Modular Integration of a Passive RFID Sensor With Wearable Textile Antennas for Patient Monitoring

Abstract

An integration and modularization solution for a passive computational radio frequency identification (RFID) module is proposed for wireless patient monitoring. In the proposed integrated configuration, all the electronic components are encapsulated within the cavity of a textile antenna. This forms a compact protected embodiment suitable for concealment in a hospital garment, with the aim of being unobtrusive to older patients. In addition, modularization of the sensor and textile antenna is introduced through a convenient snap-on attachment method for the computational RFID module. This is in harmony with simple assembly techniques and facilitates maintenance. Importantly, the resulting customizable configurations, for example, in terms of antenna form factor and materials, can be tailored to suit application requirements, such as performance and disposability. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed wireless wearable sensor can operate with an antenna broadside gain of 2.74 dBi within a wide bandwidth extending over 893–964 MHz to support seamless worldwide operation across the ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands. The wearable sensor embodiment characterized in the context of a monitoring system attains excellent performance in terms of received signal strength, data read rate, and batteryless operational range.