Body Area Networking: Exploring Strengths and Weaknesses

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Body Area Networking (BAN) technology, addressing its background, architecture, advantages, and disadvantages. It highlights the increasing need for technological advancements in healthcare due to aging populations and the rise of chronic diseases. BANs, resulting from innovations in wireless communication and sensor technology, involve wireless sensor nodes attached to the human body for monitoring vital signs and environmental factors. The report details the architecture of BANs, explaining how sensor nodes collect and transmit data to a central computer system for analysis. It discusses applications in medical diagnosis, interactive gaming, and military contexts, such as monitoring soldier fatigue. While BANs offer numerous benefits, including remote patient monitoring and real-time data collection, the report also addresses challenges related to data security, patient privacy, and the reliability of wireless communication. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of considering both the advantages and disadvantages for successful technology implementation.

05 December 2018
Body Area Networking

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Background................................................................................................................................2
Architecture................................................................................................................................2
Advantages of Body Area Network...........................................................................................3
Disadvantages of Body Area Network.......................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
An aging population and sedentary lifestyle are laying the foundation for the dominance of
chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and many more. The
rise in the chronic diseases is posing a great challenge over the existing medical facilities and
healthcare delivery systems across the world. The enormous strain is even more exerted
because of the shortage of the skilled staff, limited health care budgets, inadequate training,
and awareness among the practitioners and the population in general. Thus, the above
economic, social, and demographic backgrounds constantly lay pressure on the need of the
technological advances to combat the healthcare crisis, thereby improvising the quality of the
life at affordable prices (Cavallari et. al, 2014). One such technology is body area
networking, which refers to the network of various computer devices. The report is intended
to explore the various facets of the body area networking technology, on the lines of the use,
advantages, and disadvantages.
Background
Body Area Network (BAN) or the Body Sensor Network (BSN) technology is the result of
the recent innovations in the field of wireless communication, microelectronics, integrated
circuits, and intelligent low-power sensors (Wan et. al, 2013). It is the collection of wireless
sensor nodes that possess low power and can be attached to the human body through either
the invasive or the non-invasive means. These are used to monitor the human body and the
surrounding environment. The nodes connected to the human body are capable of processing
and forwarding the collected information to the base computer for further prescription and
diagnosis. What sets apart this technology from others is that it aids in the long term
monitoring of the patients functions and vitals, in the ordinary physiological state without
laying constraint on the daily activities. A BAN node can be planted inside or outside the
body, depending upon the kind of the diagnosis desired. Thus, depending upon the location of
the device, the node may be called an “In body area network” or “On body area network ”
(Chen, 2014).
Architecture
The BAN sensors or nodes are capable of recording and keeping the historical data of the
patient, generate daily tips and advices, assist patients and inform the relative, emergency, or

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the hospital services if required. The following picture illustrates the architecture of the body
area networking technology.
(Source: Ullah et al., 2010)
The nodes connected to the body gather the information and transfer it to a centrally
connected computer system. As shown in the picture, these nodes are placed depending upon
the location of the sensitive head nerves. The authorised users and the physicians are allowed
to make use of the technology, because it further requires the use of the wire bands and
transmission services for passing on the data. These nodes are further connected to each other
via different network topology.
In terms of the medical diagnosis, the technology is capable of gathering the data with respect
to monitoring of respiratory rate, blood pressure, heartbeat, body temperature and more such
vitals (Ghamari et. al, 2016). These are further aided with the other devices such as the e
cardiac defibrillators, pacemakers, and more such medical devices. The technology is further
used for the interactive gaming and military applications apart from the medical diagnosis. In
military terms, the technology is used to assess the soldier fatigue rate and battle readiness
(Liu et. al, 2013).

