UWB radio channel and diversity characterization for wireless implanted devices

Las redes de área corporal permiten la interconexión de nodos independientes situados dentro o fuera de la superficie corporal o, incluso, alejados de dicha superficie. En cuanto a las comunicaciones intracorporales, el establecimiento de un enlace robusto con una cápsula endoscópica o con un marcapasos, son ejemplos de los avances tecnológicos conseguidos en las últimas décadas. A pesar de estos desarrollos en asistencia sanitaria, los estándares actuales para este tipo de comunicaciones no permiten conexiones inalámbricas de alta velocidad de transmisión, las cuales son comunes en los servicios actuales de telecomunicaciones. Los sistemas UWB han surgido como potencial candidato para las futuras redes de comunicaciones inalámbricas intracorporales. No obstante, el principal obstáculo de la tecnología UWB para aplicaciones intracorporales es la alta atenuación que sufren las señales transmitidas al atravesar los distintos tejidos corporales, que aumenta drásticamente con el aumento de la frecuencia. Por tanto, es importante una caracterización precisa del canal UWB intracorporal a la hora de validar dicha banda como la adecuada para este propósito.Esta tesis se centra en el análisis de la tecnología UWB para posibilitar comunicaciones intracorporales inalámbricas desde un punto de vista experimental. Para conseguir este objetivo, se ha empleado un novedoso sistema de medidas experimental basado en fantomas en diversos escenarios de propagación intracorporal. De esta forma, se pueden comprobar las pérdidas de propagación en el medio así como la diversidad del canal de una forma fiable. Con el fin de validar los valores obtenidos en el laboratorio, se han comparado y analizado con los obtenidos en un experimento in vivo. Por otro lado, se han diseñado y fabricado nuevas antenas UWB candidatas para comunicaciones intracorporales, empleando técnicas existentes y nuevas de miniaturización y optimización. Finalmente, se han usado técnicas basadas en diversidad para mejorar el rendimiento del canal de propagación en dos escenarios intracorporales diferentes.Wireless Body Area Networks allow the interconnection between independent nodes located either inside or over the body skin or further. Regarding in-body communications, establishing a proper link with a capsule endoscope or with a pacemaker are examples of technological advances achieved in the last decades. In spite of these healthcare developments, current standards for these kind of communications do not allow high data rate wireless connections, which are common in the current telecommunication services. UWB systems have emerged as a potential solution for future wireless in-body communications. Nevertheless, the main drawback of UWB for in-body applications is the high attenuation of human body tissues which increases dramatically with the increment of frequency. Hence, an accurate UWB in-body channel characterization is relevant in order validate UWB frequency band as the best candidate for future networks of implantable nodes. This thesis is devoted to test UWB technology for in-body communications from an experimental point of view. To achieve this goal, a novel spatial phantom-based measurement setup is used in several in-body propagation scenarios. Thus, the losses in the propagation medium and the channel diversity are checked in a reliable way. In order to check the values obtained in laboratory, they are compared and discussed with those obtained in an in vivo experiment. On the other hand, new UWB antenna candidates for inbody communications are designed and manufactured by using typical and new miniaturization and antenna optimization techniques for this purpose. Finally, diversity-based techniques are used to improve the performance of the propagation channel in two different in-body scenarios.Les xarxes d'àrea corporal permeten la interconnexió de nodes independents situats, o bé dins, o bé sobre la pell, o inclús allunyats del propi cos. Pel que fa a les comunicacions intracorporals, l'establiment d'un bon enllaç amb una càpsula endoscòpica o amb un marcapassos, són exemples dels avanços tecnològics aconseguits les darreres dècades. A pesar d'aquests desenvolupaments en assistència sanitària, els estàndards actuals per a aquests tipus de comunicacions no permeten connexions sense fil d'alta velocitat de transmissió, que són habituals als serveis actuals de telecomunicacions. Els sistemes UWB han sorgit com una solució potencial per a les futures comunicacions sense fill intracorporals. No obstant, el principal obstacle de la tecnologia UWB per a les aplicacions intracorporals és l'alta atenuació dels teixits del cos humà, que augmenta dràsticament amb l'increment de freqüència. Per tant, és important una caracterització acurada del canal UWB intracorporal a l'hora de validar la banda de freqüència UWB com a la millor candidata per a les futures xarxes de nodes implantats.Aquesta tesi se centra en l'anàlisi de la tecnologia UWB per a comunicacions intracorporals des d'un punt de vista experimental. Per a aconseguir aquest objectiu s'ha emprat un sistema novedós de mesures experimentals, basat en fantomes, en diversos escenaris de propagació intracorporal. D'aquesta manera es poden comprovar les pèrdues de propagació en el medi i la diversitat del canal d'una forma fiable. Per tal d'avaluar els valors obtinguts al laboratori, s'han comparat i analitzat amb aquells obtinguts en un experiment in vivo. Per altra banda, s'han dissenyat i fabricat noves antenes UWB candidates per a comunicacions intracorporals emprant tècniques típiques i noves de miniaturització i optimització d'antenes per a aquest propòsit. Finalment s'han usat tècniques basades en diversitat per a millorar el rendiment del canal de propagació en dos escenaris intracorporals diferents.Andreu Estellés, C. (2018). UWB radio channel and diversity characterization for wireless implanted devices [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/111836TESI

