A study of MAC protocols for WBANs.
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 the 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 a WBAN with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses. We also review different power-efficient mechanisms for a WBAN. In addition, useful suggestions are given to help the MAC designers to develop a low-power MAC protocol that will satisfy the stringent requirements.
UWB-ITRC Center, Inha University, 253 Yonghyun-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon, 402-751, Korea. sanajcs@hotmail.com
Sana
S
Ullah
Bin
B
Shen
S M Riazul
SM
Islam
Pervez
P
Khan
Shahnaz
S
Saleem
Kyung Sup
KS
Kwak
D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013686:Telemetry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014159:Transducers