Characterization of Signal Propagation through Limb Joints for Intrabody Communication

Abstract

Intrabody communication (IBC) is one of the recent physical layers of the IEEE 802.15.6 Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) communication standard. It is employed for data transmission in low frequency bands (21 MHz as per standard, 0.3-120 MHz in literature), providing up to 10 Mbps data throughput. An effective way to increase data rate communication is to determine higher operation frequency bands. This paper reports empirical studies which explore signal propagation through the human body including limb joints within the 0.3-200 MHz frequency range. Results show that minimum signal attenuation points occur at 50 MHz and 150 MHz within the range of investigation. The presence of the joint segments along the signal propagation path causes on average 2.0 dB loss (at 50 MHz and 150 MHz), 6.0 dB loss (<1 MHz) and less than 3.0 dB (>150 MHz) compared to limb segments.