Applications of wireless sensors in medicine

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are one of the fastest developing ICT area in various fields of human activities. WSN consists of a collection of autonomous sensors or actuators capable of collecting and manipulating data, performing some simple local analysis and communicating wirelessly with a higher WSN level. We investigate in this paper various fields of medicine with potential opportunities to apply WSN in order to improve management of medical resources, to assist medical personnel or to provide improved and cost effective personal health. We will show in more details a possible application of WSN in minimally invasive surgery. In spite of all potential advantages a few barriers, e.g. new business and marketing models must be found, a standard and open-source low power wireless device is needed, social aspects including security and privacy must be further elaborated, etc. will be identified, which have to be resolved before a successful application of the WSN in medicine and personal health solutions.