Cooperative molecular communication in drift-induced diffusive cylindrical channel

A cooperative molecular communication (CMC) system is considered inside a cylindrical-shaped channel where a few cooperative nodes (CNs) are intermediately placed between a transmitter (TX) and a fusion center (FC). The expressions for the maximum achievable rate and probability of error at the FC considering AND and OR rules are derived. Furthermore, the performance of the CMC system in a cylindrical channel is compared with the direct and CN-assisted systems. The CMC system with randomly-placed CNs is also analyzed and compared with the uniformly-placed CNs, and it is found that a lower probability of error is obtained in the case of uniform placement of CNs. Furthermore, the system performance as a function of radial displacement of TX and FC under constant flow is compared with that under laminar flow and a higher probability of error is observed under laminar flow. The increased probability of error under laminar flow occurs due to the fact that the drift velocity decreases towards the walls of the cylindrical channel. The analytical expressions are verified using Monte-Carlo simulations

Channel modeling for diffusive molecular communication - a tutorial review

Molecular communication (MC) is a new communication engineering paradigm where molecules are employed as information carriers. MC systems are expected to enable new revolutionary applications such as sensing of target substances in biotechnology, smart drug delivery in medicine, and monitoring of oil pipelines or chemical reactors in industrial settings. As for any other kind of communication, simple yet sufficiently accurate channel models are needed for the design, analysis, and efficient operation of MC systems. In this paper, we provide a tutorial review on mathematical channel modeling for diffusive MC systems. The considered end-to-end MC channel models incorporate the effects of the release mechanism, the MC environment, and the reception mechanism on the observed information molecules. Thereby, the various existing models for the different components of an MC system are presented under a common framework and the underlying biological, chemical, and physical phenomena are discussed. Deterministic models characterizing the expected number of molecules observed at the receiver and statistical models characterizing the actual number of observed molecules are developed. In addition, we provide channel models for timevarying MC systems with moving transmitters and receivers, which are relevant for advanced applications such as smart drug delivery with mobile nanomachines. For complex scenarios, where simple MC channel models cannot be obtained from first principles, we investigate simulation-driven and experiment-driven channel models. Finally, we provide a detailed discussion of potential challenges, open research problems, and future directions in channel modeling for diffusive MC systems

Channel Modeling for Diffusive Molecular Communication - A Tutorial Review

Molecular communication (MC) is a new communication engineering paradigm where molecules are employed as information carriers. MC systems are expected to enable new revolutionary applications such as sensing of target substances in biotechnology, smart drug delivery in medicine, and monitoring of oil pipelines or chemical reactors in industrial settings. As for any other kind of communication, simple yet sufficiently accurate channel models are needed for the design, analysis, and efficient operation of MC systems. In this paper, we provide a tutorial review on mathematical channel modeling for diffusive MC systems. The considered end-to-end MC channel models incorporate the effects of the release mechanism, the MC environment, and the reception mechanism on the observed information molecules. Thereby, the various existing models for the different components of an MC system are presented under a common framework and the underlying biological, chemical, and physical phenomena are discussed. Deterministic models characterizing the expected number of molecules observed at the receiver and statistical models characterizing the actual number of observed molecules are developed. In addition, we provide channel models for time-varying MC systems with moving transmitters and receivers, which are relevant for advanced applications such as smart drug delivery with mobile nanomachines. For complex scenarios, where simple MC channel models cannot be obtained from first principles, we investigate simulation-driven and experimentally-driven channel models. Finally, we provide a detailed discussion of potential challenges, open research problems, and future directions in channel modeling for diffusive MC systems.Comment: 40 pages; 23 figures, 2 tables; this paper is submitted to the Proceedings of IEE

Toward Reliable Intra-Body Molecular Communication: An Error Control Perspective

Progress in bioengineering and nanotechnology has led to advances in implantable nanoscale devices. Providing synthetic molecular communication among these devices is an ongoing unsolved challenge. Biological systems inspire promising approaches for engineering data communication in molecular communication, but noises from dynamic tissue signaling result in low data rate and high latency. Thus, error control techniques become critical for reliable communication. This article contributes to a detailed and precise view of existing methods for error control in in-body molecular communication. It classifies the free-diffusion and cell signaling sources of noises. The article presents an error prevention technique, encoding multiple molecular information carriers for cell-signaling-based molecular communication systems. It highlights open research opportunities

Intra-Body Communications for Nervous System Applications: Current Technologies and Future Directions

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) paradigm will enable next generation healthcare by enhancing human abilities, supporting continuous body monitoring and restoring lost physiological functions due to serious impairments. This paper presents intra-body communication solutions that interconnect implantable devices for application to the nervous system, challenging the specific features of the complex intra-body scenario. The presented approaches include both speculative and implementative methods, ranging from neural signal transmission to testbeds, to be applied to specific neural diseases therapies. Also future directions in this research area are considered to overcome the existing technical challenges mainly associated with miniaturization, power supply, and multi-scale communications.Comment: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138912862300163