<s>
A	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
(	O
BAN	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
body	I-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
(	O
WBAN	O
)	O
or	O
a	O
body	B-Device
sensor	I-Device
network	I-Device
(	O
BSN	B-Device
)	O
or	O
a	O
medical	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
(	O
MBAN	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
wireless	O
network	O
of	O
wearable	O
computing	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BAN	O
devices	O
may	O
be	O
embedded	O
inside	O
the	O
body	O
as	O
implants	O
,	O
may	O
be	O
surface-mounted	B-Operating_System
on	I-Operating_System
the	I-Operating_System
body	I-Operating_System
in	I-Operating_System
a	I-Operating_System
fixed	I-Operating_System
position	I-Operating_System
,	O
or	O
may	O
be	O
accompanied	O
devices	O
which	O
humans	O
can	O
carry	O
in	O
different	O
positions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
clothes	O
pockets	O
,	O
by	O
hand	O
,	O
or	O
in	O
various	O
bags	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
trend	O
towards	O
the	O
miniaturization	O
of	O
devices	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
networks	I-Device
consist	O
of	O
several	O
miniaturized	O
body	O
sensor	O
units	O
(	O
BSUs	O
)	O
together	O
with	O
a	O
single	O
body	O
central	O
unit	O
(	O
BCU	O
)	O
,	O
larger	O
decimeter	O
(	O
tab	O
and	O
pad	O
)	O
sized	O
smart	B-Device
devices	I-Device
still	O
play	O
an	O
important	O
role	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
acting	O
as	O
a	O
data	O
hub	O
or	O
data	O
gateway	O
and	O
providing	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
to	O
view	O
and	O
manage	O
BAN	O
applications	O
,	O
in-situ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
WBAN	O
technology	O
started	O
around	O
1995	O
around	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
using	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
personal	I-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
WPAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
technologies	O
to	O
implement	O
communications	O
on	O
,	O
near	O
,	O
and	O
around	O
the	O
human	O
body	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
WBAN	O
system	O
can	O
use	O
WPAN	B-General_Concept
wireless	O
technologies	O
as	O
gateways	O
to	O
reach	O
longer	O
ranges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
gateway	O
devices	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
connect	O
the	O
wearable	B-Operating_System
devices	I-Operating_System
on	O
the	O
human	O
body	O
to	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rapid	O
growth	O
in	O
physiological	O
sensors	B-Application
,	O
low-power	O
integrated	O
circuits	O
,	O
and	O
wireless	O
communication	O
has	O
enabled	O
a	O
new	O
generation	O
of	O
wireless	B-Architecture
sensor	I-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
,	O
now	O
used	O
for	O
purposes	O
such	O
as	O
monitoring	O
traffic	O
,	O
crops	O
,	O
infrastructure	O
,	O
and	O
health	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
field	O
is	O
an	O
interdisciplinary	O
area	O
which	O
could	O
allow	O
inexpensive	O
and	O
continuous	O
health	O
monitoring	O
with	O
real-time	O
updates	O
of	O
medical	O
records	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
intelligent	O
physiological	O
sensors	B-Application
can	O
be	O
integrated	O
into	O
a	O
wearable	O
wireless	B-Device
body	I-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
computer-assisted	O
rehabilitation	O
or	O
early	O
detection	O
of	O
medical	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
implanted	O
sensors	B-Application
in	O
the	O
human	O
body	O
will	O
collect	O
various	O
physiological	O
changes	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
monitor	O
the	O
patient	O
's	O
health	O
status	O
no	O
matter	O
their	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
information	O
provided	O
and	O
energy	O
resources	O
capable	O
of	O
powering	O
the	O
sensors	B-Application
are	O
limiting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
technology	O
is	O
still	O
in	O
its	O
primitive	O
stage	O
it	O
is	O
being	O
widely	O
researched	O
and	O
once	O
adopted	O
,	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
breakthrough	O
invention	O
in	O
healthcare	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
concepts	O
like	O
telemedicine	B-Application
and	O
MHealth	B-Device
becoming	O
real	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
typical	O
BAN	O
or	O
BSN	B-Device
requires	O
vital	O
sign	O
monitoring	O
sensors	B-Application
,	O
motion	O
detectors	B-Application
(	O
through	O
accelerometers	O
)	O
to	O
help	O
identify	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
monitored	O
individual	O
and	O
some	O
form	O
of	O
communication	O
,	O
to	O
transmit	O
vital	O
sign	O
and	O
motion	O
readings	O
to	O
medical	O
practitioners	O
or	O
care	O
givers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
typical	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
network	I-Device
kit	O
will	O
consist	O
of	O
sensors	B-Application
,	O
a	O
Processor	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
transceiver	O
and	O
a	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Physiological	O
sensors	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
ECG	B-Application
and	O
SpO2	O
sensors	B-Application
,	O
have	O
been	O
developed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
sensors	B-Application
such	O
as	O
a	O
blood	O
pressure	O
sensor	O
,	O
EEG	B-Application
sensor	O
and	O
a	O
PDA	B-Application
for	O
BSN	B-Device
interface	O
are	O
under	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
body	B-Device
area	I-Device
networks	I-Device
,	O
vital	O
patient	O
datasets	O
may	O
be	O
fragmented	O
over	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
nodes	O
and	O
across	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
networked	O
PCs	O
or	O
Laptops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interoperability	O
:	O
WBAN	O
systems	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
ensure	O
seamless	O
data	O
transfer	O
across	O
standards	O
such	O
as	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
,	O
Zigbee	B-Protocol
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
to	O
promote	O
information	O
exchange	O
,	O
plug	B-Device
and	I-Device
play	I-Device
device	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
,	O
the	O
systems	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
scalable	B-Architecture
,	O
ensure	O
efficient	O
migration	O
across	O
networks	O
and	O
offer	O
uninterrupted	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	O
devices	O
:	O
The	O
sensors	B-Application
used	O
in	O
WBAN	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
low	O
on	O
complexity	O
,	O
small	O
in	O
form	O
factor	O
,	O
light	O
in	O
weight	O
,	O
power	O
efficient	O
,	O
easy	O
to	O
use	O
and	O
reconfigurable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Energy	O
vs.	O
accuracy	O
:	O
Sensors	B-Application
 '	O
activation	O
policy	O
should	O
be	O
determined	O
to	O
optimizing	O
the	O
trade-off	O
between	O
the	O
BAN	O
's	O
power	O
consumption	O
versus	O
the	O
probability	O
of	O
patient	O
's	O
health	O
state	O
mis-classification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interference	O
:	O
The	O
wireless	O
link	O
used	O
for	O
body	O
sensors	B-Application
should	O
reduce	O
the	O
interference	O
and	O
increase	O
the	O
coexistence	O
of	O
sensor	O
node	O
devices	O
with	O
other	O
network	O
devices	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
