A novel evaluation method for body-worn radio systems

We presented a channel capacity evaluation of body-worn radio systems using a decomposition of the channel environment. Specifically, the human body interactions were treated separately from the propagation channel. Via this decomposition, we proceeded to evaluate body-worn antenna diversity. Full wave simulations of the environment were compared with the decomposition approach for validation. A systematic study was also carried out to find an optimal body-worn antenna system. A four antenna configuration with antenna on the shoulders and torsos was determined to be the most efficient diversity configuration, even though the six and eight antenna configurations had improved channel capacity. In near future we will develop receiving power combining module to fully implement and evaluate the body-worn radio system.