Improved Routing Protocol for Health Care Communications

Jayanthi K. Murthy, V. Sambasiva Rao

Department of Electronics and Communication, B.M.S College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India.
Department of Electronics and Communication, P.E.S Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, India.

DOI: 10.4236/ojab.2013.22006                

Abstract

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) technology has significantly increased the potential of remote healthcare monitoring systems. The devices used for WBAN have limited energy resources. For most devices it is impossible to recharge or change the batteries. Since the data mostly consists of medical information, high reliability and low delay is required. The main objective of this simulation study is to evaluate the performance of routing protocol on static IEEE 802.15.4 to determine the most suitable routing protocol for Wireless Body Area Networks. Here, investigations on the various routing protocol suggest cluster topology and AODV as the probable candidate. About 16% improvement in the energy consumption was observed when modifications were made considering the energy and mobility, thus achieving high residual battery capacity and eliminating the need for recharging the batteries.

Keywords

Wireless Body Area Network; ZigBee Networks; Routing Protocol

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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