Numerical modelling of ultra wide band signal propagation in human abdominal region

Abstract

Owing to the growing need for developing implantable wireless transceivers in Body Area Networks (BANs), it becomes necessary to characterise the wireless channel in Ultra Wide Band (UWB) frequency range. In case of BAN with implantable sensors, in-vivo measurement is not practically feasible. Therefore, modelling the electromagnetic wave propagation inside the human body through numerical simulations and characterising the wireless channel would be a good solution. This paper discusses the various steps involved in the development of a generic channel model and proposes an approach using modified ray tracing to predict the channel path loss characteristics of an Implantable Body Area Network in the UWB frequency range. As the human body is a heterogeneous and multilayer environment, the path loss at different depth inside the body is predicted with a four layer human abdomen model and the results are compared with the measured data.