Chapter 1

Introduction
A medical device is defined as implantable if it is either partly or totally
introduced, surgically or medically, into the human body and is intended to remain there
after the procedure. Millions of people worldwide depend upon implantable medical
devices to support and improve the quality of their lives. The great impact of implantable
devices was first shown by the introduction of pacemakers in the early 1960s, which
enabled monitoring and treatment within the human body. Implantable Medical Devices are
used presently to perform an expanding variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
enabling the control of human functions as well as data on the patient’s status. Implantable
medical devices are already used in variety of applications according to their functions.
Basically, two categories, first category includes all those devices used to diagnose various
diseases. These Implantable medical devices in addition to their communication system with
the external environment includes some sensors that interact with the human body to
measure the necessary physiological information. This category includes microsystems
implanted within the human body to monitor important biological signals such as
temperature monitor, blood glucose sensor etc. The second category includes implantable
devices used as stimulators. Stimulators receive information from an external unit (usually
managed by doctors) and stimulate (irritating) specific nerves. Such devices are pacemaker,
retinal implants etc. Essential element of implantable devices are antennas embedded in
such systems, which enable the exchange of data between implantable devices and external
environment.
 Fig. 1.1 Wireless Implantable Medical Devices

1.1 Implantable Antennas

Implantable antennas are electrically small antennas similar to typical
antennas used for common wireless applications such as mobile phones, but with the
additional complication that the implant will be located in a complex lossy medium.
Implantable antennas inside the human body have two types of biomedical applications.
They are Biotelemetry and Biomedical therapy. Biotelemetry can build a wireless
communication link between human body and outside environment. Biomedical therapy
and diagnosis include treatment of diseases and monitoring of various physiological
parameters. Designing antennas that operates inside a human tissue is very challenging task
as many factors such as dimensions, bandwidth, radiation efficiency, and specific absorption
rate (SAR) need be considered.

Fig.1.2 Different kinds of antenna types for implantable antenna design

Here brief discussion about some of the basic implantable antennas

1.1.1 Microstrip patch Implantable antennas

Microstrip antennas, also referred to as patch antennas, are low profile, comfortable
to planar and non-planar surfaces mechanically robust when mounted on rigid surfaces,
compatible with MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits) designs. Microstrip
antennas have a number of advantages over other antennas; they are inexpensive,
lightweight and easy to integrate with accompanying electronics. In the wireless
communication area, microstrip antennas are of interest for implantable applications
because of their flexibility in design, conformability and shapes. In addition, when the
particular patch shape and mode are selected, they are very versatile in terms of resonant
frequency, polarization, pattern and impedance.

Fig.1.3 Geometry of Microstrip patch antenna

At the centre of the patch, the electric field is zero, maximum (positive) at one side, and
minimum (negative) on the opposite side. It should be mentioned that the minimum and
maximum continuously change side according to the instantaneous phase of the applied
signal. The electric field does not stop abruptly at the patches outside edge as in a cavity;
rather, the fields extend the outer periphery to some degree. As a result, these field
extensions, known as fringing fields, cause the patch to radiate. However, there are
methods, such by increasing the height of the substrate, which can be used to extend the
efficiency and bandwidth.

1.1.2 Planar Inverted-F Antenna (PIFA)

Antenna designers are always looking for creative ways to improve performance.
One method used in patch antenna design is to introduce shorting pins (from the patch to
the ground plane) at various locations which leads into the Planar Inverted-F Antenna
(PIFA). The PIFA is increasingly used in the Implantable Devices applications. The antenna is
resonant at a quarter-wavelength (thus reducing the required space needed in the implant),
and also typically has good SAR properties. This antenna resembles an inverted F, which
explains the PIFA name. The Planar Inverted-F Antenna is popular because it has a low
profile and an omnidirectional pattern.

