Sensors SI on WSSBAN 2019 : Special Issue of Sensors on Wireless Sensing Systems for Body Area Networks

Body area networks (BANs) are a form of small-scale wireless sensor network (WSN) deployed on the human body, often for monitoring human physiological parameters and bodily movements. As the bridge between BANs and their external users, on-body or implanted radio frequency (RF) structures such as antennas fabricated with soft materials have gained much attention in recent years. These same structures can also function as sensors if their characteristics can naturally or be engineered to react to bodily phenomena such as temperature and humidity. These RF structures with sensing capability can be referred to as wireless sensing structures. For a system consisting of a wireless sensing structure, and circuitry or device for detection and interpretation of signal outputs from these sensing structures, we refer to it as a wireless sensing system. Such systems have been proposed for such BAN applications as body temperature sensing, foot pressure sensing, sweat analysis and gesture monitoring, among others.

This Special Issue invites original contributions on all topics related to wireless sensing systems for BANs, including but not limited to:

- Microwave and millimeter-wave sensors for BANs
- Radio frequency structures for sensing applications in BANs
- Flexible, wearable and disposable sensors and wireless sub-systems for BANs
- Harvested energy powered wireless sensing systems for BANs
- Ultra-low power sensing, processing and communications for BANs
- Robust signal detection and interpretation for body sensors in BANs
- Backscattering for sensing and communication in BANs
- Fabrication techniques for sensors and wireless sub-systems in BANs
- Characterization methods for radio frequency-based sensors in BANs
- Conductive and dielectric sensing materials (including metamaterials) for BANs
- Body-centric communications for on-body and implanted sensors in BANs
- Testbeds and real-world deployments