Characterization of Implantable Capacitive Intrabody Communication Channel between In-body and On-body Devices on a Liquid Phantom

Abstract

Implantable capacitive coupling (CC) intrabody communication (IBC) provides a method of communication for in-body devices to communicate not only between each other, but also with an on-body device and vice versa, using a low power, highly secure way of communication. However, to be able to realize such systems, it is important to understand the characteristics of a communication channel in an implantable CC. Therefore, in this paper, measurements of the received power in an implantable CC IBC system were performed on a liquid phantom with the same conductivity as a muscle tissue, using proprietary developed battery-powered devices (transmitter and receiver) for different measurement scenarios. The transmitter was placed inside the phantom while the receiver was placed outside of the phantom and vice versa, and the type of electrode used was changed. The results showcase the importance of minimizing the bandpass profile effect caused by the long cables. It is also shown that insulating the ground electrode affects the measured attenuation by about 6 dBm.