Fig.1.4 Basic Geometry of PIFA antenna

The fringing fields which are responsible for radiation are shorted on the far end, so only the
fields nearest the transmission line radiate. Consequently, the gain is reduced, but the patch
antenna maintains the same basic properties as a half-wavelength patch, but is reduced in
size 50%.
The PIFA is resonant at a quarter-wavelength due to the shorting pin at the end. The feed is
placed between the open and shorted end, and the position controls the input impedance.
The closer the feed is to the shorting pin; the impedance will decrease; the impedance can
be increased by moving it farther from the short edge.
In addition, the shorting pin can become capacitive if instead of extending all the way to the
ground plane, it is left floating a small amount above. This introduces another design
parameter to optimize performance.
Also, meander PIFA is used where it can resonate broadband and produces circular,
horizontal and vertical polarizations. It also achieves high gain which higher than that of
other antennas.

1.1.3 Loop Antenna

Another simple, inexpensive and very versatile antenna type is the loop antenna
which refers to a radiating element made of a coil of one or more turns. Both ferrite and air-
core loops are commonly used in RF applications. In the current times, loop antennas have
also been adopted for wireless communications. The main characteristic of the loop
antenna which makes it attractive towards an implantable antenna is the fact that loops
have a dominantly magnetic near field and so the important parameter of the surrounding
material would be the permeability instead of the permittivity. This could help to decrease
the effect of the biological tissues around the antenna.

1.2 Challenges to Design Implantable Antennas

In order to perform a successful design, it is necessary to go systematically from the
simple to the complex taking into account all the following requirements and constraints:

1.2.1 Biocompatible
Implantable antennas must be biocompatible in order to preserve patient safety and
prevent rejection of the implant. Biocompatibility is defined as the property of some
materials do not cause toxic reactions or effects or injuries in the human body. This means
that the host, the human body and its immune system, is not directed "against" this
material. Furthermore, human tissues are conductive and will short-circuit the implantable
antenna if they are allowed to be in direct contact with its metallization. Also, the
performance of the antenna can be degraded. There are some approaches for preserving
the biocompatibility of implantable antennas and separating their metallic parts from the
surrounding biological tissues such as covering the antenna structure with a biocompatible
superstrate dielectric layer or insulating the antenna with a thin layer of low-loss
biocompatible coating and use biocompatible material to build the structure. Maximally, the
substrate which is used to design implantable antenna, is also used as biocompatible
superstrate dielectric layer. Also, silicon can be used as biocompatible coating which is a low
index biocompatible material. Several biocompatible materials which can be used as built
the structures of antenna such as Graphene, Titanium alloy, alumina etc. Also, if the
thickness of the biocompatible coating is increases then the resonant frequency is shifted
and axial ratio also affected.

1.2.2 Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

Another important factor that should be considered in order to preserve patient
safety is Specific Absorption rate or SAR. SAR is a measure that indicates the amount of
radio frequency power absorbed in the unit mass of body tissue. The SAR value is initially
measured based on1 W of input power. The maximum allowable input power is then
determined based on the standard value. The absorption of radiated power by lossy
biological tissue causes an issue in the surroundings of the implanted antenna and cause
hazardous health problem of patient. The IEEE C95.1-1999 standard, which states that
average SAR in 1-g of tissue must not exceed 1.6 W/Kg. To reduce SAR ferrite loading, EBG,
AMC techniques used but drawbacks is additional cost or size required for auxiliary antenna
elements like ferrite loading or MTM. Another way to maintain the SAR that is first we
measure SAR of the any proposed design then by controlling the input power to the device,
we can maintain the SAR value according to the IEEE C95.1-1999 standard limit. SAR can be
defined using the following equation
2
P L σ |E|
SAR = = (1.1)
ρ ρ
Where E (V/m) is the electric field and ρ (kg/m3) is the mass density.
SAR depends on various factors such as: -

 The radiation characteristics (frequency, polarization, intensity).

 The characteristics of the biological object, geometry (size and shape) and the
internal structure.
 The distance of the emission source of radiation and biological objects (near or far
field).
 The properties of the surrounding area.

