Design and performance of miniaturized meandered patch antenna for implantable biomedical applications

The aim of this paper is to present the design of an implantable miniaturized meandered patch antenna for Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) band which is between 402-405 MHz. The proposed antenna is fed by a coaxial cable and a shorting pin in placed in a suitable position to get a compact antenna size and superior performance. The design and performance of the antenna, suitable for implanting either in the arm or under the chest is presented. Simulations are done inside human body phantom models to help to design the proposed antenna. Further, the characteristics of the antenna like return loss and gain are observed in the same band , using different type of substrate materials and keeping the dimensions of the antenna constant, and the performances are compared. The designed antenna has a volume of 1.68 cm³ including the superstrate layer, which can be therefore successfully be used for implantable purpose.