Effect of body motion and the type of antenna on the measured UWB channel characteristics in medical applications of wireless body area networks

Wireless body area networks (WBAN) are being considered as one of the most suitable technologies for remote health monitoring. This technology has the potential to increase the quality of medical care as well as keeping under control the associated costs. Due to the complexity of the human organisms and the nature of its different tissues it is expected that the propagation characteristics of the radio channel, when measured in close proximity of a human body, to be different than those found in other scenarios. The work described in this papers aims to expand the knowledge of the ultra-wideband (UWB) channel in the frequency range of 3.1-10 GHz, for the case of WBANs, under static and dynamic scenarios. Two different type of antennas are used, the SkyCross SMT-3TO10M-A and the P200 BroadSpec^trade. To minimize the effects of the environment the measurements were conducted in an anechoic chamber.