1.2.3 Miniaturization
Miniaturization becomes one of the greatest challenges in implantable-antenna
design, with the aim of new technological developments in IMD electronics, leading to ultra-
small antennas. The dimensions of the traditional half-wavelength (λ/2) or quarter-
wavelength (λ/4) antennas at the frequency bands allocated for medical implants and
especially at the low-frequency MICS band, make them impractical for implantable
applications. Because, at lower frequency, the dimension of the antenna is very large.
Several techniques are there for miniaturization such as: -

 Use substrate with higher dielectric permittivity but bandwidth and efficiency is
reduced. Because the bandwidth is inversely proportional to the square root of
dielectric permittivity. As bandwidth is reduced that’s why efficiency is also reduced.
 Using shorting post at appropriate location. Due to shorting post, the effective length
of the antenna is increased that’s why resonant frequency of the antenna is reduced.
But the effective width is decreased, so the effective aperture area is reduced and
also radiation efficiency is reduced. So that bandwidth is reduced. Due to increase
the length of the antenna, the surface current path length is also increases. So that
cross-polarisation problem can be arising.
 Cutting slot at appropriate location. Also, the resonance frequency decreases
because effective length i.e., current path is increase. But bandwidth and efficiency is
also decrease due to small width i.e. aperture area decreases. If slot dimension
increase, then feed point close towards the centre because of impedance variations
or also we take shorting post to get impedance matching.
 Any combination of the above techniques is used for miniaturization.
Also, vertically stacking two radiating patches reduces antenna size by increasing (nearly
doubling) the length of the current-flow path.
1.2.4 Wide Bandwidth
The antenna is implanted inside the human body, it is prone to frequency
detuning such as resonance frequency shift due to distribution of tissue at the implanted
location of the antenna is inhomogeneous and also due to the implant depth. So, this
problem can be reduced by antennas wideband property. Bandwidth of the Microstrip
antenna can be enhanced by several techniques such as using parasitic patch, using
substrate with low permittivity and by stacking microstrip antennas. But for these
techniques the volume of the antenna can be increased which can’t be ideal for any
implantable antenna because the implantable antennas should be compact in size or
electrically very small. Also, recently slot loading technique, slotted ground plane etc. are
used to enhance bandwidth of the implantable antenna.

1.2.5 Good Radiation Efficiency

The radiated power from the implantable antenna should be strong enough to
communicate with an external device. Since the antenna radiates into lossy human body,
the near field strongly couples with the surrounding medium close to the antenna and thus
the efficiency of the antenna decreases dramatically. That is, according to the antenna
theory, the near field region is a reactive region for the lossless medium, where the antenna
does not perform either radiation or absorption. On the other hand, in the lossy medium,
the radiated radio wave causes strong coupling with the nearby lossy biological tissues.
Therefore, the coupling of frequency leads to loss of radiated power, and this coupling is the
primary concern of low radiation efficiency of an implantable antenna. Biocompatibility
encapsulation using insulating materials plays a vital role in reducing the coupling with the
nearest lossy environment. By increasing the thickness of biocompatible material
(Superstate, εr = 10.2), the radiation efficiency can be increased. Also, the CSRR antenna
model is an effective solution to enhance radiation efficiency and gain. This CSRR model
compensates inductivity and electric field coupling with the near field due to the antenna’s
negative permittivity. The SAR is also reduced, which improves the radiation efficiency and
gain.
 Fig.1.3 Comparisons of Radiation Efficiency with respect to thickness of biocompatibility
material

1.2.6 Circular Polarization

A circularly-polarized (CP) antenna is preferred for the implantable devices
because it can reduce multipath distortion and provide flexible mobility, compared with a
linearly polarized antenna. It is difficult to position the implanted antenna with adequate
area and maintain a perfect angle w.r.t. the external side. That’s why CP antenna is needed
which independent on the orientation. Usually, a single fed CP antenna is better for its
compactness compare with dual feed or multi feed CP antennas. But it is difficult to achieve
when miniaturization and biocompatibility need to be satisfied. Circular polarization can be
achieved using dual feed MSA, square MSA integrated with dual feed, suspended CMSA
with dual feed. There are also some single feed CP MSAs such as square patch with two
stubs, square patch with two notches, square patch with two corners chopped, square
patch with two notches at two corners, square patch with diagonal slots, square MSA with
two pairs of unequal slits, square MSA with corner chopped and four bent slits, CMSA with
slits.

