A comprehensive survey of wireless body area networks on PHY, MAC, and network layers solutions

Recent advances in microelectronics and integrated circuits, system-on-chip design, wireless communication and intelligent low-power sensors have allowed the realization of a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). A WBAN is a collection of low-power, miniaturized, invasive/non-invasive lightweight wireless sensor nodes that monitor the human body functions and the surrounding environment. In addition, it supports a number of innovative and interesting applications such as ubiquitous healthcare, entertainment, interactive gaming, and military applications. In this paper, the fundamental mechanisms of WBAN including architecture and topology, wireless implant communication, low-power Medium Access Control (MAC) and routing protocols are reviewed. A comprehensive study of the proposed technologies for WBAN at Physical (PHY), MAC, and Network layers is presented and many useful solutions are discussed for each layer. Finally, numerous WBAN applications are highlighted

Multi-hop Cooperative Relaying for Energy Efficient In Vivo Communications

This paper investigates cooperative relaying to support energy efficient in vivo communications. In such a network, the in vivo source nodes transmit their sensing information to an on-body destination node either via direct communications or by employing on-body cooperative relay nodes in order to promote energy efficiency. Two relay modes are investigated, namely single-hop and multi-hop (two-hop) relaying. In this context, the paper objective is to select the optimal transmission mode (direct, single-hop, or two-hop relaying) and relay assignment (if cooperative relaying is adopted) for each source node that results in the minimum per bit average energy consumption for the in vivo network. The problem is formulated as a binary program that can be efficiently solved using commercial optimization solvers. Numerical results demonstrate the significant improvement in energy consumption and quality-of-service (QoS) support when multi-hop communication is adopted

The Wireless Body Area Sensor Networks and Routing Strategies: Nomenclature and Review of Literature

WBASN is an effective solution that has been proposed in terms of improving the solutions and there are varied benefits that have been achieved from the usage of WBASN solutions in communication, healthcare domain. From the review of stats on rising number of wireless devices and solutions that are coming up which is embraced by the people as wearable devices, implants for medical diagnostic solutions, etc. reflect upon the growing demand for effective models. However, the challenge is about effective performance of such solutions with optimal efficiency. Due to certain intrinsic factors like numerous standards that are available, and also due to the necessity for identifying the best solutions that are based on application requirements. Some of the key issues that have to be considered in the process of WBASN are about the impacts that are taking place from the wireless medium, the lifetime of batteries in the WBASN devices and the other significant condition like the coexistence of the systems among varied other wireless networks that are constituted in the proximity. In this study, scores of models that has been proposed pertaining to MAC protocols for WBASN solutions has been reviewed to understand the efficacy of the existing systems, and a scope for process improvement has been explored for conducting in detail research and developing a solution

A Study of Medium Access Control Protocols for Wireless Body Area Networks

The seamless integration of low-power, miniaturised, invasive/non-invasive lightweight sensor nodes have contributed to the development of a proactive and unobtrusive Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). A WBAN provides long-term health monitoring of a patient without any constraint on his/her normal dailylife activities. This monitoring requires low-power operation of invasive/non-invasive sensor nodes. In other words, a power-efficient Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol is required to satisfy the stringent WBAN requirements including low-power consumption. In this paper, we first outline the WBAN requirements that are important for the design of a low-power MAC protocol. Then we study low-power MAC protocols proposed/investigated for WBAN with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses. We also review different power-efficient mechanisms for WBAN. In addition, useful suggestions are given to help the MAC designers to develop a low-power MAC protocol that will satisfy the stringent WBAN requirements.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 7 table

A review of routing protocols in wireless body area networks

Recent technological advancements in wireless communication, integrated circuits and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMs) has enabled miniaturized, low-power, intelligent, invasive/ non-invasive micro and nano-technology sensor nodes placed in or on the human body for use in monitoring body function and its immediate environment referred to as Body Area Networks (BANs). BANs face many stringent requirements in terms of delay, power, temperature and network lifetime which need to be taken into serious consideration in the design of different protocols. Since routing protocols play an important role in the overall system performance in terms of delay, power consumption, temperature and so on, a thorough study on existing routing protocols in BANs is necessary. Also, the specific challenges of BANs necessitates the design of new routing protocols specifically designed for BANs. This paper provides a survey of existing routing protocols mainly proposed for BANs. These protocols are further classified into five main categories namely, temperature based, cross-layer, cluster based, cost-effective and QoS-based routing, where each protocol is described under its specified category. Also, comparison among routing protocols in each category is given. © 2013 ACADEMY PUBLISHER

QoS in Body Area Networks: A survey

Body Area Networks (BANs) are becoming increasingly popular and have shown great potential in real-time monitoring of the human body. With the promise of being cost-effective and unobtrusive and facilitating continuous monitoring, BANs have attracted a wide range of monitoring applications, including medical and healthcare, sports, and rehabilitation systems. Most of these applications are real time and life critical and require a strict guarantee of Quality of Service (QoS) in terms of timeliness, reliability, and so on. Recently, there has been a number of proposals describing diverse approaches or frameworks to achieve QoS in BANs (i.e., for different layers or tiers and different protocols). This survey put these individual efforts into perspective and presents a more holistic view of the area. In this regard, this article identifies a set of QoS requirements for BAN applications and shows how these requirements are linked in a three-tier BAN system and presents a comprehensive review of the existing proposals against those requirements. In addition, open research issues, challenges, and future research directions in achieving these QoS in BANs are highlighted.</jats:p