IoT-Enabled Real-Time Health Monitoring via Smart Textile Integration With LoRa Technology Across Diverse Environments

Abstract

Textiles integrated with electronics and long-range (LoRa) wireless technology are revolutionizing e-healthcare by enabling remote patient monitoring through wireless body area networks. This article presents a smart textile-based LoRa technology system for monitoring heart rate and predicting body temperature over both short and long distances. The system incorporates a LoRa module integrated with a smart textile, featuring sensors for photoplethysmography, electrocardiography, and body temperature monitoring. An embroidered monopole antenna seamlessly integrates into clothing, offering triple-band wideband operation at 433, 610, and 915 MHz with minimal susceptibility to human body effects and structural deformations. The proposed wearable antenna, assessed through specific absorption rate analysis, exhibits minimal exposure to electromagnetic radiation, ensuring user safety. The smart textile LoRa-enabled healthcare application (STLHA) monitors the received signal strength indicator, heart rate, and temperature data. Experimental results demonstrate effective outdoor communication ranges of up to 250 m at 915 MHz and 350 m at 433 MHz, with indoor ranges of up to 50 m. The STLHA offers a wireless solution for wearable devices, which enhances their functionality and usability in e-healthcare applications.