Wireless body sensor networks for health-monitoring applications

This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Physiological Measurement. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/29/11/R01

Fully Integrated Biochip Platforms for Advanced Healthcare

Recent advances in microelectronics and biosensors are enabling developments of innovative biochips for advanced healthcare by providing fully integrated platforms for continuous monitoring of a large set of human disease biomarkers. Continuous monitoring of several human metabolites can be addressed by using fully integrated and minimally invasive devices located in the sub-cutis, typically in the peritoneal region. This extends the techniques of continuous monitoring of glucose currently being pursued with diabetic patients. However, several issues have to be considered in order to succeed in developing fully integrated and minimally invasive implantable devices. These innovative devices require a high-degree of integration, minimal invasive surgery, long-term biocompatibility, security and privacy in data transmission, high reliability, high reproducibility, high specificity, low detection limit and high sensitivity. Recent advances in the field have already proposed possible solutions for several of these issues. The aim of the present paper is to present a broad spectrum of recent results and to propose future directions of development in order to obtain fully implantable systems for the continuous monitoring of the human metabolism in advanced healthcare applications

Mathematical modeling of ultra wideband in vivo radio channel

This paper proposes a novel mathematical model for an in vivo radio channel at ultra-wideband frequencies (3.1–10.6 GHz), which can be used as a reference model for in vivo channel response without performing intensive experiments or simulations. The statistics of error prediction between experimental and proposed model is RMSE = 5.29, which show the high accuracy of the proposed model. Also, the proposed model was applied to the blind data, and the statistics of error prediction is RMSE = 7.76, which also shows a reasonable accuracy of the model. This model will save the time and cost on simulations and experiments, and will help in designing an accurate link budget calculation for a future enhanced system for ultra-wideband body-centric wireless systems

Non-Invasive Induction Link Model for Implantable Biomedical Microsystems: Pacemaker to Monitor Arrhythmic Patients in Body Area Networks

In this paper, a non-invasive inductive link model for an Implantable Biomedical Microsystems (IBMs) such as, a pacemaker to monitor Arrhythmic Patients (APs) in Body Area Networks (BANs) is proposed. The model acts as a driving source to keep the batteries charged, inside a device called, pacemaker. The device monitors any drift from natural human heart beats, a condition of arrythmia and also in turn, produces electrical pulses that create forced rhythms that, matches with the original normal heart rhythms. It constantly sends a medical report to the health center to keep the medical personnel aware of the patient's conditions and let them handle any critical condition, before it actually happens. Two equivalent models are compared by carrying the simulations, based on the parameters of voltage gain and link efficiency. Results depict that the series tuned primary and parallel tuned secondary circuit achieves the best results for both the parameters, keeping in view the constraint of coupling co-efficient (k), which should be less than a value \emph{0.45} as, desirable for the safety of body tissues.Comment: IEEE 8th International Conference on Broadband and Wireless Computing, Communication and Applications (BWCCA'13), Compiegne, Franc

Portable Bio-Devices: Design of Electrochemical Instruments from Miniaturized to Implantable Devices

The integration of biosensors and electronic technologies allows the development of biomedical systems able to diagnose and monitoring pathologies by detecting specific biomarkers. The chapter presents the main modules involved in the development of such devices, generically represented in Fig. 1, and focuses its attention on the essential components of these systems to address questions such as: how is the device powered? How does it communicate the measured data? What kind of sensors could be used?, and What kinds of electronics are used

Mechatronics & the cloud

Conventionally, the engineering design process has assumed that the design team is able to exercise control over all elements of the design, either directly or indirectly in the case of sub-systems through their specifications. The introduction of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and the Internet of Things (IoT) means that a design team’s ability to have control over all elements of a system is no longer the case, particularly as the actual system configuration may well be being dynamically reconfigured in real-time according to user (and vendor) context and need. Additionally, the integration of the Internet of Things with elements of Big Data means that information becomes a commodity to be autonomously traded by and between systems, again according to context and need, all of which has implications for the privacy of system users. The paper therefore considers the relationship between mechatronics and cloud-basedtechnologies in relation to issues such as the distribution of functionality and user privacy

Microfabricated Implantable Parylene-Based Wireless Passive Intraocular Pressure Sensors

This paper presents an implantable parylene-based wireless pressure sensor for biomedical pressure sensing applications specifically designed for continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring in glaucoma patients. It has an electrical LC tank resonant circuit formed by an integrated capacitor and an inductor coil to facilitate passive wireless sensing using an external interrogating coil connected to a readout unit. Two surface-micromachined sensor designs incorporating variable capacitor and variable capacitor/inductor resonant circuits have been implemented to realize the pressure-sensitive components. The sensor is monolithically microfabricated by exploiting parylene as a biocompatible structural material in a suitable form factor for minimally invasive intraocular implantation. Pressure responses of the microsensor have been characterized to demonstrate its high pressure sensitivity (> 7000 ppm/mmHg) in both sensor designs, which confirms the feasibility of pressure sensing with smaller than 1 mmHg of resolution for practical biomedical applications. A six-month animal study verifies the in vivo bioefficacy and biostability of the implant in the intraocular environment with no surgical or postoperative complications. Preliminary ex vivo experimental results verify the IOP sensing feasibility of such device. This sensor will ultimately be implanted at the pars plana or on the iris of the eye to fulfill continuous, convenient, direct, and faithful IOP monitoring