IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

Design of Implantable Patch Antenna for

Biomedical Application

Vivek Priyan. R
PO. Scholar, Electronics and
communication Department,
Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,
Melmaruvathur, India
Vikrampriyan007@gmail.com

Dinesh.S
PO. Scholar, Electronics and
communication Department,
Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,
Melmaruvathur, India
Dinesh.2221988@gmail.com

Abstract- In this work, an implantable antenna is proposed

for

short-range

biomedical

applications.

The

design

of

implantable antennas mainly emphasizes miniaturization and

biocompatibility. Conserving energy to extend the life span of
the implantable medical device is also significant. ISM band
antennas are being designed for these purposes that "wake up"
the implantable medical device only when there is a need for
information exchange. The implantable antenna is operating in
Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) (2.4 GHz-2.48 GHz)
bands. The simulated return losses are -14 dB at the resonant
frequency of 2.45 GHz. The analysis and design of microstrip

Mrs. R. lothichitra
Assistant Professor, Electronics and
Communication Department
Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,
Melmaruvathur, India

and the status of the implant are verified. With the use of radio
frequency technology, data recorded by the implanted antenna
can be transmitted wirelessly to the receiving station, while
the patient is waiting in the lounge. Some patients may require
checks every day. In such case a home care unit can be placed
in the patient's home.
This result in the implantation of medical devices inside the
human body for the purpose of monitoring which in turn can
be extended to controlling certain human biological
parameters.

antenna is carried out by adopting transmission line method.

The

simulation

results

of

return

loss,

VSWR,

impedance

matching, radiation pattern of the proposed antenna have been

constructed. The bidirectional radiation pattern is achieved for
various frequency conditions.

Index Terms- Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM), High

Frequency

Structural

Simulator

(HFSS),

Microstrip

Patch

Antenna (MPA), Return Loss (RL), Voltage Standing Wave

Ratio (VSWR), Radio Frequency (RF)

I.

INTRODUCTION

During the last decades, biomedical engineering has

experienced a remarkable growth. Among others, the design
of bio-implantable devices, that help people to improve their
health care and quality of life, has attracted a lot of interest.
When considering biotelemetry systems, the study of the
communication devices used for establishing a wireless link
between the implanted device and the external base station
becomes essential. Some examples of applications are:
monitoring blood pressure and temperature, tracking
dependent people or lost pets, wirelessly transferring
diagnostic information from an electronic device implanted in
the human body for human care and safety, such as a
pacemaker, to an external radio frequency receiver. Small
implantable biomedical devices placed inside the human body
may improve the lives of numerous patients are proposed by
Carta (2009). Patients with the antenna implanted in the body
regularly return to the hospital for checkups, where their status

II.

IMPLANT ABLE ANTENNA

Since the first X-ray medical experiments at the end of the

19th century, electromagnetism has been continuously
increasing its presence in medicine. Nowadays radio
provide
applications
major
frequency/microwaves
contributions to disease prevention, diagnosis and therapy are
proposed by Yilmaz (2008). A non-exhaustive list would
include imaging, septic wound, and cancer treatment by
hyperthermia, and enhancement of drug absorption to mention
but a few. In particular, wireless capabilities are extremely
useful in modern medicine in order to improve the patient's
comfort and care, for instance by reducing the invasiveness of
electromagnetic (EM) medical instruments. The introduction
of pacemakers in the early 1960s and the first swallowable
pills with sensing capabilities showed the great importance of
implantable devices enabling the monitoring and the treatment
within the human body. Such devices called for the use of
wireless communication in order to control the functioning of
the system and report the patient's status are described by Hall
(2012).
Today, glucose monitoring, insulin pumps, deep brain
stimulation and endoscopy are a few examples of the medical
applications that could take advantage of remote monitoring
and control of an implantable unit are introduced by Bao
(2013). In addition to the clear benefits to the healthcare
system provided by wireless implantable devices, economical
aspects are also relevant. Remote monitoring systems
facilitate the prevention of diseases and favour the hospital at