Extensión Multivariable del Método de Gauss de Determinación Orbital con Alto Orden de Convergencia

El objetivo central de este proyecto es la resolución aproximada de sistemas de ecuaciones no lineales, diseñando una familia de métodos con alto orden de convergencia para su aplicación en el método de Gauss de determinación de órbitas y en múltiples sistemas.The central objective of this project is approximate solving of nonlinear equation systems, designing a new family of methods with high order of convergence for application in the Gauss orbit determination and multiple systems.Andreu Estellés, C. (2013). Extensión Multivariable del Método de Gauss de Determinación Orbital con Alto Orden de Convergencia. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/32931.Archivo delegad

Experimental Assessment of Time Reversal for In-Body to In-Body UWB Communications

[EN] The standard of in-body communications is limited to the use of narrowband systems. These systems are far from the high data rate connections achieved by other wireless telecommunication services today in force. The UWB frequency band has been proposed as a possible candidate for future in-body networks. However, the attenuation of body tissues at gigahertz frequencies could be a serious drawback. Experimental measurements for channel modeling are not easy to carry out, while the use of humans is practically forbidden. Sophisticated simulation tools could provide inaccurate results since they are not able to reproduce all the in-body channel conditions. Chemical solutions known as phantoms could provide a fair approximation of body tissues¿ behavior. In this work, the Time Reversal technique is assessed to increase the channel performance of in-body communications. For this task, a large volume of experimental measurements is performed at the low part of UWB spectrum (3.1-5.1 GHz) by using a highly accurate phantom-based measurement setup. This experimental setup emulates an in-body to in-body scenario, where all the nodes are implanted inside the body. Moreover, the in-body channel characteristics such as the path loss, the correlation in transmission and reception, and the reciprocity of the channel are assessed and discussed.This work was supported by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) from Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R), by the European FEDER funds.Andreu-Estellés, C.; Garcia-Pardo, C.; Castelló-Palacios, S.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2018). Experimental Assessment of Time Reversal for In-Body to In-Body UWB Communications. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (Online). (8927107):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/8927107S1128927107Fireman, Z. (2003). Diagnosing small bowel Crohn’s disease with wireless capsule endoscopy. Gut, 52(3), 390-392. doi:10.1136/gut.52.3.390Burri, H., & Senouf, D. (2009). Remote monitoring and follow-up of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Europace, 11(6), 701-709. doi:10.1093/europace/eup110Scanlon, W. G., Burns, B., & Evans, N. E. (2000). Radiowave propagation from a tissue-implanted source at 418 MHz and 916.5 MHz. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 47(4), 527-534. doi:10.1109/10.828152Chavez-Santiago, R., Garcia-Pardo, C., Fornes-Leal, A., Valles-Lluch, A., Vermeeren, G., Joseph, W., … Cardona, N. (2015). Experimental Path Loss Models for In-Body Communications within 2.36-2.5 GHz. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 1-1. doi:10.1109/jbhi.2015.2418757Khaleghi, A., Chávez-Santiago, R., & Balasingham, I. (2010). Ultra-wideband pulse-based data communications for medical implants. IET Communications, 4(15), 1889. doi:10.1049/iet-com.2009.0692Khaleghi, A., Chávez-Santiago, R., & Balasingham, I. (2011). Ultra-wideband statistical propagation channel model for implant sensors in the human chest. IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation, 5(15), 1805. doi:10.1049/iet-map.2010.0537Kurup, D., Scarpello, M., Vermeeren, G., Joseph, W., Dhaenens, K., Axisa, F., … Vanfleteren, J. (2011). In-body path loss models for implants in heterogeneous human tissues using implantable slot dipole conformal flexible antennas. EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2011(1). doi:10.1186/1687-1499-2011-51Floor, P. A., Chavez-Santiago, R., Brovoll, S., Aardal, O., Bergsland, J., Grymyr, O.