Cost-effective reliability-and energy-based intra-WBAN interference mitigation

This paper considers the problem of intra-interference in a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). The problem arises mainly because each bio-sensor collects different parameters with different data rate and alternation. Another source of interference is related to normal patient movement. Proposals in the literature usually assume that the interference can be handled using time multiplexing or by listening before transmission to avoid collision. However, these adaptive approaches, given the high-occupancy channels, bring with them major problems of collision and extra energy consumption. One solution could be a power control mechanism. Nevertheless, techniques of that kind are challenging in that they require periodic information on the condition of the wireless channels, conditions that are difficult to estimate. To address these concerns, a tree-based WBAN topology using a set of relay nodes with stable communication called a "virtual backbone" is proposed. As bio-sensors report data mainly in uplink traffic, it is assumed that they share a small number of wireless channels using the TDMA technique. Relay nodes, on the other hand, share the most number of channels in order to improve the fluidity of data across the WBAN. To mitigate co-channel interference among relays, two techniques from the literature called the adaptive data rate and the adaptive duty cycle are used. Simulation experiments showed that the proposed architecture, when combined with intra-interference mitigation techniques, improves energy efficiency and increases data rate.