A survey on wireless body area networks

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWireless networks Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 1 - 18
Main Authors Latré, Benoît, Braem, Bart, Moerman, Ingrid, Blondia, Chris, Demeester, Piet
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Springer US 2011
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Alzheimer's disease
Body temperature
Communication
Communications Engineering
Computer Communication Networks
Electrical Engineering
Electrocardiography
Energy resources
Engineering
Health care
Hospitals
Human body
IT in Business
Medical equipment
Miniaturization
Monitoring
Networks
Patients
Personal health
Quality of service
Routing
Sensors
Studies
Telemedicine
Wireless communication
Wireless networks
Wireless body area networks
Routing
MAC
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Summary: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.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1022-0038
1572-8196
DOI:10.1007/s11276-010-0252-4