-J. H. N., … Balasingham, I. (2015). In-Body to On-Body Ultrawideband Propagation Model Derived From Measurements in Living Animals. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 19(3), 938-948. doi:10.1109/jbhi.2015.2417805Shimizu, Y., Anzai, D., Chavez-Santiago, R., Floor, P. A., Balasingham, I., & Wang, J. (2017). Performance Evaluation of an Ultra-Wideband Transmit Diversity in a Living Animal Experiment. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 65(7), 2596-2606. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2017.2669039Anzai, D., Katsu, K., Chavez-Santiago, R., Wang, Q., Plettemeier, D., Wang, J., & Balasingham, I. (2014). Experimental Evaluation of Implant UWB-IR Transmission With Living Animal for Body Area Networks. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 62(1), 183-192. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2013.2291542Chou, C.-K., Chen, G.-W., Guy, A. W., & Luk, K. H. (1984). Formulas for preparing phantom muscle tissue at various radiofrequencies. Bioelectromagnetics, 5(4), 435-441. doi:10.1002/bem.2250050408Cheung, A. Y., & Koopman, D. W. (1976). Experimental Development of Simulated Biomaterials for Dosimetry Studies of Hazardous Microwave Radiation (Short Papers). IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 24(10), 669-673. doi:10.1109/tmtt.1976.1128936YAMAMOTO, H., ZHOU, J., & KOBAYASHI, T. (2008). Ultra Wideband Electromagnetic Phantoms for Antennas and Propagation Studies. IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals of Electronics, Communications and Computer Sciences, E91-A(11), 3173-3182. doi:10.1093/ietfec/e91-a.11.3173Lazebnik, M., Madsen, E. L., Frank, G. R., & Hagness, S. C. (2005). Tissue-mimicking phantom materials for narrowband and ultrawideband microwave applications. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 50(18), 4245-4258. doi:10.1088/0031-9155/50/18/001Yilmaz, T., Foster, R., & Hao, Y. (2014). Broadband Tissue Mimicking Phantoms and a Patch Resonator for Evaluating Noninvasive Monitoring of Blood Glucose Levels. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 62(6), 3064-3075. doi:10.1109/tap.2014.2313139Gezici, S., Zhi Tian, Giannakis, G. B., Kobayashi, H., Molisch, A. F., Poor, H. V., & Sahinoglu, Z. (2005). Localization via ultra-wideband radios: a look at positioning aspects for future sensor networks. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 22(4), 70-84. doi:10.1109/msp.2005.1458289Marinova, M., Thielens, A., Tanghe, E., Vallozzi, L., Vermeeren, G., Joseph, W., … Martens, L. (2015). Diversity Performance of Off-Body MB-OFDM UWB-MIMO. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 63(7), 3187-3197. doi:10.1109/tap.2015.2422353SHI, J., ANZAI, D., & WANG, J. (2012). Channel Modeling and Performance Analysis of Diversity Reception for Implant UWB Wireless Link. IEICE Transactions on Communications, E95.B(10), 3197-3205. doi:10.1587/transcom.e95.b.3197Pajusco, P., & Pagani, P. (2009). On the Use of Uniform Circular Arrays for Characterizing UWB Time Reversal. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 57(1), 102-109. doi:10.1109/tap.2008.2009715Chavez-Santiago, R., Sayrafian-Pour, K., Khaleghi, A., Takizawa, K., Wang, J., Balasingham, I., & Li, H.-B. (2013). Propagation models for IEEE 802.15.6 standardization of implant communication in body area networks. IEEE Communications Magazine, 51(8), 80-87. doi:10.1109/mcom.2013.6576343Andreu, C., Castello-Palacios, S., Garcia-Pardo, C., Fornes-Leal, A., Valles-Lluch, A., & Cardona, N. (2016). Spatial In-Body Channel Characterization Using an Accurate UWB Phantom. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 64(11), 3995-4002. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2016.2609409Pahlavan, K., & Levesque, A. H. (2005). Wireless Information Networks. doi:10.1002/0471738646Qiu, R. C., Zhou, C., Guo, N., & Zhang, J. Q. (2006). Time Reversal With MISO for Ultrawideband Communications: Experimental Results. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 5, 269-273. doi:10.1109/lawp.2006.875888Ando, H., Takizawa, K., Yoshida, T., Matsushita, K., Hirata, M., & Suzuki, T. (2016). Wireless Multichannel Neural Recording With a 128-Mbps UWB Transmitter for an Implantable Brain-Machine Interfaces. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 10(6), 1068-1078. doi:10.1109/tbcas.2016.251452

