Wireless Body Area Networks: A Survey

TLDR

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) employ low‑power, miniaturized sensor nodes enabled by advances in wireless communication, MEMS, and integrated circuits, and are standardized by IEEE 802.15.6 and IEEE 802.15.4j for health monitoring applications. This survey examines the current state‑of‑the‑art of WBANs, aiming to simplify and improve the speed, accuracy, and reliability of sensor and actuator communication on and around the human body while highlighting open issues for future development. The authors review recent standards and publications to assess WBAN technologies, identifying challenges and opportunities across the field.

Abstract

Recent developments and technological advancements in wireless communication, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technology and integrated circuits has enabled low-power, intelligent, miniaturized, invasive/non-invasive micro and nano-technology sensor nodes strategically placed in or around the human body to be used in various applications, such as personal health monitoring. This exciting new area of research is called Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) and leverages the emerging IEEE 802.15.6 and IEEE 802.15.4j standards, specifically standardized for medical WBANs. The aim of WBANs is to simplify and improve speed, accuracy, and reliability of communication of sensors/actuators within, on, and in the immediate proximity of a human body. The vast scope of challenges associated with WBANs has led to numerous publications. In this paper, we survey the current state-of-art of WBANs based on the latest standards and publications. Open issues and challenges within each area are also explored as a source of inspiration towards future developments in WBANs.