The Challenges in Implementing Wearable Antennas for Large-Scale Health Monitoring

The rise of antenna technology, smartphones, and the Internet-of-things (IoT) has enabled wearable antennas for wireless communication between implantable devices such as pacemakers, infusion pumps, etc., and external devices for health monitoring. This work describes the key challenges that need to be addressed for such wireless body area network (WBAN) technologies to be integrated into large-scale health monitoring programs. These include the miniaturization of antennas, fabrication techniques to enable mass production, and methods to protect patients from data infringement and hackers. Furthermore, the role of wearable and implantable antennas is pivotal to realize devices for continuous healthcare monitoring especially during Pandemic situations such as Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19).