Wireless Oxygen Monitoring in Hospitals: A Scoping Review of Technologies, Clinical Implementation, and the Gap Between Innovation and Practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i4.169Keywords:
Wireless Sensor Networks, Oxygen Monitoring, Pulse Oximetry, Patient Safety, Hospital Technology, IoTAbstract
Wireless oxygen monitoring systems serve two critical functions in hospitals: environmental monitoring to prevent fires in oxygen-enriched atmospheres and patient monitoring to track blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂). This scoping review synthesizes literature from 2015 to 2026 on wireless oxygen monitoring technologies, their clinical implementation, and the gap between innovation and practice. A systematic search of five databases (IEEE Xplore, PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar) identified studies examining wireless protocols (IQRF®, ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi), sensor technologies, system architectures, control mechanisms, and implementation outcomes. Findings reveal that wireless oxygen monitoring technologies have matured significantly, with IQRF® mesh networks achieving >12-month battery life for environmental monitoring and optimized wireless body area networks attaining >99% accuracy for patient monitoring under optimal conditions. However, persistent implementation challenges constrain clinical utility: false alarm rates exceeding 30%, connectivity variability, workflow integration difficulties, and context-specific barriers in low-resource settings. The gap between technical capability and real-world performance remains substantial. This review identifies critical research priorities, including false alarm reduction through machine learning, comparative effectiveness studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, and standardized evaluation frameworks. For healthcare decision-makers, findings underscore the need for site-specific assessments, staff training, and continuous performance monitoring. Wireless oxygen monitoring holds genuine promise for improving hospital safety, but realizing this potential requires sustained attention to implementation contexts and human factors alongside technological refinement.
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