A Comprehensive Survey of MAC Protocols for Wireless Body Area Networks

In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols developed for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In WBANs, small battery operated on-body or implanted biomedical sensor nodes are used to monitor physiological signs such as temperature, blood pressure, ElectroCardioGram (ECG), ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) etc. We discuss design requirements for WBANs with major sources of energy dissipation. Then, we further investigate the existing designed protocols for WBANs with focus on their strengths and weaknesses. Paper ends up with concluding remarks and open research issues for future work.