Implantable Antenna Research Articles

Horizontally stacked inverted U-shaped dual-band implantable antenna with circularly polarized for biotelemetry application

Abstract A horizontally stacked inverted U-shaped dual-band implantable antenna is proposed for RFID and health care monitoring implantable applications. The designed antenna operates at 0.952 GHz ultrahigh frequency band (UHF; 0.951–0.956 GHz) and 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical band (ISM; 2.4–2.4835 GHz) in a suitable feeding scheme. The shorting pin is used on the radiation patch to minimize the antenna structure. The final dimension of the designed antenna size is 9 × 9 × 0.635 mm 3 . The defected ground structure (DGS) helped to produce radiation with circular polarization (CP) at 2.4 GHz resonant frequency. The designed antenna achieves an axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 20% at 2.4 GHz resonant frequency. The antenna is designed on Rogers RT Duroid 6010 substrate and fabricated. The same dielectric material was used as a superstrate. At both the UHF and ISM frequency bands, the experiment was conducted using skin-mimicking gel and minced pork. The horizontally stacked inverted U-shaped antenna has a high peak gain of −27.5 dBi at 0.952 GHz. The computed maximum specific absorption ratio is within allowable bounds and complies with IEEE safety criteria.

Implantable small ultra-wideband circularly polarized antenna design for continuous blood pressure monitoring

This paper presents a miniaturized circularly polarized (CP) implantable antenna Ultra-wide bandwidth for continuous blood pressure monitoring. The miniature and CP of the antenna are gained by using a new slot method. The symmetry slots in the radiation patch, two T-shape slots in the GND, coupled with the use of a short pin make the designed antenna with good physical and radiation properties. In simulation, the fractional effective axial ratio bandwidth is 23.6% (2.36–2.94 GHz), and the peak gain is − 28.9 dBi. Its total size is only 17.78 mm3 (0.056 × 0.04 × 0.004 λ03), which size is smaller compared to other antennas with similar performance. A prototype is fabricated and measured. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results. And, the radiation patterns have good symmetry both in the simulation and measurement. In addition, the maximum SAR value is in accordance with the IEEE standard safety guidelines (IEEE C95.1-2019).

ANN modeling for predicting muscle-implanted antenna performance for skin and fat thickness variations at 2.45 GHz

Abstract Implantable antenna is embedded in implantable medical devices to communicate with external world for continuous patient monitoring. The implantable antenna performance may vary with patients due to their different skin and fat thickness owing to their environment, location and concentration of collagen in skin, estrogen and testosterone concentration, age, diseases like obesity, Gottron syndrome etc. Estimation of IMA performance requires a proper description of its dependence on variable skin and fat thickness which is not studied extensively in previous related works. In this article, we have designed a muscle-implanted antenna at 2.45 GHz to examine its performance dependence on variable skin and fat thickness values. In this study, we have designed an artificial neural network (ANN) for prediction of antenna performance parameters at 2.45 GHz for wide range of skin and fat thickness variations. The designed ANN model can predict antenna performance with ∼0.99 % error. Here, accurate dependence analysis of radiation performance of implantable antenna in terms of S 11, realized gain, bandwidth and operating frequency on skin and fat thickness variations is performed which has not been studied yet and use of ANN in this field for accurate prediction is also a novel approach.

Design of a MIMO implantable antenna with ultra-miniaturized volume and reduced SAR

Abstract This paper presents an ultra-miniaturized skin implantable Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna for biotelemetry in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band (2.4–2.48 GHz). The two-element configuration exhibits a compact planar volume of 4.5 × 6.2 × 0.25 mm³, with an edge-to-edge distance of 0.8 mm and a 75.85 % size reduction. Fabricated on a 0.25 mm thick Roger 10.2LM high permittivity substrate, the antenna achieves a Fractional Bandwidth (FBW) of 9.27 % and a realized gain of −28.2 dBi, with over 24.3 dB isolation across the entire band. Experimental results in multilayer animal tissue aligned well with simulations. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis at 1 W input power showed values of 848 W/kg (1-g) and 88.46 W/kg (10-g), yielding allowable input powers of 3.77 mW and 45.2 mW, respectively, adhering to international safety guidelines. The 2 × 2 element antenna demonstrated efficient communication over 7 m with a data rate of 78 Mbps/s. Multiple Input Multiple Output channel analysis revealed a Channel Capacity of 10.8 bps/Hz at a 20 dB SNR, nearly double that of an ideal Single Input Single Output system, making it suitable for high data rate skin-implantable applications.

