions were implemented using ESP32 microcontrollers, supported by custom Arduino code and MATLAB for data analysis. Results show significant differences in accuracy and reliability, with UWB proving superior for precision-demanding medical use cases.