Throughput Efficiency of Hybrid ARQ Error-Controlling Scheme for UWB Body Area Network

Abstract

Recently, semiconductor and circuits have been developed to make many high technologies of processing be easier to be introduced. By using this technology, there has been considerable amount of research effort directed towards applied information and communications technology (ICT) to medical services [1, 2]. Body area networks (BANs) have emerged as an important subject in personal wireless communications. The standardization task group IEEE 802.15.6 determines the standardization of PHY and MAC layers for BANs. WBAN are networks composed of in vivo and in vitro wireless communication. Communication between devices located outside of a human body is named wearable WBAN, and similarly, Communication between devices located inside of a human body is called implanted WBAN. Wearable WBAN is expected to have numerous applications [3]. For example, each sensor device, which consists of wearable WBAN, can continuously measure and transmit vital parameters data via wearable WBAN. Based on the information sent by a wearable WBAN worn by a particular patient, the hypo-thetical Healthcare Central System of the hospital can be continuously aware of the patient vital functions and is able to take the appropriate countermeasures in case of medical alert. And wearable WBAN is also taken non-medical use (entertainment: video game, music, etc) into consideration. The potential mass market includes medical and non-medical applications. In wearable WBAN, devices treat vital signs of a human body and, therefore, more secure communications are needed. Furthermore, medical ICT has needed data rates of about 10 kbps. Considering practical purposes and non-medical use, however, it is necessary to achieve higher data rates [4, 5]. Most cases of non-medical applications do not require strong error controlling but less complexity and power consumption, and in the special case of video transmission a large throughput and low latency are needed to keep their battery life longer. On the contrary, medical applications require high reliability and relative low data rate transmission as well high data rate transmission. Hence, strong error controlling is expected while relatively larger complexity is allowed. As they require different quality of service (QoS) in terms of reliability and performance, a fixed error controlling mechanism like forward error correction (FEC) is not appropriate.