Integrated Active-Passive Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces for Real-Time Mobile Healthcare Monitoring in Future Wireless Networks

In this work, a joint Active and Passive Intelligent Reflecting Surface (APIRS)-assisted Mobile Healthcare Monitoring (MHM) system is considered. The deployment of APIRS in 5G and beyond 5G (5G/B5G) networks offers a novel approach to mitigate path loss and enhancing MHM in both urban and rural areas. By strategically deploying APIRS, electromagnetic waves can be manipulated to enhance signal coverage and quality. This research investigates the impact of APIRS on path-loss (PL) reduction and Bit Error Rate (BER) improvement for mobile healthcare applications. Simulation results demonstrate that APIRS-assisted networks significantly outperform both PIRS and non-IRS scenarios, reducing PL and BER while ensuring robust, energy-efficient, and low-latency connectivity for emergency and remote patient monitoring. This research explores both AIRS and PIRS concepts, emphasizing the superiority of APIRS over single PIRS system in optimizing the MHM performance. These findings highlight the potential of APIRS in transforming mobile healthcare by providing enhanced signal coverage and reduced latency for real-time health monitoring across diverse MHM environments.