Small Antennas Used in the Vicinity of Human Body

Abstract

SUMMARY Recently, wearable wireless devices or terminals have become hot a topic not only in research but also in business. Implantable wireless devices can temporarily be utilized to monitor a patient's condition in an emergency situation or to identify people in highly secured places. Unlike conventional wireless devices, wearable or implantable devices are used on or in the human body. In this sense, body-centric wireless communications (BCWCs) have become a very active area of research. Radiofrequency or microwave medical devices used for cancer treatment systems and surgical operation have completely different functions, but they are used on or in the human body. In terms of research techniques, such medical devices have a lot of similarities to BCWCs. The antennas to be used in the vicinity of the human body should be safe, small and robust. Also, their interaction with the human body should be well considered. This review paper describes some of the wearable antennas as well as implantable antennas that have been studied in our laboratory. key words: wearable antenna, implantable antenna, body-centric wireless communications, RFID, hyperthermia, medical device, human body, phantom

Applications of Microwave Materials: A Review

“…158 A compact antenna has been designed for capsular endoscopes with a wireless power transmission system. 159 It can diagnose tumor growth in digestive organs including the small intestine. The antenna performance evaluation has been done using an abdomen phantom consisting of muscles and other internal organs.…”

“…A dual-mode antenna capable of efficiently transmitting biological information such as heart beat has been developed by Ito et al; the experimental evaluation can be done by using torso phantoms, and they have developed a biocompatible RFID tag antenna for in-body wireless communication which can be implanted permanently in the human body. 159 It reduces chances of medical errors through constant monitoring of patients. A multilayer phantom simulating a real human hand was used to measure the performance of the designed system.…”