Circuit modelling and validating a capacitively loaded implantable antenna with its sensitivity analysis for biomedical applications

This paper presents a flexible and capacitively loaded implantable antenna with its sensitivity analysis for biomedical applications. The proposed antenna is designed to operate within the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band, which ranges from 2.4 to 2.48 GHz. The overall dimensions of an antenna are 8 × 8 × 0.25 mm3. The substrate material FR-4 is utilised with a dielectric constant (ε r) 4.4, loss tangent (δ) 0.0022 and a thickness of 0.25 mm for the proposed antenna. An ultra-flexible superstrate material, Parylene C, is used with a thickness of 40 microns on both sides of an antenna to avoid direct contact of metallization with human tissue. Further, the proposed antenna is initially implanted inside a four-layer cubic (FLC) phantom, and then its parameters are validated using the CST Hugo voxel model. The simulated bandwidth of an antenna is 28.16 %, whereas measured bandwidths are 32.25 % inside the tissue-mimicking phantom and 64 % inside minced pork. Moreover, assessing the specific absorption rate (SAR) in a realistic model ensures patient safety by following the guidelines outlined in C95.1–1999 for 1g and 10g of tissue. The simulated and measured results are in close agreement, making the designed antenna appropriate for biomedical applications.

Ultra-Wideband Circular Polarized Implantable Patch Antenna for Implantable Blood Glucose Detection System Applications.

To address the current demands for antenna miniaturization, ultra-bandwidth, and circular polarization in advanced medical devices, a novel ISM band implantable antenna for blood glucose monitoring has been developed. This antenna achieves miniaturization by incorporating slots in the radiation patch and adding symmetric short-circuit probes, resulting in a compact size of only 0.054λ0 × 0.054λ0 × 0.005λ0 (λ0 is the wavelength in free space in respect of the lowest working frequency). By combining two resonance points and utilizing a differential feed structure, the antenna achieves ultra-broadband and circular polarization. Simulations indicate a |S11| bandwidth of 1.1 GHz (1.65-2.75 GHz) and an effective axial ratio (based on 3 dB axis ratio) bandwidth of 590 MHz (1.89-2.48 GHz), able to cover both the ISM frequency band (2.45 GHz) and the mid-field frequency band (1.9 GHz). The antenna exhibits CP gains of -20.04 dBi at a frequency of 2.45 GHz, while it shows gains of -24.64 dBi at 1.9 GHz. Furthermore, a superstrate layer on the antenna's radiating surface enhances its biocompatibility and minimizes its impact on the human body. Simulation and experimental results indicate that the antenna can establish a stable wireless communication link for implantable continuous blood glucose monitoring systems.

A Miniaturized Dual-Band Circularly Polarized Implantable Antenna for Use in Hemodialysis.

Hemodialysis is achieved by implanting a smart arteriovenous graft (AVG) to build a vascular pathway, but reliability and stability in data transmission cannot be guaranteed. To address this issue, a miniaturized dual-band circularly polarized implantable antenna operating at 1.4 GHz (for energy transmission) and 2.45 GHz (for wireless telemetry), implanted in a wireless arteriovenous graft monitoring device (WAGMD), has been designed. The antenna design incorporates a rectangular serpentine structure on the radiation surface to reduce its volume to 9.144 mm3. Furthermore, matching rectangular slots on the radiation surface and the ground plane enhance the antenna's circular polarization performance. The simulated effective 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidths are 11.43% (1.4 GHz) and 12.65% (2.45 GHz). The simulated peak gains of the antenna are -19.55 dBi and -22.85 dBi at 1.4 GHz and 2.45 GHz, respectively. The designed antenna is implanted in a WAGMD both in the simulation and the experiment. The performance of the system is simulated in homogeneous human tissue models of skin, fat, and muscle layers, as well as a realistic adult male forearm model. The measurement results in a minced pork environment align closely with the simulation results.

