Proposal and evaluation of intra-body sensing via sheet medium

In recent years, Intra-Body Communication (IBC) has attracted attention as a key new technique for health monitoring. It is expected that health monitoring can be improved by embedding sensors inside of the body. Then, the technology for communication between embedded sensors and monitoring systems outside of the body becomes important. Wireless communication is preferred to avoid the invasiveness, inflexibility and complexity of wired sensors. In this paper, we propose a new approach to communication with intra-body sensors using a sheet medium. In the proposed intra-body sensing system, electromagnetic signals can be easily and efficiently transmitted to or received from embedded sensors just by placing the sheet medium on the body. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed system is effective, compared with the use of an electrode insert into the surface of the body rather than the sheet medium.