Providing Connectivity to Implanted Electronics Devices: Experimental Results on Optical Communications Over Biological Tissues with Comparisons Against UWB

Abstract

Radio and acoustic waves have been conventionally used for transmitting information through biological tissues. However, some radio-based communications often suffer from several drawbacks like security, safety, privacy, and interference. In this paper, we demonstrate that optical wireless communications can be practically used for communications through biological tissues, particularly to transmit information to and from implanted devices. In the experiment, ex vivo samples of pork meat were used as the optical channel. Initial results show that information can be optically transmitted through biological tissues to distances of several centimeters, a range of practical interest as many implants today are placed within this extent. Optical links are inherently secure, and interference to and from other equipment is not an issue. With numerous potential benefits, optical wireless communication can be considered as a complementary approach to the existing radio frequency (RF) communications. In this paper, a comparison between the measurement results of ultra-wideband (UWB) and optical communications through the biological tissues is presented. Both experiments have been taken place in a similar environment, with the same meat samples. We have also explored the effect of tissue temperature on successful communications through biological tissues. These initial results are very promising and indicate various potential benefits for in-body communication in the future.

Wireless Battery-free and Fully Implantable Organ Interfaces

“…For deep tissue interfaces, such as those used in skeletal interfaces, optical communication is difficult due to scattering and attenuation through deep tissue . This is especially problematic in low-power applications where there is little overhead available to increase output power . Far-field communication, which must operate at higher frequencies to enable miniaturized antennas (see Section “Wireless Communication”), is largely precluded by the metallic encapsulation employed by smart prostheses.…”

Optical Wireless Power Transmission Through Biological Tissue Using Commercial Photovoltaic Cells Under 810 nm LEDs: Feasibility Study

“…Furthermore, the tissue dielectric characteristics of adult pigs closely mimic those of humans, rendering a commonly employed substitute for simulating the human body in medical studies [10]. In addition, adjusting the meat to temperatures closer to the average human body temperature, specifically 37 °C, is important as it will yield more realistic results, as concerned by [9,38].…”

“…IMDs offer significant advantages in real-time health monitoring and targeted treatments within the human body [1][2][3]. So far, a massive amount of research has been conducted to enhance wireless implantable medical devices (IMDs) dedicated to improving patients' well-being, for instance, in [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Various types of IMDs have been developed, each with unique functions and designs [11][12][13].…”

Analyzing the Trends and Global Growth of Energy Harvesting for Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) Research—A Bibliometric Approach

“…There have been significant advancements in implantable medical device (IMD) technology in recent decades [1]. This progress has been facilitated by advancements in the fields of science and engineering, such as biotechnology, microelectronics, and nanomaterials [2].…”