An Improved MAC Protocol with a Reconfiguration Scheme for Wireless
e-Health Systems Requiring Quality of Service
Oscar Gama1, Paulo Carvalho1, J. A. Afonso2
and P. M. Mendes2
Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar1
Departamento de Informática
P-4710-057 Braga, Portugal
E-mail: {osg,pmc} at di.uminho.pt
Universidade do Minho, Campus de Azurém2
Departamento de Electrónica Industrial
P-4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
E-mail: {jose.afonso,paulo.mendes} at dei.uminho.pt
Abstract
To provide a reliable assistance to patients, emergency and intensive
care systems have increased demands for quality of service at different
levels, including at the MAC layer. The Low Power Real Time (LPRT) MAC
protocol presents suitable characteristics to address these demands due
to its efficient bandwidth allocation, low energy consumption, and
bounded latency. Yet, this MAC protocol may still present a significant
packet loss ratio in a wireless channel affected by errors. In order to
improve its robustness to bit error conditions, a solution based on
short size beacons is proposed and tested. Results
show that significant improvements regarding packet loss ratio and
energy saving are obtained. A new reconfiguration scheme is also
proposed so that a WS using this solution may react optimally in
accordance with the patients' clinical state.
Wireless Vitae'09,
Aalborg, Denmark,
2009