Intrabody Molecular Communication via Blood-Tissue Barrier for Internet of Bio-Nano Things

Abstract

Molecular communication (MC) is an emerging communication paradigm that allows bio-nanomachines (NMs) to communicate using biochemical molecules as information carriers. It can be used in many promising biomedical applications such as the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) for targeted drug delivery and healthcare applications. In particular, the blood-tissue barrier (BTB) inside the body forms the main communication pathway for molecular information exchange between the NMs as well as between the intrabody nanonetwork and the bio-cyber interface in the IoBNT network. However, overcoming this barrier by the molecules is one of the main challenges for MC in the body. Therefore, spatiotemporal modeling of MC across the BTB is of particular interest. In this article, we develop a mathematical model and stochastic particle-based simulator for MC over high spatiotemporal resolution between mobile NMs in the blood capillary and the surrounding tissue. The transmitting bio-NM is modeled as a moving sphere with a continuous emission pattern over a specific duration. In this work, the blood capillary characteristics, including the BTB and blood flow, are modeled and their effect is examined on the molecular received signal. In addition, we examined the impact of the emission duration, the elimination rate, and the separation distance on the molecular received signal. The numerical results are verified using the developed particle-based simulator. This work can help in the optimum design and development of the IoBNT systems based on MC for biomedical applications, such as smart drug delivery and health monitoring systems.