Table 1.
Low-power wireless technologies for smart healthcare.
| Technology | RFID | Bluetooth/BLE | ZigBee | TSCH | Wi-Fi HaLow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | ISO/IEC 15, 693 |
IEEE 802.15.1 | IEEE 802.15.4 | IEEE 802.15.4e | IEEE 802.11ah |
| Frequency band | 860–960 MHz, 2.4 GHz |
2.4/5 GHz | 868/915 MHz, 2.4 GHz |
2.4 GHz | Sub-1 GHz |
| Data Rate | 106–640 kbps | 1–24 Mbps/BLE: 2 Mbps |
20–250 kbps | Up to 250 kbps |
150 kbps to 78 Mbps |
| Energy efficiency | High | Medium; BLE: Very high |
High | Very high | High |
| Transmission range | Up to 50 m | 10–100 m/Bluetooth 5.0: up to 250 m |
10–150 m | 10–150 m | Up to 1 km |
| Reliability | Medium | Medium/High | Medium | Very high | High |
| Mesh networking | Yes | No/Bluetooth Mesh: yes |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Typical applications | Patient and medical equipment localization | Wearable healthcare monitoring, data acquisition | Home health monitoring, data aggregation | Healthcare in residential environment, data aggregation | Remote patient monitoring, backhaul aggregation, video streaming |