Design of a miniaturized dual circularly polarized implantable antenna by using characteristic mode method

The characteristic mode method is used to design a miniaturized dual-band dual circularly polarized (CP) implantable antenna operating in ISM bands. The miniaturization and dual-band characteristics are gained by using the slotting method and by inserting a short-circuit probe between the radiation patch and the ground plane. We use the characteristic mode method to study the current distribution of circular radiation patches with T-shaped slots in different modes. After opening a cross-shaped slot at the center of the radiation patch and the ground plane, we obtained two orthogonal modes with equal amplitude and phase difference of 90° in two operating frequency bands, ultimately achieving CP characteristics of the antenna. Its overall size is only π\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\pi$$\\end{document}×(0.014 λ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\uplambda$$\\end{document}0)2 × 0.0027 λ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\uplambda$$\\end{document}0, smaller than other CP implantable antennas with similar performances, and it has satisfactory radiation efficiency and gain characteristics. Measurements show that it can operate in the ISM bands of 0.9 and 2.4 GHz with an effective 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth greater than 220 MHz (0.87 to 1.09 GHz, 22.45%) and 230 MHz (2.31 to 2.54 GHz, 9.48%), and its peak gain is − 29.5 dBi and − 19.2 dBi, respectively. And, this design complies with IEEE safety guidelines.

Meander-Lined Implantable Antenna Design at 2.45 GHz Using Transmission Line Model

Scientists mostly follow a trial-and-error approach using simulators for designing implantable antennas which may increase time complexity and memory usage. In this article, the Transmission Line Model (TLM) is utilized to design a miniaturized meander-line implantable antenna at 2.45 GHz for reducing time and memory requirements. The meander-line antenna is first decomposed into different segments – x-directed, y-directed, and bends. Each segment is considered a transmission line and each line is replaced by its equivalent lumped LC network. The lumped parameters are calculated using the dimensions of the segment and guided wavelength inside the body. Here, a three-layered body model is represented by a T-type resistor, inductor and capacitor (RLC) network. The antenna within the human body is then simulated using Finite Element Method (FEM)-based CST Microwave Studio software. FEM technique is taking 4.94-MB memory space and 13-minutes time to analyze this implanted system whereas TLM is analyzing the same system by considering 726-KB memory within 52 s. TLM is predicting implanted antenna performance considering ∼0.8% error concerning simulated response. The designed antenna is fabricated and measured within a homogeneous body phantom and minced pork to verify the simulated response. The effect of chamfering of the corners of the meander-line antenna is also analyzed here. From this study, it is observed that TLM can predict implantable antenna response efficiently with low memory and less time requirement with respect to FEM which is helpful for antenna engineers. Analysis of implantable antenna with low memory and time requirements using TLM is a novel approach to this work.

On body and off body communication using a compact wideband and high gain wearable textile antenna

In this paper, a compact low-profile dual-band wearable textile antenna is proposed for on-body and off-body communications. The presented antenna works efficiently in the 5G n79 frequency band (4.4 − 5 GHz) and the ISM band (5.725 − 5.875 GHz). The designed antenna has an ultra-wide impedance bandwidth of 2.01 GHz and peak realized gains of 10.5 dBi and 12 dBi at 4.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz, respectively. The antenna has a small footprint (π × 0.3λ02), which is inspired by circular fractal geometry. The performance of the presented wearable antenna is evaluated at various body parts, including the arm, wrist, and chest. The link margin is evaluated in the on-body and off-body communication scenarios, i.e., communication with the implantable antenna and the outside-body antenna, which is 80 dB and 65 dB at 4.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz, respectively. The 1 gm/10 gm specific absorption rate values at 4.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz are 0.12/0.098 and 0.11/0.082, respectively, which are significantly lower than the standard values, making the proposed antenna suitable for modern wearable applications.

