A prioritized resource allocation algorithm for multiple wireless body area networks

This paper presents a prioritized resource allocation algorithm to share the limited communication channel resource among multiple wireless body area networks. The proposed algorithm is designed based on an active superframe interleaving scheme, one of the coexistence mechanisms in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard. It is the first study to consider the resource allocation method among wireless body area networks within a communication range. The traffic source of each wireless body area network is parameterized using the traffic specification, and required service rate for each wireless body area networks can be derived. The prioritized resource allocation algorithm employs this information to allocate the channel resource based on the wireless body area networks' service priority. The simulation results verified that the traffic specification and the wireless body area network service priority based resource allocation are able to increase quality of service satisfaction, particularly for health and medical services.