The increasing use of wireless networks and the constant miniaturization of electrical devices has empowered the development of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In these networks various sensors are attached on clothing or on the body or even implanted under the skin. The wireless nature of the network and the wide variety of sensors offer numerous new, practical and innovative applications to improve health care and the Quality of Life. The sensors of a WBAN measure for example the heartbeat, the body temperature or record a prolonged electrocardiogram. Using a WBAN, the patient experiences a greater physical mobility and is no longer compelled to stay in the hospital. This paper offers a survey of the concept of Wireless Body Area Networks. First, we focus on some applications with special interest in patient monitoring. Then the communication in a WBAN and its positioning between the different technologies is discussed. An overview of the current research on the physical layer, existing MAC and network protocols is given. Further, cross layer and quality of service is discussed. As WBANs are placed on the human body and often transport private data, security is also considered. An overview of current and past projects is given. Finally, the open research issues and challenges are pointed out.

Recent advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, integrated circuits, and wireless communication have allowed the realization of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). WBANs promise unobtrusive ambulatory health monitoring for a long period of time, and provide real-time updates of the patient's status to the physician. They are widely used for ubiquitous healthcare, entertainment, and military applications. This paper reviews the key aspects of WBANs for numerous applications. We present a WBAN infrastructure that provides solutions to on-demand, emergency, and normal traffic. We further discuss in-body antenna design and low-power MAC protocol for a WBAN. In addition, we briefly outline some of the WBAN applications with examples. Our discussion realizes a need for new power-efficient solutions towards in-body and on-body sensor networks.

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The last few decades have seen considerable research progress in microelectronics and integrated circuits, system-on-chip design, wireless communication, and sensor technology. This progress has enabled the seamless integration of autonomous wireless sensor nodes around a human body to create a Body Sensor Network (BSN). The development of a proactive and ambulatory BSN induces a number of enormous issues and challenges. This paper presents the technical hurdles during the design and implementation of a low-power Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for in-body and on-body sensor networks. We analyze the performance of IEEE 802.15.4 protocol for the on-body sensor network. We also provide a comprehensive insight into the heterogeneous characteristics of the in-body sensor network. A low-power technique called Pattern-Based Wake-up Table is proposed to handle the normal traffic in a BSN. The proposed technique provides a reliable solution towards low-power communication in the in-body sensor network.

SUMMARYRecent advances in micro-electro-mechanical systems, wireless communication, low-power intelligent sensors, and semiconductor technologies have allowed the realization of a wireless body area network (WBAN). A WBAN provides unobtrusive health monitoring for a long period of time with real-time updates to the physician. It is widely used for ubiquitous health care, entertainment, and military applications. The implantable and wearable medical devices have several critical requirements such as power consumption, data rate, size, and low-power medium access control (MAC) protocols. This article consists of two parts: body implant communication, which is concerned with the communication to and from a human body using radio frequency (RF) technology, and WBAN MAC protocols, which presents several low-power MAC protocols for a WBAN with useful guidelines including a case study of IEEE 802.15.4, PB-TDMA, and SMAC protocols. In body implant communication, the in-body RF performance is affected considerably by the implant's depth and different polarization combinations inside the human body as well as by the muscle and fat. We observe best performance at a depth of 3 to 5 cm and not close to the human skin. Furthermore, the study of low-power MAC protocols highlights the most important aspects of developing a novel low-power and reliable MAC protocol for a WBAN.