Title :
A flexible loop antenna for total knee replacement implants in the MedRadio band
Author :
Alrawashdeh, Rula ; Yi Huang ; Ping Cao
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Electron., Univ. of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Abstract :
In this paper a new flexible loop antenna is proposed for total knee replacement implant applications. Because of its flexibility this antenna can be bent around the outer wall of the implantable sensor which has a cylindrical shape providing conformity and leaving more space for other internal components such as batteries. Considering a very realistic model of an adult leg, the antenna has shown a very good performance covering the entire medical radio communication service (MedRadio (401-406 MHz)) band with an omnidirectional radiation pattern, and having much higher radiation efficiency and realized gain than most of reported implantable antennas. The effect of the size and structure of the implant on the performance of the antenna has been investigated and shown for the purposes of influencing actual designs of implantable antennas.
Keywords :
body sensor networks; loop antennas; omnidirectional antennas; prosthetics; MedRadio band; adult leg; batteries; cylindrical shape; flexible loop antenna; frequency 401 MHz to 406 MHz; implant size; implant structure; implantable antennas; implantable sensor; internal components; medical radio communication service; omnidirectional radiation pattern; radiation efficiency; total knee replacement implant applications; Antenna radiation patterns; Bones; Implants; Knee; Permittivity; Specific absorption rate; MedRadio band; flexible antennas; implantable antennas; knee implants; tibia;
Conference_Titel :
Antennas and Propagation Conference (LAPC), 2013 Loughborough
Conference_Location :
Loughborough
DOI :
10.1109/LAPC.2013.6711888
