Wireless Body Area Networks: Technology, Implementation, and Applications

Wireless body area network (WBAN) technology has gained a great deal of interest in recent years among the medical professions and practitioners in health care as well as engineers in the area of the information and communication technology. WBAN is one of the key components of the future e-health initiative that could make significant improvements in patient care and monitoring. The application of the WBAN technology could make some of the specialist treatments more accessible and efficient as well as cost-effective for the service delivery point of views. The book provides a comprehensive overview for the latest WBAN systems, technologies, and applications. The chapters of the book have been written by various specialists who are experts in their areas of research and practice. The book starts with the basic techniques involved in designing and building WBAN systems. It explains the deployment issues and then moves into the application areas of WBAN. The remaining chapters focus on the development of hardware, signal processing algorithms, and wireless communication and network design for wearable and implantable body sensors used in WBAN applications. The book also deals with the antenna design, propagation in and around the body, channel modeling, coexistence and power management issues, which are other critical design components for WBAN systems to achieve a successful hospital deployment.