978-1-4799-6818-3/15/$31.00 2015 IEEE

IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

home*. Both aspects decrease heaIthcare costs (for instance of

nearly one-third by reducing the hospitalization period
keeping the patient at home). An example of a home
healthcare monitoring system is illustrated in Figure.
Most of the medical wireless applications for the human
body, such as body area network and implanted devices are
involved in the electromagnetic coupling into and out of the
human body are described by Gabriel et al (2013). The
antenna is different from the traditional free space
communication, Designing an efficient implanted antenna is a
key requirement in the direction of reliable medical implanted
communication system. The implanted antenna must be long
term biocompatible are introduced by Antoniades (2004),
possible to be embedded on existing implant device. The
antenna must be electrically insulated from the body so as not
to short out and be ineffective.
The challenging request of wireless performances for
implantable devices reflects on the difficulties of the design of
implantable antennas. In fact, despite the fact that the use of
antennas inside a living body goes back as far as five decades,
the topic is still open and has a great research interest given
the new applications. When targeting implantable devices for
communication in a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) of
a few meters range, the design of specific antennas is required
are described by Chen (2013).

The sensitivity of the receiver, the performance of its antennas

(in terms of directivity, efficiency, polarization) and its
portability are of fundamental importance for the realization
of a system that targets real life applications.
B. Channel propagation

The analysis of the EM propagation from the implant to the

Base Station is another important aspect. As implantable
devices mainly target indoor application "No antenna for a
Med Radio transmitter shall be configured for permanent
outdoor use" the study of the multi-path propagation of the
radiated EM waves and the scattering because of the nearby
objects is necessary are introduced by Jensen (1994). This
analysis, together with the design of antennas for the Base
Station, can noticeably improve the performances of the entire
system.
C. Human body

The human body is of primary relevance for an implantable

device. It's complex, dispersive and highly lossy
characteristics unavoidably affect the analysis, design,
realization and characterization of implantable antennas, thus
the wireless performances of the entire system of spheres
model of the head and it as introduced by Skaropoulos et al
(2010).
D. Insulations

Implanted
devire

The presence of a biocompatible insulation is mandatory

for any implantable device so as to avoid any adverse reaction
of the living tissues are introduced by Fukunaga et al (2011).
Such insulation is of paramount interest from the antenna
point of view, as the human body is a "hostile" environment
for the radio frequency radiation. In fact, insulating layers
either placed around the antenna or on the surface of the
human skin, enhance the EM transmission from an
implantable radiator to the base station.
E.

Fig I. Wirelesses Implantable Device

The main goal of a healthcare monitoring system with a

wireless implantable device is to provide reliable information
from inside of the human body to an external Base Station
(BS) is introduced by Soontornpipit (2002). A wireless
implantable system for data telemetry comprises several
salient aspects.
A.Base station

A general Base Station comprises several sub-systems, for

instance:

A control module to drive the entire system and to store

the measurements.

A receiver module including antennas;

An internet modem (or any other device to connect to the

data collecting system);

Implantable antennas
The design of a specific radiator is the key aspect of an
implantable device working in a WBAN of a few meters range.
Characteristics such as radiation efficiency, bandwidth, the
coupling with the lossy biological tissues and the use of the
available volume are essential for the data communication. In
a few words, an implantable antenna aims at minimizing the
volume occupation, at facilitating the integration with all the
components constituting the device, and at obtaining the
required EM performances are proposed by Kim (2004).

