Body Sensor Networking, Design and Algorithms

11Communication Systems for Body Area Networks

11.1 Introduction

The human body is a complex environment for the operation of wireless communications systems. The complex antenna–body electromagnetic interaction is perhaps the main reason for increasing the difficulty for researchers to accurately model the body area network (BAN) communication channel in different scenarios. This is further compounded by the impact of body movement and the propagation characteristics of the surroundings which all have significant impacts upon body-related communication channels. The successful design of complete BAN systems is therefore inextricably linked to a thorough understanding of these factors.

A sensor network for medical applications has to be wearable or implantable, reliable, secure, and interoperable (i.e. it should allow users to easily build a robust wireless BAN). Such a network may involve various technologies in sensor development to enable sophisticated physical, physiological, mental, or metabolic measurements from the human body. A simple representative example of such a sensor network is depicted in Figure 11.1.

A BAN is a self-contained wireless network in which the constituent nodes are usually worn on or in close proximity to the human body. BANs are used in an increasing number of areas such as the medical, military, sports, and recreational domains. For example, a BAN used for medical purposes may employ nodes with in-built sensors to monitor vital signs such as heart ...