1.2.7 Dual Band Operation

Implantable medical devices (IMDs) are normally used for monitoring and
treating various medical conditions. These days, wireless modules have become an intrinsic
part of many modern IMDs. So, doctors can use device programmers wirelessly to configure
parameters in the IMDs. However, such a wireless technology exposes the IMDs to security
attacks. For this reason, a dual-band operation is considered in this communication. By
operating in the two frequency bands, the implanted devices can be controlled to enter
sleep or wake-up mode. The device defaults to a low power sleep mode until a wake-up
signal in the ISM band is received. When awake, the antenna transmits measured data to an
external receiver using the MICS band. The operation schemes consume energy and
increase the implant life time but also reduces the interference issues and security risks.
1.3 The Effect of the Human Body on the Implanted Antenna
Performance
Human body is quite complex environment, many factors impact on the radiation
characteristics of the implant antenna. Basically, design and performance of the implanted
antennas is significantly affected by the lossy medium of human body as most of human
body tissues have a high relative permittivity and high conductivity. Essentially impact on
the reflection co-efficient, circular polarization and gain of the antenna. The properties of
human body tissue vary from person to person, age to age, gender to gender etc. Also
depends on temperature, moisture content, glucose and mineral concentration in
interstitial fluid. Thus, the complexity of the actual human body should be considered.

Fig.1.4 Frequency dependent Permittivity and conductivity of skin

Table 1.1- Dielectric properties of Tissue at 2.45GHz ISM Band

Human Tissue Permittivity Conductivity(S/m) Loss Tangent

Skin 38 1.44 0.283
Scalp 50 2.2 0.335
Fat 5.28 0.105 0.145
Muscle 52.7 1.74 0.242
Table 1.2- Dielectric properties of Tissue at MICS Band

Human Tissue Permittivity Conductivity(S/m)

Skin 46.8 0.688
Muscle 57.1 0.796
Fat 11.6 0.0807

Table 1.3- Parametric analysis of dielectric constant of muscle tissue for different age at
400MHz MICS Band

Human Body Type Male Female

Average Child (Age>5) 60.9 59.6
Average Adult (Age>25) 56.5 55.4
Average Elderly (Age>60) 52.5 51.2

Table 1.4- Parametric analysis of dielectric constant of muscle tissue for different age at
2.45GHz ISM Band

Human Body Type Male Female

Average Child (Age>5) 56.2 55.8
Average Adult (Age>25) 54.6 53.9
Average Elderly (Age>60) 51.4 50.8

The main influence of the high conductivity and permittivity is the significant increase of the
attenuation loss. This attenuation can be calculated inside the body human tissues using the
following equation

Lα =20 log10 ( ⅇ−αl ) (1.2)

Where α (Np/m) is the attenuation constant, Lα (dB) is the attenuation loss, Ꙇ (m) is the
distance from antenna in the tissue to the skin surface. The attenuation constant can be
calculated using equation

(√ )
1
1 σ2
α =ω √ με 1+ 2 2 −1 2
(1.3)
2 ω ε

Where ω (rad/m) is the angular frequency, μ is the tissue permeability (H/m), ε (F/m) is
the permittivity and σ is the tissue conductivity (S/m). The tissue permittivity can be
calculated as:
ε =ε 0 ε r

Where ε 0 is the free space permittivity and ε ris the relative permittivity. The human body
tissues are non-magnetic and, therefore, the human body tissues permeability μ (H/m) is
equal to free space permeability μ0.
 There are additional losses in the human body due to reflections between the tissues at
the boundary during the signal travel. These losses can be calculated using Equations
Lr =−20 log 10 ( Γ ) (1.4)

η2−η1
Γ=
η2 + η1

η=
√ jωμ
σ + jωε
Where η (Ω) is the intrinsic impedance and Γ is the reflection coefficient at the boundary
between tissues.

