# A Long-Distance Communication Architecture for Medical Devices Based on LoRaWAN Protocol
###### Abstract  
Recent market studies show that the market for remote monitoring devices of different medical parameters will grow exponentially. Globally, more than 4 million individuals will be monitored remotely from the perspective of different health parameters by 2023. Of particular importance is the way of remote transmission of the information acquired from the medical sensors. At this time, there are several methods such as Bluetooth, WI-FI, or other wireless communication interfaces. Recently, the communication based on LoRa (Long Range) technology has had an explosive development that allows the transmission of information over long distances with low energy consumption. The implementation of the IoT (Internet of Things) applications using LoRa devices based on open Long Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol for long distances with low energy consumption can also be used in the medical field. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed and developed a long-distance communication architecture for medical devices based on the LoRaWAN protocol that allows data communications over a distance of more than 10 km. LoRa; internet of things; e-Health; ECG; LoRaWAN protocol +
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Footnote †: journal: **Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. integration of IoT in different fields, starting from applications in the field of automotive, smart cities, logistics, etc., and finally reaching the medical field. The \"things\" in the Internet of Things include physical devices with microcontrollers, digital communication transceivers, and stack protocols to make communication with each other and users possible. The Internet of Things (IoT) has found its applicability in various areas, such as smart cities, smart homes, smart agriculture, interconnected buildings and campuses, healthcare, logistics, etc. The Internet of Things aims to integrate the physical world with the virtual world using the Internet as a medium to communicate and exchange information. The IoT is defined as a system of interdependent computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals, or humans that have a unique identifier and the ability to transfer data over a network without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The evolution of the IoT starts from \"Internet of People\" to \"Internet of Things\" and through \"Internet of Everything\". In 2025, it is estimated that the number of IoT devices will be around 41.6 billion and will generate 79.4 zettabytes with an annual growth rate of 28.7% from 2018 to 2025 [10]. There are many types of Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs), where the range and computational power are the key parameters such as  
* High-range high-power include 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G;
* Low-range high-power include Ultra-wideband and WI-FI;
* Low-range and low-power applications include Bluetooth, ZigBee, Near-Field Communication (NFC), and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE);
* High-range low-power devices include LoRa (Long Range), SigFox, LTE-M, and NB-IoT. A key area of interest in this paper is the implementation of the IoT applications in the medical field based on Long Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocol for long distances with low energy consumption using LoRa technology. This technology offers an efficient, flexible, and economical solution to real-world problems in urban, rural, and indoor use cases, where cellular and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based networks are ineffective. If we refer to the world problem that exists regarding this Covid pandemic, we can say that the data transmission over long distances based on LoRaWAN technology can be a solution of the future and very viable and helpful not only in the healthcare field but also in fields such as automotive, industrial, smart buildings, and in many others.