PEAM: A Polymorphic, Energy-Aware MAC Protocol for WBAN

In remote healthcare monitoring and care delivery, obtaining the right information at the right time is critical. For these systems, designing an efficient MAC protocol that is able to meet the challenges on network quality such as throughput, latency, data reliability and energy saving is an imperative task. This paper presents a polymorphic, multi-behavioral MAC protocol called PEAM (Polymorphic, Energy-Aware MAC Protocol) designed to support WBANs used in ubiquitous healthcare monitoring systems. The adaptability feature characterizing the protocol is essential in handling different patients' health states. PEAM was designed based on cross-layer constructs that allow across the layers synchronization and coordination orchestrated by the application layer and targeting the Data link layer services. PEAM has also been enabled to interplay with IPv6 networks through interaction with the 6LowPAN middleware. This protocol was evaluated and compared to the well-known IEEE 802.15.4 standard using the network simulator OMNET++, and exhibited clear superiority.