1.4 Frequency of Operation

Medical electronic devices can be classified into two categories depending on
the protocol and standards that these devices use. The first category is Wireless Medical
Telemetry Services (WMTS) for wearable devices. The second category is Medical Implant
Communications Service (MICS) which was allocated by the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI) for implantable devices. The frequency band allocation for MICS is
402 MHz to 405 MHz.
The Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands (433.1-434.8 MHz, 868-868.6
MHz, 902.8-928 MHz, and 2400-2500 MHz) are also suggested for implantable medical
device biotelemetry in some countries.
For deeper implanted antennas inside the human body, such as capsule
endoscopy, implanted antennas operate at the medical implant communications service
(MICS) frequency band (402–405 MHz) which is regulated by the European Radio
communications Committee (ERC) and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for
ultra-low power active medical implants. This is because the MICS band has relatively low
power loss inside human body.
Chapter2
Literature Review
Implantable devices are playing a vital role toward increasing the quality of
healthcare diagnose and treatment and medical research. Implantable devices increase the
healthcare quality as it reduces the risk of some disease’s complications, for example, by
continuous monitoring of some disease developments. Moreover, it reduces healthcare cost, as
for example patients can be continuously monitored without being admitted to the hospital. So,
the research on Implantable antenna which is an important part of Implantable Wireless
devices, is required for such applications. Implantable antennas, i.e., antennas that are
integrated into RF-enabled IMDs, exhibit numerous challenges in terms of design, fabrication,
and testing and are, therefore, currently attracting significant research attention. Numerical
design of implantable antennas needs to be performed fast and in a way that optimally
addresses issues related to miniaturization, exhibited radiation performance, patient safety,
detuning phenomena, effect of the implantation site, etc. So, that implantable antenna Should
be Compact in size, broad bandwidth, biocompatible, good radiation efficiency and maintain
standard value of SAR, according to IEEE C95.1-1999 standard, which states that average SAR
in 1-g of tissue must not exceed 1.6 W/Kg.
Wen Wue et. al. design a Dual Implantable PIFA antenna at ISM band [6]. A slotted ground
plane has been used to improve the bandwidth without increasing the volume of the
antenna. By varying the length of the slots, three closely spaced resonance frequency can be
excited at lower band to form a wide bandwidth. Superstrate is used for biocompatibility
issue and improve the gain. But the resonance frequency will shift which can be overcome
by adjusting the slots.
Changrong Liu et. al. proposed a Compact Dual band antenna for implantable devices [7].
Utilizing two spiral antennas coupled with each other, a miniature dual band implantable
antenna has been designed and fabricated to achieve wide bandwidth and good radiation
performance.
Rongqiang Li et. al. proposed a miniaturized circularly polarized implantable annular ring
antenna [8]. Circular Polarized radiation is generated by adding a pair of open stubs in the
inner boundary of annular ring. Antenna profile is minimized by properly cutting two types
of slots onto the annular ring. Z- shaped slot on a central circular patch is implemented for
improved axial ratio and impedance matching.
N. Ganeshwaran et. al. design a dual band circular Implantable antenna for biomedical
applications [9]. Dual band is realized by deploying via holes, open end slot in the ground
plane. It is also providing good bandwidth, better gain, avoids discomfort due to rounded
corners and low SAR.
Zhao-Jin Chu et. al. design a circular polarized patch antenna with a compact volume [10].
To realizing circular polarization, crossed slots are introduced into patch centre. Also, arc-
shaped slots and shorting pins are loaded on the antenna edge for improved impedance
matching and for compactness.
Chi-Lin Tsai et. al. Proposed an Implantable Wideband Low SAR antenna [11]. Antenna is
composed of a sigma shaped monopole radiator and a novel C-shaped coupled ground
plane, which excites two modes and dominates near E field distribution evenly to achieve a
Low SAR.
R.S. Alrawashdeh et. al. design a flexible broadband Implantable loop antenna [12]. CSRRs
are introduced to reduce the absorbed power inside the human body and improve the
antenna impedance matching, results in a larger radiation efficiency, gain, transmission co-
efficient.
Young-Xin Guo et. al. design a dual band Dipole antenna for Implantable wireless
applications [13]. For compactness, the spiral dipole is bent and printed on the both top and
bottom sides of the substrate and connected by metal vias. Introducing an offset at the feed
point, dual band performance is realized. An inductive loop is loaded at one of the dipole
arms for good impedance matching.
Wei Shao et. al. design a compact broadband circular polarized implantable patch antenna
[14]. By employing two slots on the patch plane and shorting pin method the whole size of
the antenna reduced. Keeping slot less ground, not only a good size reduction is realized and
also the impedance bandwidth and Axial ratio bandwidth are also improved greatly.
Changrong Liu et. al. design a capacitively loaded circularly polarized implantable patch for
ISM band biomedical applications [15]. A centre square slot is employed to have effective
size reduction and good impedance matching. Antenna can achieve good polarization purity
by turning the perturbation elements and implant depth.
Zhi-Jie Yang et. al. proposed a circularly polarized implantable antenna at 2.4 GHz ISM band
[16]. Antenna has a centre square slot with four slits and shorting pins for size reduction and
also wide bandwidth and impedance matching. A pair of perturbation elements is at the
diagonal of the centre square slot to achieve circular polarization.
 (a) (b)
Fig. 2.1 Geometry of (a) A circularly polarized implantable antenna at 2.4GHz (b) antenna
inside one-layer cubic skin model [16].
M.L. Scarpello et. al. design an implantable folded slot dipole conformal flexible antenna
[17]. It can provide significantly larger bandwidth than patch antenna. Also, the CPW
feeding techniques is used. EM characteristics of the antenna are stable for a wide range of
surrounding tissue properties.
Li-Jie Xu et. al. proposed a miniaturized circularly polarized loop antenna for implantable
applications [18]. To reduce the size four LC loading are adopted to form slow wave effect.
Besides two shorting pins are also used for size reduction. By properly choosing the position
of feed and shorts either RHCP or LHCP property realized.
Hua Li et. al. design a meandered implantable antenna at Med Radio band [19]. By
employing meandering and shorting method, antenna size reduced significantly. Radiation
pattern is in broadside and keeps stable over the whole Frequency band. Also used single
layer substrate with a fully ground plane. Because of fully ground plane, back radiation
reduced and for single layer, it is easy to fabricate.
Lie-Jie Xu et. al. proposed an antenna with bandwidth enhancement for ingestible capsule
system at Med Radio band [20]. By introducing a strip connected to simple dipole in planar
form, a new resonance is introduced besides its fundamental resonance. Thus, the
bandwidth enhancement is achieved.
Shaoqiu Xia et. al. design a Single fed miniaturized hybrid patch or slot implantable antenna
at MICS band [21]. By embedding the meander slot and six open slots in the ground, the size
of antenna is reduced. Also, the bandwidth is increased.
Shaoqiu Xiao et. al. proposed a dual element miniaturized implantable antenna for wireless
biomedical MIMO applications [22]. A planar monopole antenna with added strips on the
ground plane reduced the size of the antenna. With two layers helix structure is used to shift
down the resonance frequency and also impedance bandwidth is enhanced.
Johnny ung et. al. design a dual wideband implantable antenna for continuous health
monitoring [23]. A ground plane with a rectangular cut out and symmetrical spiralling
conductors to achieve dual band operation with minimal size. The length of the feed
radiator affects both bands and ground plane cut out is optimize to tune the ISM band.
Yijun Liu et. al. proposed a differentially fed dual band planer implantable antenna [24].
With the use of symmetric meander strip and shorting pins, a differentially fed compact dual
band design is obtained. Also, the average SAR values comply with the regulation of
ANSI/IEEE.
Amjad Iqbal et. al. design a compact and wideband quad element MIMO antenna to
increase the transmission data rate and minimize the multipath fading [25]. Antenna consist
of a semi-circular meandered radiators with a shared ground. A high isolation between
MIMO elements is obtained using a central metallic via. Also, has wideband property.

