Review on Medical Implantable Antenna Technology and Imminent Research Challenges

Date

2021-05-02

Authors

Soliman, Md Mohiuddin
Chowdhury, Muhammad E. H.
Khandakar, Amith
Islam, Mohammad Tariqul
Qiblawey, Yazan
Musharavati, Farayi
Zal Nezhad, Erfan

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Implantable antennas are mandatory to transfer data from implants to the external world wirelessly. Smart implants can be used to monitor and diagnose the medical conditions of the patient. The dispersion of the dielectric constant of the tissues and variability of organ structures of the human body absorb most of the antenna radiation. Consequently, implanting an antenna inside the human body is a very challenging task. The design of the antenna is required to fulfill several conditions, such as miniaturization of the antenna dimension, biocompatibility, the satisfaction of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), and efficient radiation characteristics. The asymmetric hostile human body environment makes implant antenna technology even more challenging. This paper aims to summarize the recent implantable antenna technologies for medical applications and highlight the major research challenges. Also, it highlights the required technology and the frequency band, and the factors that can affect the radio frequency propagation through human body tissue. It includes a demonstration of a parametric literature investigation of the implantable antennas developed. Furthermore, fabrication and implantation methods of the antenna inside the human body are summarized elaborately. This extensive summary of the medical implantable antenna technology will help in understanding the prospects and challenges of this technology.

Description

Keywords

medical implantable antenna, antenna design, specific absorption rate, implant fabrication, biocompatibility

Citation

Sensors 21 (9): 3163 (2021)

Department

Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering