Smart wearable systems: current status and future challenges

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Health Informatics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Smart wearable systems (SWS) are increasingly vital for health monitoring (HM) due to rising healthcare costs and technological advancements.
• These systems, integrating sensors and smart fabrics, enable continuous, low-cost, non-invasive monitoring of health, activity, and mental status.
• SWS are poised to transform healthcare by facilitating individual health management and continuous patient oversight.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current research and development in SWS for HM.
• To serve as a reference for researchers and provide insights into future research directions.
• To examine the challenges and prospects of SWS in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on multi-parameter physiological sensor systems and activity/mobility measurement.
• Inclusion of papers covering wearable systems or devices based on specific selection criteria.
• Analysis of systems integrating real-time decision support for disease prevention, detection, and diagnosis.

Main Results:

• Description of the state-of-the-art in SWS for HM.
• Survey of recent implementations of wearable healthcare systems.
• Identification of current issues, challenges, and future prospects of SWS.

Conclusions:

• Future challenges in SWS for HM were identified.
• The review provides a foundation for future research and development in wearable health monitoring.
• SWS are expected to play a crucial role in the future of personalized and preventative healthcare.