Modeling and Performance Analysis of MAC Protocol for WBAN with Finite Buffer

The IEEE 802.15.6 standard is introduced to satisfy all the requirements for monitoring systems operating in, on, or around the human body. In this paper, analytical models are developed for evaluating the performance of the IEEE 802.15.6 CSMA/CA-based medium access control protocol for wireless body area networks (WBAN) under unsaturation condition. We employ a three-dimensional Markov chain to model the backoff procedure, and an M/G/1/K queuing system to describe the packet queues in the buffer. The throughput and delay performances of WBAN operating in the beacon mode are analyzed in heterogeneous network comprised of different user priorities. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed analytical model.