Modeling and characterization of different channels based on human body communication.

Abstract

Human body communication (HBC), which uses the human body as a transmission medium for electrical signals, provides a prospective communication solution for body sensor networks (BSNs). In this paper, an inhomogeneous model which includes the tissue layers of skin, fat, and muscle is proposed to study the propagation characteristics of different HBC channels. Specifically, the HBC channels, namely, the on-body to on-body (OB-OB)channel, on-body to in-body (OB-IB) channel, in-body to on-body (IB-OB) channel, and in-body to in-body (IB-IB)channel, are studied over different frequencies (from 1MHz to 100MHz) through numerical simulations with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the gain of OB-IB channel and IB-OB channel is almost the same. The gain of IB-IB channel is greater than other channels in the frequency range 1MHz to 70MHz. In addition, the gain of all channels is associated with the channel length and communication frequency. The simulations are verified by experimental measurements in a porcine tissue sample. The results show that the simulations are in agreement with the measurements.