Fig. 2.2 Geometry of the stub-loaded dual-band implantable antenna (unit: mm) [24]
(a) Top View (b) Side view
R. Liu et. al. proposed a wide band compact circular polarized implantable antenna [27]. A
circular radiator is cut four L-shaped slots and loading a short pin between the radiator and
ground plane to implement circular polarization. Two crossed rectangle slots are etched on
the ground plane that the impedance and Axial Ratio bandwidth expanded. Also, SAR value
satisfies the IEEE standard safety guidelines. `
Chapter 3
Design a Implantable Microstrip Patch Antenna for
Biomedical application at 2.4 GHz ISM Band
3.1 Introduction
In general, microstrip antennas are half wavelength structures and are operated at the
fundamental resonant mode 𝑇𝑀01 𝑜𝑟 𝑇𝑀10, with a resonant frequency given by:
c
𝑓¿ where c is the speed of light, 𝐿 is the patch length of the rectangular microstrip
2 L √ϵr
antenna, and εr is the relative permittivity of the grounded microwave substrate. The
1
radiating patch has a resonant length Lα and the use of microstrip substrate with a large
√ ϵr
permittivity can result in a small physical antenna length at a fixed operating frequency.
With a size reduction at fixed operating frequency the impedance bandwidth of microstrip
antenna is usually decreased. One can simply increase the substrate thickness to
compensate for the decreased electrical thickness due to the lowered operating frequency.
But as the height of the antenna increases losses due to surface wave effect and extraneous
radiation result in poor performance characteristics. Usually, substrates with εr ≤ 10 are
preferred. With a substrate of low dielectric constant, the fringing fields that account for
radiation will be enhanced. But in order to obtain smaller patch size substrates with high εr
are required. Thicker substrate besides being mechanically strong will increase the radiated
power, reduce conductor loss and improve impedance bandwidth. But it increases the
antenna weight, dielectric loss and surface wave loss.
A large number of implanted antennas have been presented the literature. However,
they can be classified into two categories; the first one is subcutaneous implanted antennas
or antennas to be placed in a fixed area of the body, and the second category is implantable
antennas that move through the body such as capsule endoscopy. However, several
requirements are there for design an implantable antenna such as compact in size,
wideband in bandwidth, biocompatibility and maintain standard SAR value which is in 1-g of
tissue must not exceed 1.6 W/Kg. Patch designs are most commonly selected for
implantable antennas because they are highly flexible in design, shape, and conformability.
Moreover, circular structures are very often preferred in an attempt to avoid sharp edges,
which may hurt the surrounding biological tissues. In this report, a compact implantable
antenna for biomedical application at 2.4 GHz is proposed.