F. Electronics and power supply

The electronic components of an implantable device allow

the functioning of the system, provide data communication
and signal processing capabilities and delineate the working
power requirements in pressure monitoring are proposed by
Powell (2011). It thus defines the overall capabilities of the
device itself. The power supply, often having the largest
volume occupation, sets the life time of the apparatus. Several

IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

solutions such as energy harvesting, internal power supplies,

C. Return Loss

Return loss or reflection loss is the reflection of signal

power from the insertion of a device in a transmission line or
optical fiber. The frequency for which the return loss value is
G. Bio-sensors and Bio-actuators
the minimum is taken as resonant frequency of the antenna.
The bio-sensors and/or bio-actuators determine the The range of frequencies for which the return loss value is
application of an implantable device and its placement in the within the -10dB points is usually treated as the bandwidth of
human body are described by Weir et al (2003). Monitoring the antenna.
devices (for instance measuring temperature, pH, glucose, etc.)
It is expressed as ratio in dB relative to the transmitted
or active system (drug delivery apparatus) is nowadays being signal power. The return loss is given by,
investigated for implantable applications.
RL -2010glO I p I
(2)
or wireless power transfer are possible.

H. Characterization and Experiments

Each component constituting the healthcare monitoring

system must be characterized to validate its proper functioning
and the conformity with safety intracranial pressure and
regulatory requirements are described by Marik (1999). For
these purposes, in vitro and in vivo (in animal) experiments
are necessary steps before the application in humans.
The implanted antenna should be compact, lightweight, and
able to download a patient's health information from the
implanted device as well as to upload various parameters from
an external device. It is also necessary to protect the human
body from the heat, physical damage, or short circuiting of the
antenna.
III.

The return loss is also stated as the S11 of the S-parameters.

D. S-Parameters

Transmission lines have S-parameters also called

"scattering parameters" which refer to RF's output voltage
versus input voltage and are measured in DBs S-parameters
are a complex number but they mostly only refer to the
magnitude as you want to know how much loss. When an RF
signal enters a port, some fraction of that signal bounces back
out of that port. Some of a "scatters" and exits other ports and
might even be amplified. Some of disappears as heat or even
electromagnetic radiation S-parameters can be either be
calculated or measured on a network analyzer.
E. Polarization

PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS

Bandwidth increases as the substrate thickness (h) increase

(the bandwidth is directly proportional to h if surface-wave
losses are ignored). However, increasing the substrate
thickness (h) decrease the Q (Quality factor) of the cavity,
which increases spurious radiation from the feed, as well as
excites high-order modes in the patch cavity. And high order
modes lead to cross-polarization. Also, the patch becomes
difficult to match as the substrate thickness increases beyond a
particular point (typically about 0.05 leO). However, in recent
years considerable effort has been done to improve the
bandwidth of the micro-strip antenna by using alternative
feeding schemes. Formula for the bandwidth (defined by
VSWR<2.0).

Polarization is defined as the orientation of the electric

field of an electromagnetic wave. Polarization is in general
described by an ellipse. Two often used special cases of
elliptical polarization are linear polarization and circular
polarization. The initial polarization of a radio wave is
determined by the antenna that launches the waves into space.
The environment through which the radio wave passes on its
way from the transmit antenna to the receive antenna may
cause a change in polarization. With linear polarization the
electric field vector stays in the same plane. In circular
polarization the electric field vector appears to be rotating
with circular motion about the direction of propagation,
making one full turns for each RF cycle. The rotation may be
right-hand or left-hand. Choice of polarization is one of the
design choices available to the RF system designer.

B.

F. Radiation pattern

A. Bandwidth

VSWR

A standing wave in a transmission line is a wave in which

the distribution of current, voltage or field strength is formed
by the super imposition of two waves of same frequency
propagating in opposite direction. Then the voltage along the
line produces a series of nodes and antinodes at fixed positions.
Thus the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) can be defined
as,
VSWR =
1- P

Where

is the magnitude of

I I

(1)

The antenna pattern is a graphical representation in three

dimensional of the radiation of the antenna as the function of
direction. It is a plot of the power radiated from an antenna
per unit solid angle which gives the intensity of radiations
from the antenna. If the total power radiated by the isotropic
antenna is P, then the power is spread over a sphere of radius
r, so that the power density S at this distance in any direction
is given as,
S = _P4nr2

(3)

