Capacity of UWB wireless channel for neural recording systems

Ultra wide-band (UWB) short-range communication systems are valuable in medical technology, particularly for implanted devices, due to their low-power consumption, low cost, small size and high data rates. Monitoring of neural responses in the brain requires high data rate if we target a system supporting a large number of sensors. In this work, we are interested in the evaluation of the capacity of the ultra wide-band (UWB) channel that we could exploit using a realistic model of the biological channel. The channel characteristics are examined under two scenarios that are related to TX antenna placements. Using optimal power spectrum allocation (OPSA) at the transmitter side, we have computed this capacity by taking into account the fading characteristics of the channel. The results show the pertinence of the optimal power spectrum allocation for this type of channel. An improvement by a factor of 2 to 3 over a uniform power spectrum allocation (UPSA) when the SNR <; 0 dB was obtained. When the SNR is > 40 dB, both approaches give similar results. Antennas placement is examined under two scenarios having contrasting power constraints.