Design of an Implantable Antenna Feasibility Study for Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Abstract

The objective of this research was to design a patch antenna for communication with medical implants in the 402-405 MHz Medical Implant Communications Services band (MICS). Imbedded antennas used for biomedical telemetry such as cardiac pacemakers have been previously demonstrated for use either as sensing elements or as components of a wireless communication system. Designing an implanted antenna as a sensor is rather less di cult since the resonant frequency is seen to shift by changes in dielectric properties of the surrounding implanted areas affected by glucose levels. Based on our previous work of tissue characterization, an analytical technique can be developed to negate this frequency shift due to the change of permittivity and conductivity, from which the glucose levels are determined. This paper presents an antenna design used for communication from the implant to an external receiver, regardless of human tissue characterization. Using the genetic algorithm (GA) and the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, the antenna is designed to have minimal detuning due to changes in blood glucose level. In this study, single and stacked nonhomogenous body layer for better performance were determined.