Antennas for medical applications: Ongoing research and future challenges

The development of a reliable wireless data telemetry technology is key to improving the quality of life of patients living with diseases such as diabetes, cardiac arrhythmia and retinitis pigmentosa. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in developing implantable radio frequency (RF) systems for medical applications. However, to be truly beneficial, the telemetry device must be able to communicate with an external receiver unit. To do this, the device must have an integrated antenna. Thus far, the design of such antennas has been limited to in-silico simulations. This talk will focus on the current research and future challenges on the design of antennas for medical applications.