Simplified circuit modeling and fabrication of intrabody communication devices

Abstract Intrabody communication using the human body as the transmission medium enables wireless communication without emitting radio waves into the surrounding environment. Experimental results on signal transmission gain in the frequency range from 1 to 1000 kHz have shown that the two-electrode arrangement, in which only one of the two electrodes of the transmitter and receiver are attached to the human body, has greater gain than the four-electrode arrangement, in which all four electrodes are attached to the human body. In addition, calculated gains based on four-terminal circuit models of two different electrode arrangements agree with empirical results. The validity of these four-terminal circuit models in the MHz frequency band was investigated using a 10.7-MHz intrabody sine-wave transmitter and receiver fabricated for this purpose. The results also indicate that the two-electrode arrangement is more suitable for high-speed intrabody communication devices than the four-electrode arrangement. Intrabody communication between two persons can be established by shaking hands, which have numerous practical applications, such as the exchange of personal data or e-cash among wearable PCs.