UWB Path Loss Models for Ingestible Devices

[EN] Currently, some medical devices such as the Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) are used for data transmission from inside to outside the body. Nevertheless, for certain applications such as WCE, the data rates offered by current medical frequency bands can result insufficient. Ultra Wideband (UWB) frequency band has become an interesting solution for this. However, to date, there is not a formal channel path loss model for the UWB frequency band in the gastrointestinal (GI) scenario due to the huge differences between the proposed studies. There are three main methodologies to characterize the propagation channel, software simulations and experimental measurements either in phantom or in in vivo animals. Previous works do not compare all the methodologies or present some disagreements with the literature. In this paper, a dedicated study of the path loss using the three methodologies aforementioned (simulations, phantoms and in vivo measurements) and a comparison with previous researches in the literature is performed. Moreover, numerical values for a path loss model which agrees with the three methodologies and the literature are proposed. This paper aims at being the starting point for a formal path loss model in the UWB frequency band for WBANs in the GI scenarioThis work was supported in part by the European Union's H2020-MSCA-ITN Program for the "Wireless In-body Environment Communication" Project under Grant 675353, in part by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) from Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, and in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain under Grant TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R through the European FEDER Funds.Pérez-Simbor, S.; Andreu-Estellés, C.; Garcia-Pardo, C.; Frasson, M.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2019). UWB Path Loss Models for Ingestible Devices. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 67(8):5025-5034. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2019.2891717S5025503467

Localization for capsule endoscopy at UWB frequencies using an experimental multilayer phantom

[EN] Localization inside the human body using ultrawideband (UWB) wireless technology is gaining importance in several medical applications such as capsule endoscopy. Performance analysis of RF based localization techniques are mainly conducted through simulations using numerical human models or through experimental measurements using homogeneous phantoms. One of the most common implemented RF localization approaches uses the received signal strength (RSS). However, to the best of our knowledge, no experimental measurements employing multilayer phantoms are currently available in literature. This paper investigates the performance of RSS-based technique for two-dimensional (2D) localization by employing a two-layer experimental phantom-based setup. Preliminary results on the estimation of the in-body antenna coordinates show that RSS-based method can achieve a location accuracy on average of 0.5-1 cm within a certain range of distances between in-body and on-body antenna.This work was supported by the European Union’s H2020:MSCA:ITN program for the ”Wireless In-body Environment Communication- WiBEC” project under the grant agreement no. 675353. This work was also funded by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigación y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) from Universitat Politècnica de València and by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R), by the European FEDER funds.Barbi, M.; Pérez Simbor, S.; García Pardo, C.; Andreu Estellés, C.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2018). Localization for capsule endoscopy at UWB frequencies using an experimental multilayer phantom. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/WCNCW.2018.8369015

Frequency Dependence of UWB In-Body Radio Channel Characteristics

(c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.[EN] In this letter, a research of ultra-wideband in-body channel by using a high accurate phantom is performed in order to evaluate the impact of frequency dependence of human tissues on the channel characteristics. Hence, a phantom-based measurement campaign from 3.1 to 5.1 GHz has been conducted. From postprocessing data, the path loss is assessed considering subbands of 500 MHz as well as the entire frequency range under test. In addition, the correlation in transmission is computed and discussed.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain, under Grant TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R, and in part by the European FEDER funds. (Corresponding author: Carlos Andreu.)Andreu-Estellés, C.; Garcia-Pardo, C.; Castelló-Palacios, S.; Vallés Lluch, A.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2018). Frequency Dependence of UWB In-Body Radio Channel Characteristics. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters. 28(4):359-361. https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWC.2018.2808427S35936128

