Comprehensive performance evaluation of on-body communications in MBANs for different node positions in static and dynamic channel conditions

• Published in: Journal of electromagnetic waves and applications Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 511 - 528
• Main Authors: El-Maradny, Nada, Shaban, Heba, El-Nasr, Mohamad Abou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 04.03.2021
• Subjects: Bit error rate (BER); data throughput; equal gain combiner (EGC); link budget; medical body area network (MBAN)
• DOI: 10.1080/09205071.2020.1847693
• ISSN: 0920-5071

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the regulation for medical body area network (MBAN) in 2012 as a BAN specialized for medical applications. MBAN is a narrowband BAN allocated on the 2360-2400 MHz frequency band. It is very promising, as it has the advantages of BAN modules like low power and high accuracy, which are essential parameters for medical applications. This paper provides a comprehensive study of the on-body MBAN operating in the 2360-2390 MHz band. In particular, it introduces link budget signaling parameters required for reliable transmission of biological signals for the MBAN channels, and investigates the bit-error-rate (BER) and maximum allowable data throughput performances assuming different node positions and body activities. Numerical results show that a single arm receiver is ideal for medical applications that do not require movement. Moreover, the relative movement between the transmitter and receiver nodes highly affects the performance of the link.