Realistic modeling of the biological channel for the design of implantable wireless UWB communication systems

Several emerging medical applications require that a miniature data acquisition device be implanted into the head to extract and wirelessly communicate brain activity to other devices. Designing a reliable communication link for such an application requires a realistic model of the surrounding biological tissues. This paper exploits a realistic model of the biological channel to design a suitable wireless ultra wideband communication link in a brain monitoring application. Two scenarios for positioning the implanted transmitting antenna are considered. The 1^st scenario places the antenna under the skull, whereas the 2^nd scenario places the antenna under the skin, above the skull. The propagation characteristics of the signal through the tissues of the human head have been determined with full-wave electromagnetic simulation based on Finite Element Method. The implantable antenna and the external antenna are key components to establish an electromagnetic link between an implanted transmitter and an external receiver. The average specific absorption rate (ASAR) of the implantable antennas are evaluated and compared for the two proposed scenarios. Moreover, the maximum available power from the implanted antenna is evaluated to characterize the performance of the communication link established between the implantable antenna and the external antenna, with respect to spectrum and safety regulations. We show how sensitive the receiver must be in order to implement a reliable telemetry link based on the proposed model of the channel.