A structural antenna for UHF-RFID implant into limb prosthesis

Orthopedic prosthesis of the near future will incorporate sensing and communication capabilities. An integrated radiofrequency tag, suitable to cohabitation with a realistic metallic prosthesis is here proposed by applying the technology of structural antennas that is well assessed in the avionic and naval communications. The resulting Prosthetic Structural Tag (PST) is suitable to energy harvesting and radiofrequency identifications. Simulation and laboratory experimentations over phantoms demonstrated a read distance of more that 35cm at 870-960 MHz with an interesting power margin to enable also sensing applications.