Miniaturization vs gain and safety considerations of implantable antennas for wireless biotelemetry

In this study, we assess the trade-off between size, gain and safety of implantable antennas for telemetry in the medical implant communications service (MICS) band. An implantable antenna is proposed, and an algorithm is applied to miniaturize it considering single- and stacked-patch geometries. Gain and specific absorption rate (SAR) performance of all three antennas is compared as a function of size. To speed-up design and provide generic results, skin-cube implantation is assumed. Validation inside an anatomical head model is also performed.