Fabric antenna with body temperature sensing for BAN applications over 5G wireless systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a fabric-based antenna with body temperature sensing function for communication and sensing by body area network (BAN) applications. The antenna is designed to operate at millimeter-wave (mm-wave) band of 38 GHz, which is a candidate frequency band for future 5th generation (5G) wireless systems. The antenna's performance is studied in both free space and on-body environments. Due to its relatively high quality (Q) factor, the antenna's resonant frequency is sensitive to even small variations in the substrate's dielectric constant induced by the narrow range of temperature changes of the human body.