Impact of Parameter Adjustments in IEEE 802.15.6 MAC Protocol for Wireless Body Area Networks

Abstract

The WBAN requires a MAC protocol that complies with the specific requirements and specifications of the body area network communication. Typically, this technology is implemented using the IEEE 802.15.6 standard, which employs the CSMA/CA mechanism. The WBAN confronts the challenge of managing the probability of heavy traffic due to the substantial medical data generated by numerous biomedical sensors. This scenario could lead to network congestion, increasing delay and packet losses, thereby posing a risk of network instability. Hence, selecting appropriate parameters is crucial for developing a MAC protocol to reduce delay and packet losses while enhancing the network throughput. This paper evaluates the performance of the IEEE 802.15.6 MAC protocol by modifying parameters such as packet rate, simulation duration, and the number of sender nodes. The IEEE 802.15.6 MAC protocol implementations are assessed regarding delay, throughput, and packet loss using the Castalia-3.3 framework based on the OMNeT++ 4.6 platform. The outcome of this study indicates that the MAC protocol for WBAN applications can be optimized by configuring the parameters correctly.