SAR reduction with a compact CP implantable antenna employing sorting pin and slot

SAR reduction with a compact CP implantable antenna employing sorting pin and slot

Design of a Compact Circularly Polarized Implantable Antenna for Capsule Endoscopy Systems.

This research proposes a miniature circular polarization antenna used in a wireless capsule endoscopy system at 2.45 GHz for industrial, scientific, and medical bands. We propose a method of cutting a chamfer rectangular slot on a circular radiation patch and introducing a curved radiation structure into the centerline position of the chamfer rectangular slot, while a short-circuit probe is added to achieve miniaturization. Therefore, we significantly reduced the size of the antenna and made it exhibit circularly polarized radiation characteristics. A cross-slot is cut in the GND to enable the antenna to better cover the operating band while being able to meet the complex human environment. The effective axis ratio bandwidth is 120 MHz (2.38-2.50 GHz). Its size is π × 0.032λ02 × 0.007λ0 (where λ0 is the free-space wavelength of at 2.4 GHz). In addition, the effect of different organs such as muscle, stomach, small intestine, and big intestine on the antenna when it was embedded into the wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) system was further discussed, and the results proved that the WCE system has better robustness in different organs. The antenna's specific absorption rate can follow the IEEE Standard Safety Guidelines (IEEE C95.1-1999). A prototype is fabricated and measured. The experimental results are consistent with the simulation results.

Wireless Power Transfer for Implantable Medical Devices: Impact of Implantable Antennas on Energy Harvesting

Wireless Power Transfer for Implantable Medical Devices: Impact of Implantable Antennas on Energy Harvesting

Design of a mid-field wireless power transmission system for deep-tissue implants.

Implantable medical devices are being valued as one of the developments of wireless biomedical technology. This paper presents a mid-field wireless power transmission (WPT) system, which is designed for implantable applications and operates at the 2.40-2.48 GHz band of Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM). A new compact transmitter structure is proposed, and a small 4-C planar ring antenna is designed as the receiving element. A measurement setup is fulfilled on porcine tissues to verify the power transmission system. The experimental results show that the operating bandwidth is 2.2-2.62 GHz and the transmission coefficient can reach -26.32 dB at a distance of 50 mm. The effects of tissue differences, placement depth, and different transmission distances were also measured. The displacement and deflection tolerances between the transmitter and the implant receiver also have good performance. In the safety standard of specific absorption rate, for the 1 W output power from the mid-field transmitter, the receiving power of the implantable antenna at the mid-field distance can reach 79.6 mW. With measurements of different implantation and transmission distance on pork, the mid-field power transmission efficiency is proven and shows the high performance of the system.

Implantable antenna immunosensor based on Au-decorated graphene film for wireless CEA detection

Early diagnosis of cancer is crucial for treatment and recovery. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), as an important tumor marker, its traditional detection methods rely on costly instruments, leading to increased expenses and usage limitations. This paper proposes a miniature implantable antenna immunosensor for real-time monitoring of CEA. The antenna immunosensor works as both a radiator and a sensor. The radiation patch adopts a double symmetric bending structure, greatly reducing the overall volume of the antenna (5×3×0.127 mm3). Although small in size, the peak gain of the antenna is -18.2 dB, indicating that the antenna has good radiation characteristics. In addition, Au-nanoparticles-decorated graphene film was deposited on the radiation patch and worked as sensitive film, which enabled the antenna to have good sensing characteristics. The immunosensor demonstrated a sensitivity of 2.46 MHz/log (ng/mL) across an antigen concentration range from 0.01 ng mL-1 to 100 ng mL-1. A comprehensive analysis of the immunosensor's performance revealed commendable reproducibility, long-term stability, specificity, and continuous monitoring ability. Furthermore, tests conducted on actual human serum indicated a recovery range between 93.5% and 100.2%. These results prove that the antenna immunosensor has great application prospects in home tumor detection.

