Abstract
A small planar modified Minkowski fractal antenna is designed and simulated in dual frequency bands (2.4 and 5.8 GHz) for wireless energy harvesting by deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices. The designed antenna, physically being confined inside a miniaturized structure, can efficiently convert the wireless signals in dual ISM frequency bands to the energy source to recharge the DBS battery or power the pulse generator directly. The performance metrics such as the return loss, the specific absorption rate (SAR), and the radiation pattern within skin and muscle-fat-skin tissues are evaluated for the designed antenna. The gain of the proposed antenna is 3.2 dBi at 2.4 GHz and 4.7 dBi at 5.8 GHz; also the averaged SAR of the antenna in human body tissue is found to be well below the legally allowed limit at both frequency bands. The link budget shows the received power at the distance of 25 cm at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz are around 0.4 mW and 0.04 mW, which can empower the DBS implant. The large operational bandwidth, the physical compactness, and the efficiency in wireless signal reception make this antenna suitable in being used in implanted biomedical devices such as DBS pulse generators.
Highlights
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure using the implanted devices to send electrical simulation impulses to targeted areas in the brain to treat neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) by blocking the abnormal nerve signals that could cause tremors or other PD symptoms [1, 2]
If a rectenna or an energy harvesting system is implemented in the implanted pulse generator (IPG) of a DBS system, the DBS could be powered by random wireless sources that exist almost everywhere and all the time
For the implanted antenna in DBS applications, the antenna operates inside the human body in the chest area with various biological tissues as the possible EM wave propagation medium
Summary
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure using the implanted devices to send electrical simulation impulses to targeted areas in the brain to treat neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) by blocking the abnormal nerve signals that could cause tremors or other PD symptoms [1, 2]. A DBS system contains an implanted pulse generator (IPG) that is battery-powered and responsible for sending electrical pulses to brain to interfere with neural activity [2, 3]. The battery issue could be solved by using passive batteryless or wireless rechargeable stimulation implants [4], which utilize an energy harvesting system converting natural or artificial electromagnetic (EM) waves to supplying power to either recharge the battery or directly power the implanted devices [5]. If a rectenna or an energy harvesting system is implemented in the IPG of a DBS system, the DBS could be powered by random wireless sources that exist almost everywhere and all the time. In this work we are focusing on the design of RF harvesting antenna for passive DBS implants.
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