Wireless link analysis of cardiovascular stent as antenna for biotelemetry

In this paper, we design the wireless link of a novel vascular stent antenna, which is a key component of future in-vessel telemetry systems. To achieve an efficient link, both the antenna loss and propagation loss should be characterized and minimized. Firstly, a detailed computational model of tissue-induced path loss is proposed and validated to characterize path loss. Meanwhile, antenna loss is analyzed through microwave simulation of an exact stent model embedded in chest phantom. Analysis proves that 433 MHz transmission leads to minimum total link loss, that indicates the accomplished link can reduce port-to-port loss to 38 dB, which is 18.5 dB lower than the lowest loss under similar conditions reported to date. Secondly, we conduct 4 experiments (1 free-space, 3 in-vitro) to verify the theoretical and emulational results. Finally, we prove feasibility of 433 MHz in-vessel coronary artery telemetry system with the link budget analysis.