Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks in the Healthcare Sector

WSNs are technology with a high potential that has different application cases in healthcare. They are the communication channels that allow sensor nodes to exchange data wirelessly in real-time while at the same time, as a network, offering a lot of opportunities for remote monitoring, data collection and analysis in healthcare settings. This paper hereby presents the full examination of the utilization of WSNs in the medical field, demonstrating how the technology can quantitatively upgrade patient monitoring, disease management, and healthcare. The review is designed to detail several categories of WSNs used in healthcare facilities, such as the Body Area Networks (BANs), Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) system and the environmental monitoring network. We explain our focus areas involving WSNs namely, remote patient monitoring, fall detection, chronic disease management, medication adherence monitoring and healthcare facility management. Moreover, we provide details on the difficulties and limitations facing WSNs in healthcare such as security challenges, interoperability difficulty, and power consumption constraints. In the following part, the integration with Internet of Things platforms and the subsequent use of machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, and the development of miniature sensors and wearable technology will be discussed in more detail as the key future directions of healthcare WSNs. Finally, we underline the need for uniformity requirements as one of the leverage points to increase the interoperability and scalability of healthcare WSN implementations. The integration of current literature on the topic and technological advances shall herein offer perspectives on the WSNs applicability in remaking the healthcare delivery system and the prospects to further these patient outcomes. The evidence advises that innovation keeping the collaborative efforts should be viewed as a priority while exploiting WSNs with a motive of improving healthcare sector services delivery.