Influence of phantom models on implantable antenna performance for biomedical applications

The performance variations of implantable antennas due to the influence of the phantom model dimensions, the shape or the implant depth is reported in this paper. Three 2D-square spiral PIFA prototypes operating in the Medical Device Radiocommunications Service (MedRadio) frequency band (401-406 MHz) and in the Industrial Scientific and Medical bands (866 MHz and 2.45 GHz) are presented and characterized to assess the influence of the surrounding tissues in the radiation features. The electromagnetic modeling is based on the finite-difference time-domain method. The dielectric properties of the skin have been taken as a reference for the parameters of phantom models while the Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic technology has been chosen for the substrate. The results show that some antenna features such as the gain, the efficiency or the radiation pattern are substantially modified when changing phantom dimensions or implant depth. Finally, the standardization of implantable antenna characterization is suggested in order to improve the comparison between prototypes.

[1]  T. Baras,et al.  Manufacturing Reliability of LTCC Millimeter-Wave Passive Components , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[2]  S. Curto,et al.  DETUNING STUDY OF IMPLANTABLE ANTENNAS INSIDE THE HUMAN BODY , 2012 .

[3]  Leszek Golonka,et al.  Low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) microsystems , 2011 .

[4]  Eric Chow,et al.  Implantable RF Medical Devices: The Benefits of High-Speed Communication and Much Greater Communication Distances in Biomedical Applications , 2013, IEEE Microwave Magazine.

[5]  A.K. Skrivervik,et al.  Implanted antenna for biomedical applications , 2008, 2008 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium.

[6]  C.M. Furse,et al.  Design of implantable microstrip antenna for communication with medical implants , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[7]  K. Yee.  Numerical solution of initial boundary value problems involving maxwell's equations in isotropic media , 1966 .

[8]  Y. Rahmat-Samii,et al.  Implanted antennas inside a human body: simulations, designs, and characterizations , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[9]  A. Kiourti,et al.  A Review of Implantable Patch Antennas for Biomedical Telemetry: Challenges and Solutions [Wireless Corner] , 2012, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine.

[10]  R. Moore,et al.  Effects of a surrounding conducting medium on antenna analysis , 1963 .

[11]  Niels Kuster,et al.  The Virtual Family—development of surface-based anatomical models of two adults and two children for dosimetric simulations , 2010, Physics in medicine and biology.

[12]  M. Samet,et al.  Parametric study on the dielectric properties of biological tissues , 2015, 2015 16th International Conference on Sciences and Techniques of Automatic Control and Computer Engineering (STA).

[13]  A. Kiourti,et al.  Accelerated Design of Optimized Implantable Antennas for Medical Telemetry , 2012, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.