Experimental Study of In-Body Devices Misalignment Impact on Light-Based In-Body Communications

Abstract

Optical wireless communication (OWC) has emerged as a promising technology for implantable medical devices because it provides private and secure wireless links for patients, low-power consumption, and high-speed data transmission. The OWC system’s receiving end typically relies on a photodetector with a limited field-of-view, necessitating direct line-of-sight connections for effective transmission. The directional nature of light-tissue interaction on the in-body communication can be problematic as the quality of the optical signal is rapidly deteriorated due to the properties of biological tissues, including scattering, absorption, and reflection, leading to a substantial loss of optical beam power reaching the photodetector’s sensitive area. In this sense, any misalignment that occurs in the in-body device can directly impact the power level and further degrade the received signal quality. Numerous studies have been conducted on this topic in free-space environments; nevertheless, only a few results have been found for in-body cases. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the impact of the in-body device misalignment on the OWC-based in-body communication system. Three cases were investigated: aligned systems, as well as lateral and angular misalignments. We considered an 810 nm Near-infrared (NIR) LED as a transmitter because the optical signal of the mentioned wavelength propagates better than other wavelengths through biological tissues. For the experiments, we used pure muscle and fat tissues with 15 mm thickness at different temperatures (23 ℃ and 37 ℃). We also tested with thicker meat samples (30 mm, 38 mm, and 40 mm, consisting of muscle + fat layers) at 37 ℃. This study adhered to ANSI.Z136.1–2007 safety standards. First, the results reveal that optical power still reaches the receiver in an aligned reference case at a meat thickness of 40 mm. Second, the in-body device misalignment significantly degrades the optical power density received, which is more pronounced under lateral than angular conditions. These misalignment effects must be carefully considered for further system enhancement when using OWC for the in-body communication system.