A review of networked in-home healthcare

Abstract

Caring for sick, disabled, and elderly people in a home environment is a growing and challenging trend in many countries worldwide. To offer both the affected people and their caregivers a better quality of life, the use of low-cost health status monitoring devices that are networked in the home and through the Internet to healthcare centers is being explored. This paper gives a snapshot review of some wireless and optical fiber-based home healthcare monitoring devices and networking methods, and discusses some issues associated with network latency when time-critical emergency responses are needed.