The essential element of IoT (Internet of Things) applications is Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In recent years, the WBAN technology arises as a subclass of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology and builds a suitable communication tool for IoT devices. WBANs mainly direct their focus on healthcare monitoring the physiological conditions in, on and around the human body. This paper presents a study of the protocols that are developed for the WBANs used in IoT devices. Standardization enhances interoperability and reduces production costs. In this paper, we focus on the main Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer protocols for WBANs as IEEE 802.15.4, IEEE 802.15.6, and SmartBAN. We analyze the main technical features of every one of them, and perform a comparison among them. Our comparison focuses on key MAC-issues as power consumption, battery life, scalability, latency and other technical features.

IoT, MAC protocols, Wireless Body Area Network, IEEE 802.15.4, IEEE 802.15.6, SmartBAN.