3.2 Antenna Design

An Implantable patch antenna with a compact size is present in this study. The
device is designed to operate in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, from 2.4
to 2.48 GHz, for biomedical applications. Table 3.1 presents the detailed parameters of the
proposed patch.
Compared with a standard microstrip patch, this implantable patch antenna is embedded in
the human body, in which the electromagnetic environment is totally different from that in
free space. Thus, it is important to create an appropriate human tissue model. A one-
layered-skin model, with dimensions of 100 × 100 × 9.5mm 3, is used to design the proposed
antenna. In Fig. 1.4, the permittivity and conductivity of skin are both shown to be
frequency-dependent. The dielectric properties of human skin from 2 to 3 GHz are applied.
The Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator is used in the design and analysis of this
implantable patch antenna.

Fig. 3.1 Geometry of proposed antenna

Fig. 3.1 shows the geometrical structure of the proposed antenna, which has a centre
square slot and six slits. The proposed antenna is fed along the x-axis, and the distance
between the feed point and the original point is 4.35 mm. Both the superstrate and the
substrate are made of Teflon which have ε r=2.1 and loss tangent tan δ=0.0002 and
thickness of 1.25mm.
Four types of implantable antenna case are studied. Fig.3.2 of case 1, the initial implantable
antenna is a traditional linearly polarized patch antenna with a centre slot. The resonant
frequency of Case 1 is 4.1 GHz, which is much higher than the 2.4-GHz ISM band. To achieve
a lower resonant frequency, three pair of slots introduced in case 2 of Fig.3.3. The resonant
frequency of case 2 is 2.6 GHz which is slightly higher than 2.4 GHz. Further, to reduce the
resonant frequency, another pair of slots introduced in the final design of Fig. 3.1. The
resonant frequency of this final case is 2.41 GHz which is in the ISM band.