Spatial In-Body Channel Characterization Using an Accurate UWB Phantom

"(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works."Ultra-wideband (UWB) systems have emerged as a possible solution for future wireless in-body communications. However, in-body channel characterization is complex. Animal experimentation is usually restricted. Furthermore, software simulations can be expensive and imply a high computational cost. Synthetic chemical solutions, known as phantoms, can be used to solve this issue. However, achieving a reliable UWB phantom can be challenging since UWB systems use a large bandwidth and the relative permittivity of human tissues are frequency dependent. In this paper, a measurement campaign within 3.1-8.5 GHz using a new UWB phantom is performed. Currently, this phantom achieves the best known approximation to the permittivity of human muscle in the whole UWB band. Measurements were performed in different spatial positions, in order to also investigate the diversity of the in-body channel in the spatial domain. Two experimental in-body to in-body (IB2IB) and in-body to on-body (IB2OB) scenarios are considered. From the measurements, new path loss models are obtained. Besides, the correlation in transmission and reception is computed for both scenarios. Our results show a highly uncorrelated channel in transmission for the IB2IB scenario at all locations. Nevertheless, for the IB2OB scenario, the correlation varies depending on the position of the receiver and transmitter.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain, under Grant TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R and Grant TEC2014-56469-REDT and by the European FEDER Funds.Andreu Estellés, C.; Castelló Palacios, S.; García Pardo, C.; Fornés Leal, A.; Vallés Lluch, A.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2016). Spatial In-Body Channel Characterization Using an Accurate UWB Phantom. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. 64(11):3995-4002. doi:10.1109/TMTT.2016.2609409S39954002641

Preliminary orbit determination of artificial satellites: a vectorial sixth-order approach

A modified classical method for preliminary orbit determination is presented. In our proposal, the spread of the observations is considerably wider than in the original method, as well as the order of convergence of the iterative scheme involved. The numerical approach is made by using matricial weight functions, which will lead us to a class of iterative methods with a sixth local order of convergence. This is a process widely used in the design of iterative methods for solving nonlinear scalar equations, but rarely employed in vectorial cases. The numerical tests confirm the theoretical results, and the analysis of the dynamics of the problem shows the stability of the proposed schemes.The authors thank the anonymous referees for their valuable comments and suggestions. This research was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia MTM2011-28636-C02-02.Andreu Estellés, C.; Cambil Teba, N.; Cordero Barbero, A.; Torregrosa Sánchez, JR. (2013). Preliminary orbit determination of artificial satellites: a vectorial sixth-order approach. Abstract and Applied Analysis. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/960582S2013Fidkowski, K. J., Oliver, T. A., Lu, J., & Darmofal, D. L. (2005). p-Multigrid solution of high-order discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations. Journal of Computational Physics, 207(1), 92-113. doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2005.01.005Bruns, D. D., & Bailey, J. E. (1977). Nonlinear feedback control for operating a nonisothermal CSTR near an unstable steady state. Chemical Engineering Science, 32(3), 257-264. doi:10.1016/0009-2509(77)80203-0He, Y., & Ding, C. H. Q. (2001). The Journal of Supercomputing, 18(3), 259-277. doi:10.1023/a:1008153532043Revol, N., & Rouillier, F. (2005). Motivations for an Arbitrary Precision Interval Arithmetic and the MPFI Library. Reliable Computing, 11(4), 275-290. doi:10.1007/s11155-005-6891-yBabajee, D. K. R., Dauhoo, M. Z., Darvishi, M. T., & Barati, A. (2008). A note on the local convergence of iterative methods based on Adomian decomposition method and 3-node quadrature rule. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 200(1), 452-458. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2007.11.009Darvishi, M. T., & Barati, A. (2007). A third-order Newton-type method to solve systems of nonlinear equations. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 187(2), 630-635. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2006.08.080Darvishi, M. T., & Barati, A. (2007). Super cubic iterative methods to solve systems of nonlinear equations. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 188(2), 1678-1685. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2006.11.022Cordero, A., Martínez, E., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2009). Iterative methods of order four and five for systems of nonlinear equations. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 231(2), 541-551. doi:10.1016/j.cam.2009.04.015Babajee, D. K. R., Dauhoo, M. Z., Darvishi, M. T., Karami, A., & Barati, A. (2010). Analysis of two Chebyshev-like third order methods free from second derivatives for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 233(8), 2002-2012. doi:10.1016/j.cam.2009.09.035Soleymani, F., Lotfi, T., & Bakhtiari, P. (2013). A multi-step class of iterative methods for nonlinear systems. Optimization Letters, 8(3), 1001-1015. doi:10.1007/s11590-013-0617-6Awawdeh, F. (2009). On new iterative method for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Numerical Algorithms, 54(3), 395-409. doi:10.1007/s11075-009-9342-8Babajee, D. K. R., Cordero, A., Soleymani, F., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2012). On a Novel Fourth-Order Algorithm for Solving Systems of Nonlinear Equations. Journal of Applied Mathematics, 2012, 1-12. doi:10.1155/2012/165452Cordero, A., Torregrosa, J. R., & Vassileva, M. P. (2012). Pseudocomposition: A technique to design predictor–corrector methods for systems of nonlinear equations. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 218(23), 11496-11504. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2012.04.081Cordero, A., Torregrosa, J. R., & Vassileva, M. P. (2013). Increasing the order of convergence of iterative schemes for solving nonlinear systems. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 252, 86-94. doi:10.1016/j.cam.2012.11.024Soleymani, F., & Stanimirović, P. S. (2013). A Higher Order Iterative Method for Computing the Drazin Inverse. The Scientific World Journal, 2013, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2013/708647Soleymani, F., Stanimirović, P. S., & Ullah, M. Z. (2013). An accelerated iterative method for computing weighted Moore–Penrose inverse. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 222, 365-371. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2013.07.039Sharma, J. R., Guha, R. K., & Sharma, R. (2012). An efficient fourth order weighted-Newton method for systems of nonlinear equations. Numerical Algorithms, 62(2), 307-323. doi:10.1007/s11075-012-9585-7Sharma, J. R., & Arora, H. (2013). On efficient weighted-Newton methods for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 222, 497-506. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2013.07.066Abad, M. F., Cordero, A., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2013). Fourth- and Fifth-Order Methods for Solving Nonlinear Systems of Equations: An Application to the Global Positioning System. Abstract and Applied Analysis, 2013, 1-10. doi:10.1155/2013/586708Cordero, A., Hueso, J. L., Martínez, E., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2009). A modified Newton-Jarratt’s composition. Numerical Algorithms, 55(1), 87-99. doi:10.1007/s11075-009-9359-zJarratt, P. (1966). Some fourth order multipoint iterative methods for solving equations. Mathematics of Computation, 20(95), 434-434. doi:10.1090/s0025-5718-66-99924-8Cordero, A., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2007). Variants of Newton’s Method using fifth-order quadrature formulas. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 190(1), 686-698. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2007.01.062Chicharro, F. I., Cordero, A., & Torregrosa, J. R. (2013). Drawing Dynamical and Parameters Planes of Iterative Families and Methods. The Scientific World Journal, 2013, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2013/78015

