Suitability of NFC for Medical Device Communication and Power Delivery

Abstract

Near Field Communications (NFC) is a 13.56 MHz for example, delivering a sequence of signals that disrupt a inductively coupled power delivery and communication protocol seizure. that extends the ISO 14443 RFID standard. Low cost NFC Should substantial computation be required (e.g. for signal scanner subsystems are anticipated to be widely incorporated in coming generations of commodity cellular phones. processing),eNF can provide a data communication link toWe consider the potential of this emerging infrastructure external computers thatpotentially have largerpowerbudgets to provide convenient and low cost power distribution and than practical for implanted and/or field-powered devices. communication channels for a range of medical devices. For NFC data links can also be used to coordinate the behavior example, an NFC device within a cell phone could relay of several cooperative systems (e.g. components that measure measurements collected from a defibrillator-pacemaker to a monitoring physician, remotely control an insulin pump, or glCos and compone tha dins inin).activate an implanted neural simulation system.NFC is also suitable for providing communication for self-NFC devices pose similar bio-compatibility challenges to powered devices. Potential applications include collection of other implanted electronics without requiring the provisioning historical data from and setting of operating parameters for of battery power to support communication. Furthermore, an ICDs (internal cardiac defibrillators) [18]. In such configura-NFC communication subsystem's power-independence provides tions NFC communication subsystems may be field-powered a measure of defense against potential denial-of-service attacks ' .. . that consume power in order to discharge a capacity-limited and thus not Impose any additonal drain on limited battery power source.resources.The 13.56 MHz band has minimal interaction with human Direct internal electrical stimulation has been identified and animal tissues. We conducted several successful proof-of-as useful for a variety of medical conditions. This family concept experiments communicating with with ISO 14443 tags of applications is particularly well suited for NFC since this implanted at multiple locations within a human cadaver.Magnetic field strength decays with the cube of distance-to-stiution reqisdvery sallamunsofcenergytha Can antenna, limiting limits the range of potential eavesdroppers. potentially be provided by batteries recharged via NFC [11].At present, NFC protocols do not provide an appropriate set of Furthermore, NFC can be used to adjust operating parameters privacy properties for implanted medical applications. However, after implantation. Potential applications of implanted NFC NFC devices are implemented using embedded general purpose for stimulation include: processors and thus only software modifications would be required to support protocol extensions with enhanced privacy. * Direct mitigation of chronic pain through the use of spinal chord stimulation (see [9], [4]), I....

Issues in NFC as a form of contactless communication: A comprehensive survey

“…Another important application of NFC we found is Health care sector. Freudenthal et.al's experiment of implantation of 13.56MHz passive RFID tag TI -TagitTM transponder on animal tissues prove the suitability of using passive NFC for communication with the medical devices implanted in human cadaver [21]. [22] provide a process to monitor heart-failure patients using NFC technology.…”

NFC-WISP: A sensing and computationally enhanced near-field RFID platform

“…The recent inclusion of Near-Field Communication (NFC) readers in to smart phones has enabled a resurgence in near-field RFID technology with applications focused on human computer interaction, smart living spaces, and healthcare [2]- [4]. With high quality, mobile NFC readers readily available, there is the opportunity to develop new tag hardware with enhanced capabilities to enable further innovation in these application spaces.…”

Advanced near field communication with resonant coupling

“…Due to the characteristic of magnetic field in near region, NFC can also be a safe and reliable means for medical device communication and power delivery [3]. However, conventional NFC still has some issues that needs to be improved such as energy efficiency and robustness.…”