Physical Multi-Layer Phantoms for Intra-Body Communications

This paper presents approaches to creating tissue mimicking materials that can be used as phantoms for evaluating the performance of Body Area Networks (BAN). The main goal of the paper is to describe a methodology to create a repeatable experimental BAN platform that can be customized depending on the BAN scenario under test. Comparisons between different material compositions and percentages are shown, along with the resulting electrical properties of each mixture over the frequency range of interest for intra-body communications; 100 KHz to 100 MHz. Test results on a composite multi-layer sample are presented confirming the efficacy of the proposed methodology. To date, this is the first paper that provides guidance on how to decide on concentration levels of ingredients, depending on the exact frequency range of operation, and the desired matched electrical characteristics (conductivity vs. permittivity), to create multi-layer phantoms for intra-body communication applications

SkinnySensor: Enabling Battery-Less Wearable Sensors Via Intrabody Power Transfer

Tremendousadvancement inultra-low powerelectronics and radiocommunica tionshas significantly contributed towards the fabrication of miniaturized biomedical sensors capable of capturing physiological data and transmitting them wirelessly. However, most of the wearable sensors require a battery for their operation. The battery serves as one of the critical bottlenecks to the development of novel wearable applications, as the limitations offered by batteries are affecting the development of new form-factors and longevity of wearable devices. In this work, we introduce a novel concept, namely Intra-Body Power Transfer (IBPT), to alleviate the limitations and problems associated with batteries, and enable wireless, batteryless wearable devices. The innovation of IBPT is to utilize the human body as the medium to transfer power to passive wearable devices, as opposed to employingon-boardbatteries for each individual device. The proposed platform eliminates the on-board rigid battery for ultra-low power and ultra-miniaturized sensors such that their form-factor can be flexible, ergonomically designed to be placed on small body parts. The platform also eliminates the need for battery maintenance (e.g., recharging or replacement) for multiple wearable devices other than the central power source. The performance of the developed system is tested and evaluated in comparison to traditional Radio Frequency based solutions that can be harmful to human interaction. The system developed is capable of harvesting on average 217µW at 0.43V and provides an average sleep/high impedance mode voltage of 4.5V

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

Comparison of low-power wireless communication technologies for wearable health-monitoring applications

Health monitoring technologies such as Body Area Network (BAN) systems has gathered a lot of attention during the past few years. Largely encouraged by the rapid increase in the cost of healthcare services and driven by the latest technological advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and wireless communications. BAN technology comprises of a network of body worn or implanted sensors that continuously capture and measure the vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels and movement. The collected data must be transferred to a local base station in order to be further processed. Thus, wireless connectivity plays a vital role in such systems. However, wireless connectivity comes at a cost of increased power usage, mainly due to the high energy consumption during data transmission. Unfortunately, battery-operated devices are unable to operate for ultra-long duration of time and are expected to be recharged or replaced once they run out of energy. This is not a simple task especially in the case of implanted devices such as pacemakers. Therefore, prolonging the network lifetime in BAN systems is one of the greatest challenges. In order to achieve this goal, BAN systems take advantage of low-power in-body and on-body/off-body wireless communication technologies. This paper compares some of the existing and emerging low-power communication protocols that can potentially be employed to support the rapid development and deployment of BAN systems