Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
MAC Protocols for UWB-Based WBAN
Applications
Abstract Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a networking concept that has
evolved with the idea of monitoring vital physiological signals from low-power
and miniaturized in-body or on-body sensors. In a WBAN, data collected from the
sensor nodes are transferred to a remote node via a wireless medium, where the
data is forwarded to a higher layer application to be interpreted. A WBAN system
might require both real time and periodic data transfer. Since WBAN sensor nodes
are battery powered, they should be low-power devices. The sensor tier commu-
nication of a WBAN involves the co-existence of WBAN hardware and Medium
Access Control (MAC) protocol that enable the efficient communication of sensor
data. The main focus of this chapter is to investigate key aspects of MAC protocols
used in WBAN systems focusing on UWB as the wireless technology. This chapter
also discusses the wireless technologies used for WBAN applications, paying
attention to their ability to cater to the need of high data rate while operating at a
low power. Key advantages of Ultra-wide band (UWB) over the other wireless
technologies for WBAN applications are highlighted herein.
Keywords UWB
MAC
Algorithm
Packet formats
IEEE 802. 15. 6
IEEE
802. 15. 4a
Transmit-only UWB
Dual-band
2.1 Introduction
The basic requirement of wireless healthcare monitoring systems is to send
physiological signals acquired from implantable or on-body sensor nodes to a
remote location. Low-power consumption is required for wireless healthcare
monitoring systems since most medical sensor nodes are battery powered. The
emergence of new technologies in measuring physiological signals has increased
the demand for high data rate transmission systems. UWB is a suitable wireless
technology to achieve high data rates while keeping power consumption and form
factors
small.
The
main
drawback
of
the
UWB
technology
is
its
receiver
