Effects of the dynamic human body on electromagnetic wave propagation for on-body wireless communication.

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Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have the potential to provide long-term remote health monitoring for the prevention of impending health problems through the constant relaying of data to health professionals. In order for this technology to be realized, WBAN sensors placed on an active human body must be reliable, unobtrusive, and long lasting. To design optimized sensor antenna that achieve these characteristics, the small scale electromagnetic fading effects due to body position and motion for daily activities must be well understood. Seven human subjects, 7 activities, 3 narrowband antenna frequencies, and 3 antenna configurations were studied to understand the effects of body kinematics on on-body electromagnetic wave propagation. Measurements were taken simultaneously with a Vector Network Analyzer and a motion capture system to get accurate correlations between the human body movement and the on-body channel characteristics. The results presented show a distinct relationship between the activity and the transmission signal.

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Antenna measurement. Body area networks. Channel models. Narrowband. Propagation losses. Motion capture.

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