Advances in Remote Monitoring Technology Applications in Anesthesia: A Narrative Review

The swift progress of digital and sensor technologies is hastening the incorporation of remote monitoring into anesthesiology. While several reviews have explored telemedicine and artificial intelligence in anesthesia, most existing summaries either focus on conceptual outlook or lack systematic comparison of technical platforms and original clinical validation data. The present review provides a comprehensive, clinically oriented synthesis of remote monitoring in anesthesia, with clear focuses on technical principles, perioperative applications, platform comparisons, and evidence-based clinical outcomes. We critically assess clinical advantages and implementation hurdles, covering the full perioperative pathway - preoperative evaluation, intraoperative observation, and postoperative recovery. A head-to-head comparison of fifth generation of cellular network technology (5G), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing platforms is presented to clarify their infrastructure demands and suitability for real-world clinical scenarios. Notably, this review summarizes available clinical evidence, including evidence from the Trial of Remote Continuous versus Intermittent National Early Warning Score Monitoring after major surgery (TRaCINg) - a feasibility randomized controlled trial whose exploratory findings suggest that continuous remote monitoring may reduce unplanned intensive care unit admissions, shorten hospital stays, and facilitate earlier detection of postoperative complications. We further propose innovative solutions including multimodal data fusion and federated learning-driven predictive analytics to overcome current limitations in data interoperability, security, and clinical effectiveness. Accordingly, this paper synthesizes the latest advances in remote monitoring technology in anesthesia, clarifies its unique value relative to existing reviews, and provides practical guidance for clinical translation and future research.