Ultrawideband Technology for Medical In-Body Sensor Networks: An Overview of the Human Body as a Propagation Medium, Phantoms, and Approaches for Propagation Analysis

[EN] An in-body sensor network is that in which at least one of the sensors is located inside the human body. Such wireless in-body sensors are used mainly in medical applications, collecting and monitoring important parameters for health and disease treatment. IEEE Standard 802.15.6-2012 for wireless body area networks (WBANs) considers in-body communications in the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) band. Nevertheless, high-data-rate communications are not feasible at the MICS band because of its narrow occupied bandwidth. In this framework, ultrawideband (UWB) systems have emerged as a potential solution for in-body highdata-rate communications because of their miniaturization capabilities and low power consumption.This work was supported by the Programa de Ayudas de Investigación y Desarrollo (PAID-01-16) at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain; by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R); and by the European FEDER funds. It was also funded by the European Union’s H2020:MSCA:ITN program for the Wireless In-Body Environ-ment Communication–WiBEC project under grant 675353.Garcia-Pardo, C.; Andreu-Estellés, C.; Fornés Leal, A.; Castelló-Palacios, S.; Pérez-Simbor, S.; Barbi, M.; Vallés Lluch, A.... (2018). Ultrawideband Technology for Medical In-Body Sensor Networks: An Overview of the Human Body as a Propagation Medium, Phantoms, and Approaches for Propagation Analysis. IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. 60(3):19-33. https://doi.org/10.1109/MAP.2018.2818458S193360

Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

International audienceIntermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100−105 M⊙, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass ∼150 M⊙ providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200 M⊙ and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpc−3 yr−1 (90% confidence), a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpc−3 yr−1.Key words: gravitational waves / stars: black holes / black hole physicsCorresponding author: W. Del Pozzo, e-mail: [email protected]† Deceased, August 2020