Abstract
The massive proliferation of microelectronics and integrated circuits, system-on-chip design, and the wide adoption of wireless communication technologies have created significant opportunities for promoting numerous e-healthcare applications. The body sensor network (BSN) is such a recent technology in this regard. A BSN is formed by integrating miniature, intelligent, and low-power wireless communication-enabled devices that are placed on, near, or within a human body to monitor the biological activities and surrounding environment. An implant biosensor node, also known as an in vivo node, is a special type of sensor node that detects and collects the desired biometric data of a certain physiological change inside the body and transmits the data to a coordinator node exploiting wireless communication. One of the major problems caused by continuous sensing of the in vivo sensor node is the heat produced due to wireless communication. The increased heat could result in thermal damage to the human tissue inside the body if the communication is prolonged for a long time, which could be a threat to the human life. This thermal effect of an implant biosensor node thus imposes significant challenges in designing sensor hardware and communication protocols that need to be addressed effectively and carefully. In this chapter, the thermal effects of biomedical implants are extensively discussed. The contemporary solutions regarding thermal-aware communication protocols are also studied in detail, and a comparative study of the protocols is provided. This chapter intends to be a comprehensive reference of the thermal-aware communication protocols of BSNs for academicians and can be used as a suitable textbook for postgraduate students, academics, and networking professionals.