Optically control tissue-independent reconfigurable antenna for body-centric communications at 2.4 GHz ISM band

The objective of this article is to design a tissue-independent reconfigurable antenna that operates at the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band (ISM band: 2.4 − 2.485 GHz) for body-centric wireless communications. The primary radiator of the proposed antenna consists of three concentric split-ring resonators (SRRs) and a photodiode appropriately placed between the rings. In addition, a hook-shaped slot in the ground plane, and a shorting pin between the radiator and the ground plane are employed to improve the impedance matching and adjust the resonance frequency, respectively. The optically controlled implantable antenna (OCIA) with the novel configuration operates in the respective frequency band in the skin and muscle tissue in the OFF state and the fat tissue in the ON state of the diode. The numerical design and analysis of the OCIA were carried out using CST Microwave Studio and the obtained results were verified by the in-vivo, ex-vivo, and in-vitro measurements of the fabricated antenna. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first optically reconfigurable antenna capable of covering the 2.4 GHz ISM band within three different body tissues.

Analysis of muscle implanted antenna performance with the variation of implantation depth

Abstract Implantation depth of Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) is an important factor of communication quality between implantable antennas in IMDs and external devices. Therefore, it is required to study the effect of implantation depth on implantable antenna performance. In this article, dependence of resonant frequency and scattering parameters of a two-antenna system where one miniaturized meander-line antenna is placed within human muscle tissue layer operating at 2.45 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band and a rectangular patch antenna placed outside human body, are tested. Here 15 values of implantation depth ranging over 5–35 mm inside muscle layer are taken and for each case resonant frequency and scattering parameters (S 11 and S 21) of the system are recorded. Statistical analysis has been performed to observe how these performance parameters are dependent on depth of implantation which may be varied at the time of surgery.

Maximum Radiation Efficiency of Arbitrarily Shaped Implantable Antennas

Maximum Radiation Efficiency of Arbitrarily Shaped Implantable Antennas

3D printed circularly polarized implantable antenna with wideband impedance matching

Abstract This article proposes a slot-loaded circularly polarized implantable antenna with wide bandwidth at 2.45 GHz, i.e., Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. This antenna is established with a compact size of 44.52 mm3 based on 3D printing technology, and biocompatible material MED610 is adopted for human safety consideration. During the design, unilaterally shorted patch antenna loaded with T-slot is adopted, obtaining two closely spaced orthogonal modes with miniaturized antenna size. More importantly, to obtain wide impedance matching, a spiral slot is introduced around the feed, forming an L-section network consisted of a parallel capacitor and a series inductor. As a result, a wide circular polarization bandwidth of 28.7 % is realized for the proposed antenna. The measured results are well agreed with simulated results.

A metamaterial unit-cell based patch radiator for brain-machine interface technology

This paper presents a novel approach to the design of a brain implantable antenna tailored for brain-machine interface (BMI) technology. The design is based on a U-shaped unit-cell metamaterial (MTM), introducing innovative features to enhance performance and address specific challenges associated with BMI applications. The motivation behind the use of the unit-cell structure is to elongate the electric path within the antenna patch, diverging from a reliance on the electrical properties of the MTM. Consequently, the unit cell is connected to an inset-fed transmission line and shorted to the ground. This configuration serves the dual purpose of reducing the size of the antenna and enabling resonance at the 2.442 GHz band within a seven-layer brain phantom. The antenna is designed using a FR-4 substrate (εr = 4.3 and tan δ = 0.025) of 1.5 mm thickness, and it is coated with a biocompatible polyamide material (εr = 4.3 and tan δ = 0.004) of 0.05 mm thickness. The proposed antenna achieves a compact dimension of 20 × 20 × 1.6 mm3 (0.338 × 0.338 × 0.027 λg3) and demonstrates a high bandwidth of 974 MHz with its gain of −14.6 dBi in the 2.442 GHz band. It also exhibits a matched impedance of 49.41-j1.32 Ω in the implantable condition, corresponding to a 50 Ω source impedance. In comparison to a selection of relevant research works, the proposed antenna has a low specific absorption rate (SAR) of 218 W/kg and 68 W/kg at 1g and 10g brain tissue standards, respectively. An antenna prototype has been fabricated and measured for return loss in both free space and in-vivo conditions using sheep's brain. The measurement results are found to be in close agreement with the simulation results for both conditions, showing the practical applicability of the proposed antenna for BMI applications.