Wireless body area sensor networks signal processing and communication framework: Survey on sensing, communication technologies, delivery and feedback

Abstract

Problem statement: The Wireless Body Area Sensor Networks (WBASNs) is a wireless network used for communication among sensor nodes operating on or inside the human body in order to monitor vital body parameters and movements. This study surveys the state-of-the-art on Wireless Body Area Networks, discussing the major components of research in this area including physiological sensing and preprocessing, WBASNs communication techniques and data fusion for gathering data from sensors. In addition, data analysis and feedback will be presented including feature extraction, detection and classification of human related phenomena. Approach: Comparative studies of the technologies and techniques used in such systems will be provided in this study, using qualitative comparisons and use case analysis to give insight on potential uses for different techniques. Results and Conclusion: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) technologies are considered as one of the key of the research areas in computer science and healthcare application industries. Sensor supply chain and communication technologies used within the system and power consumption therein, depend largely on the use case and the characteristics of the application. Authors conclude that Life-saving applications and thorough studies and tests should be conducted before WBANs can be widely applied to humans, particularly to address the challenges related to robust techniques for detection and classification to increase the accuracy and hence the confidence of applying such techniques without physician intervention. 2012 Science Publications.