An application domain that makes use of wireless sensor network technology can be found in the area of medical monitoring. This field ranges from monitoring patients in the hospital using wireless sensors in order to remove the constraints of tethering patients to big bulky, wired monitoring devices to monitoring people in their everyday lives to provide early detection and intervention for various types of disease. This paper discusses scenarios where these sensors which vary fromminiature, body-worn sensors to external sensors such as video camera or positioning devices are applicable and presents a report of ongoing research on telemedicine at FUTA Akure.

Advances in wireless sensor networking have opened up new opportunities in healthcare systems. Recent technological advances in sensors, low-power integrated circuits, and wireless communications have enabled the design of low-cost, miniature, lightweight, and intelligent physiological sensor nodes. These nodes, capable of sensing, processing, and communicating one or more vital signs, can be seamlessly integrated into Wireless Personal or Body Area Networks (WPANs or WBANs) for implementing high quality health care.

Wireless Sensor Networks have gained a lot of attention lately. Due to technological advances, building small-sized, energy-efficient reliable devices, capable of communicating with each other and organizing themselves in ad hoc networks have become possible.

These devices have brought a new perspective to the world of computers: they can be embedded into the environment in such a way that the user is unaware or aware of them. There is no need for reconfiguration and maintenance as the network organizes itself to inform the users of the most relevant events detected or to assist them in their activity. Several main areas of applications have been identified and new areas of applications are still to be discovered as the research and products grow more mature. Wireless sensor networks bring several challenges and often contradictory demands from the design point of view.

Current health care systems structured and optimized for reacting to crises and managing illness are facing new challenges: a rapidly growing population of elderly and rising health care spending.

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