Analysis of the HBC Path Loss Occurred in Arm-Waving Motion for Healthcare Monitoring

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) used in conjunction with various types of biological sensors have shown promise as a means of supporting medical and healthcare services, and in recent years, the use of wearable devices that utilize the human body as a transmission channel has grown rapidly. However, the multipath environment encountered in daily life typically incurs a large path loss. In this paper, we examine the path loss occurring in the high frequency (HF) and ultrahigh frequency (UHF) bands in order to compare the efficiency and reliability of communication. As a preliminary effort, we extract the effects of arm movement on the performance of human body communication (HBC) systems by investigating the path loss occurring during arm waving, both with simulation software and experimentally in an anechoic chamber. Our results show that the HF band experiences lower path loss than does the UHF band. The experimental result shows a close agreement with the results of the simulation.