Statistical Analysis and Performance Evaluation for On-Body Radio Propagation With Microstrip Patch Antennas

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation 2007-01, Vol.55 (1), p.245-248
• Main Authors: Alomainy, A., Yang Hao, Owadally, A., Parini, C.G., Nechayev, Y., Constantinou, C.C., Hall, P.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anechoic chambers; Antenna measurements; Antennas; Applied sciences; Attenuation measurement; Bit error rate (BER); body area network; Channels; Deviation; Distribution functions; Exact sciences and technology; Human body; Mathematical models; microstrip antenna; Microstrip antennas; Networks; on-body propagation; Patch antennas; Performance evaluation; Radio; Radio propagation; Radiocommunications; Radiowave propagation; Statistical analysis; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Transmission and modulation (techniques and equipments)
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2006.888462

On-body propagation channel measurements using two microstrip patch antennas for various links are presented and statistically analyzed. The attenuation attributed to factors such as the body, head and clothing are: 19.2, 13.0, and 1.7 dB, respectively, when measurement performed in the anechoic chamber. Measured cumulative distribution function (CDF) of data in the chamber and lab fits to lognormal distribution with deviation factors comparable in both cases. The results demonstrate that the human body is a major shadowing contributor in body area network (BAN) radio systems. The performance of potential radio systems under the measured channel variations is also investigated. Excellent system performance is achievable with power levels as low as 0.01mW. These results support the significance of channel characterization and modelling in producing suitable wireless systems for ultra low power BANs