Table 3.1 Parameters value of the proposed antenna

Parameters Value (mm)

L1 8.5
L2 8
L3 4
L4 8
L5 8.5
W1 1
W2 0.5
W3 0.5
df 0.7

Fig. 3.2 case 1 of proposed antenna

 Fig. 3.3 case 2 of proposed antenna

3.3 RESULT
The designed antenna is studied in a cubic one-layered-skin model. In a practical situation,
the radiation environment, human body, is quite complex. Many factors impact the
radiation characteristics of the implantable antenna. Both the conductivity and permittivity
of the tissue essentially impact the reflection coefficient, and gain of the antenna. Fig.3.7
shows the simulated reflection coefficient S11(dB). The simulated S11 bandwidth below -10
dB ranges from 2.32 GHz to 2.61 GHz (12.04 %). Fig. 3.8 and 3.9 shows the realized gain
pattern obtained from one-layered skin model. The max realized gain achieved about -
11.05dBi in the boresight direction.

Fig. 3.4 Geometry of one layered skin model

3.3.1 S-Parameter Plot

Fig. 3.5 Return loss curve of case 1 of proposed antenna

Fig. 3.6 Return loss curve of case 2 of proposed antenna

 Fig. 3.7 Return loss curve of proposed antenna

3.3.2 Gain Plot

Fig. 3.8 2-D Polar plot of Gain at phi 0 degree

 Fig. 3.9 2-D Polar plot of Gain at phi 90 degree

3.3.2 Directivity

Fig. 3.10 2-D Polar plot of directivity at phi 0 degree

 Fig. 3.11 2-D Polar plot of directivity at phi 90 degree

Table 3.2 Simulated Parameters Value

Parameters Simulated Values

Resonant Frequency 2.407 GHz
Bandwidth 290 MHz
% Bandwidth 12.04 %
Return Loss -19.604 dB
Gain -11.05 dBi
Directivity
Chapter 4
Conclusion and Future Scope

4.1 Conclusion
In this report, a compact wideband implantable antenna operating in ISM band at 2.4
GHz proposed. The antenna is excited by a 50-ohm coaxial probe feed. Slots are created in
the patch to lengthen the current path and also reduce the resonant frequency. All
simulation results are discussed and analysed. The major parameters like return loss curves
and 2-D polar pattern of gain are studied. The overall antenna size is 20 × 20 × 2.5 mm 3.
Also, the overall impedance bandwidth of 12.04 % is obtained. The antenna is simulated in
skin layer. After analysing the results, we can select the required antenna as per our
requirements.

4.2 Future Scope

The work carried out in the frame work of this progress report has described about a
compact wideband implantable patch antenna for biomedical application at 2.4 GHz of ISM
band. Although, there are some other works need to be carried out in future for the further
development of present work. Some of those are described below:

 The realization of dual band operation can be considered for

implantable device. The operation schemes consume energy and
increase the implant life time but also reduces the interference issues
and security risks.
 The realization of a circularly-polarized (CP) antenna is preferred for
the implantable devices because it can reduce multipath distortion
and provide flexible mobility, compared with a linearly polarized
antenna.
  Resonance frequency shift due to distribution of tissue at the
implanted location of the implant depth. So, these effects can be
reduced by wideband operation property. That’s why wideband
property preferred for implantable antenna
 Delivering power to the implanted antenna system is one of the
major challenges for implanted antennas. Batteries are an inefficient
solution for this application because they are short in life time,
contain hazardous materials and require a surgical operation to
replace. Also, the power system must be light weight and easy to
fabricate to ensure the mobility of the patients. So, biological energy
harvesting i. e. a battery-less power management system that
depends upon biological activities to generate power can be
considered to deliver power to the implanted antenna.

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