Towards a Secure Thermal-Energy Aware Routing Protocol in Wireless Body Area Network Based on Blockchain Technology

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wireless Communication Networks
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are crucial for remote healthcare monitoring, collecting vital physiological data.
• Designing efficient and secure routing protocols for WBANs is challenging due to energy consumption and node overheating constraints.
• Blockchain technology offers security, transparency, and interoperability for WBAN data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable and efficient routing protocol for WBANs that addresses temperature and energy limitations.
• To enhance the reliability and security of physiological data transmission in healthcare ecosystems.
• To propose a blockchain-enabled routing solution for WBANs.

Main Methods:

• A blockchain-based Adaptive Thermal-/Energy-Aware Routing (ATEAR) protocol for WBANs was developed.
• Performance was evaluated using metrics such as temperature rise, energy consumption, and throughput.
• Blockchain system performance was benchmarked using Hyperledger Caliper for resource utilization and latency.

Main Results:

• The ATEAR protocol achieved high throughput by preserving residual energy and avoiding overheated nodes, extending network lifetime.
• The blockchain system demonstrated efficient transaction throughput and low latency.
• ATEAR significantly outperformed existing protocols (MRRP, TARA, SHR) in balancing temperature and energy consumption.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ATEAR protocol effectively manages thermal and energy constraints in WBANs, enhancing network stability and efficiency.
• Blockchain integration provides a secure and lightweight solution for physiological data interoperability.
• ATEAR offers a promising approach for reliable and long-lasting remote patient monitoring systems.