The study reveals that there are numerous publications on telemedicine and home-monitoring systems using wireless networks. However, literature on effectiveness in terms of connectivity and transmission problems and electromagnetic interferences is limited. From the collected studies, it can be concluded that there are transmission failures, low-coverage areas, errors in the transmission of packets, and so on. Moreover, cases of serious interferences in medical instruments have also been reported. These facts highlight the lack of studies and specific recommendations to be followed in the implementation of biomonitoring systems in domestic environments using wireless networks.
A systematic literature review was carried out to study patient security and possible harmful effects, immunity and interferences on medical devices, and effectiveness and transmission problems in healthcare and hospital environments due to electromagnetic interferences. The objective was to determine already-reported cases of patient security, immunity of medical devices, and transmission/reception failure in order to evaluate safety and security of patients. Literature published in the last 10 years has been reviewed by searching in bibliographic databases, journals, and proceedings of conferences. Search strategies developed in electronic databases identified a total of 820 references, with 50 finally being included. The study reveals the existence of numerous publications on interferences in medical devices due to radiofrequency fields. However, literature on effectiveness, transmission problems and measurements of electromagnetic fields is limited. From the studies collected, it can be concluded that several cases of serious interferences in medical instruments have been reported. Measures of electromagnetic fields in healthcare environments have been also reported, concluding that special protective measures should be taken against electromagnetic interferences by incoming radio waves.
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