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Advantages of Body Area Network
A wireless healthcare application offers and brings many benefits and
challenges to healthcare sector. The Body Area Network technique is used
in soldierly for the purpose of safety or protection before hand. These
advantages render the convenient atmosphere, which may review the
daily routine and medical conditions of patient at anytime, anyplace and
without any limits. The major benefit of Body Area Network is that the
services in emergency may be taken from the hospitals or doctors. The
physical appearance of patient is not essential. This wireless body area
network help in establishing the connection between machinery and
people. The other benefit is it is very flexible system or technology. In the
medical sector, the Body Area Network is cost effective technique.
Another major advantage of the technology is that the tools can be connected to the wireless
storage databases such as cloud network (Movassaghi et. al, 2014). This enables the storage
of the data gathered on such databases. Accordingly, a repository can be created consisting of
the data obtained, and can be used for future research and other related purposes. The data
stored on cloud can further be share, and thus providing the benefit of easy sharing and global
accessibility as well. Another advantage is that the technology opens the door for the further
research in the medical fields by the capacity to generate the real time data in the form of
audios and videos as well (Chen et. al, 2011). Thus, it aids the comprehensive medical
reassert.
Disadvantages of Body Area Network
There are various benefits of Body area network and challenges. The Body area network
technology is still developing and there are a lot of problems or issue left to resolve. The most
significant challenges to this modern technology in healthcare is protection and secrecy
difficulties that regularly creates the confidentiality of patient more susceptible (Al Ameen,
Liu and Kwak, 2012). The physiological dynamic sign of patients are very complex,
particularly if the patients are facing the uneasy sickness. These patients can suffer
degradation at least or even psychological upset if their disease data or low Quality of Service
were unintentionally connected. Also in some instances, disease information could result to a
person losing their job. Occasionally the data can make it difficult for patients to have
insurance security.

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The medical sensors sense the condition of the body of patients and forward message to
doctors or hospital server while transferring this message, the sensor can be criticized. For an
example, the challengers can take the information from the wireless channel and change the
outcomes. They can later pass confronted information to the doctors or server. It can
endanger the patient’s life. With the fact of susceptibility of security of patients, the
protection must be supreme in terms of the use of technologies in healthcare settings. The
dynamic data of patient must be kept and measured delicate. Any disaster of these kinds of
health information of patient can lead to dishonour, incorrect treatment, problems related to
relations, or even loss of job. The health information supposed as adverse might also hinder
the capacity of person to get health insurance exposure. Due to this, it is significant to ensure
that protection of data are placed and transferred strongly.
Moreover, the other challenge is that Body Area Network systems need some safety measures
to assure safety, confidentiality, data honesty and secrecy of the health record of patient at all
time. The supporting Body Area Network structure should apply particular safety functions
that assure these challenges. Security and privacy of patient information are the two crucial
features for within every wireless body area network system. Safety suggests information is
from illegal operators when being shifted, composed, treated, and remains securely restored.
Instead of this, it is suggested by the privacy that authorities should manage and collecting
personal data. For an example, the patients can need information to not be transferred among
insurance agencies who may use this data to confine their from treatment. As per the other
example, when stalkers access data or information, by bodily taking the node and alter data
and consequently, false information or data would be passed to the doctor that can result in
the death of patients. Somebody may use the medical data of individual to look for the private
competitions with the patients.
Conclusion
As per the discussions conducted in the previous parts, it can be stated that medical and
healthcare sector is constantly faced with the challenges of increasing aging population and
sedentary lifestyle leading to a number of diseases. Body Area Network is a significant
technology in terms of the monitoring of the changes in the body and thus assisting in the
diagnosis, prescription, and cure of the diseases. The technology is also been used in various
other sectors to track the movements and changes within and outside the body of the
individuals. The architecture as explained in the above parts explains how the nodes are
connected to the human body and organs. These nodes are further connected to a centralised

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computer that processed the information gathered and assists the practitioners to gain
meaningful insights. The report also states the various advantages and disadvantages of the
technology. Thus, it can be stated that every technology possess some advantages as well as
some challenges. In order to successfully implement a technology, both the aspects must be
considered beforehand.

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References
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