The role of photonic sensing technologies in Healthcare 5.0: A comprehensive review of future perspectives and applications

Abstract

This article presents a review of Healthcare 5.0 and its historical perspective, considering the industrial revolutions. The main aspects and challenges of the next generation of healthcare systems are discussed. Due to the inherent advantages of optical fiber sensor (OFS) systems, such technology is comprehensively reviewed and discussed in terms of healthcare applications. Thereafter, an analytical correlation is performed between OFS technologies and the requirements of Healthcare 5.0, and discussed in detail. The key parameters in Healthcare 5.0 indicated that OFS technology aligns well with the requirements and challenges of Healthcare 5.0. Thus, photonic technologies play a key role in the future of healthcare, especially in innovative approaches for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), as such approaches are readily available for use with optical fibers that combine excellent signal transmission and distributed sensing capabilities. Thus, the contributions of this work are related to the first review of Healthcare 5.0, focused on the role of photonic technologies in such new healthcare evolution, as well as the analysis concerning the key aspects of such applications.