Isotropic antennas are not realizable in practice but can be

IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

used as a reference to compare the performance of practical

antennas. The radiation pattern provides information on the
antenna beam width, side lobes and antenna resolution to
large extent. The E plane pattern is a graphical representation
of antenna radiation as a function of direction in a plane
containing a radius vector from the centre of the antenna to
the point of maximum radiation and the electric field
intensity vector. Similarly the H plane pattern can be drawn
considering the magnetic field intensity vector.
G. Directivity

The ratio of the radiation intensity in a given direction

from the antenna to the radiation intensity averaged over all
directions. The average radiation intensity, total power
radiated by the antenna divided by 4 1/4.
Stated more simply, the directivity of a no isotropic source is
equal to the ratio of its radiation intensity in a given direction
over that of an isotropic source.

4nU(S,<jl)
p

(4)

H Antenna efficiency and Gain

Antenna gain is the ratio of maximum radiation intensity at

the peak of main beam to the radiation intensity in the same
direction which would be produced by an isotropic radiator
having the same input power. Isotropic antenna is considered
to have again of unity. The gain function can be described as,

Gain

IV.

4nU(S,<jl)
---

patch of the microstrip fed line antenna. The thickness of the

substrate is 1.6mm. It is non-conducting dielectric medium.
All of them are substrate from the patch antenna elements.
The patch elements made up of copper, it is a conducting
material.
The dimensions of the analysis and design of microstrip
implantable patch antenna using microstrip transmission line
feed is shown in Figure. All the parameters and results for the
implantable microstrip patch antenna are discussed and
analysed here. The conducting ground plane is about
54.53mmx50.089mm. A microstrip transmission line fee is
used to provide the input to the radiation patch. The width of
the patch elements should be greater than length of the patch
element. The 'A/2 stub if it is left with an open-end it can be
used as a notch filter to attenuate certain frequency. Important
is the bandwidth performance of the circuit.
The solution frequency is the frequency which the antenna
resonate its maximum and provides low return loss. The
important parameters of antenna such as return loss, VSWR,
radiation pattern and gain are analysed.
9.3 mm
)

<

5.4 mm

(5)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The design is based on ANSOFT HFSS 13.0 simulation

software. The height of the substrate is 1.6mm and the
operating frequency is (2.6GHz to 13.2 GHz). The proposed
antenna element is analyzed using transmission line model.
Simulation results of return loss, VSWR, radiation pattern,
gain, current distribution are given below.
The lists of bio-medical implants are basic components for
the success of telemedicine, which refers to the utilization of
telecommunication technologies in health care. Telemedicine
not only facilitates medical treatment and care, but is also
gaining increasing popularity in post-hospital patient care.
Mobile patient monitoring systems using wireless implants
have been developed to maintain a record of patient vital signs
and history. These systems are useful during intra-hospital
patient transport, intra-operative procedures, or post-hospital
management of patients.
Simulation Result

The design of microstrip patch antenna may be consider as

implantable antenna. The configuration of the bowtie antenna
is designed on a substrate with FR4, relative permittivity 4.4
with a loss tangent of 0.02. The proposed antenna consisting
FR4_substrate, the design based on bowtie is etched on the

2.5 mm
Fig 2. Proposed Antennas with Microstrip Transmission Line Feed

The smaller VSWR states the better impedance matching to

transmission line and power is delivered to antenna. So, the
VSWR and return loss states the impedance matching of a
transmission line to the antenna. The better impedance
matching delivers and receives more power.
TABLEI D'ImenslOn 0f the Proposed Antenna
Dimension(mm)
Parameter
Ground Length
54.53
Width Length
50.089
Patch Length
13.033
Feed Length
12.984
Feed Width
2.5

IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

Radiation Pattern 1
.,
112
13
M
e

,
,
l.sa.um
tR-w.
S.!illII
sr.-15M
".IUD

If"\.!..
....
-d&jToW)

_ll
f'eq07.""'.QcIeIt

'.00

'.00

-1.50

-oII(rf1a411l
-,.
F,eq007f5G1tt""'

I!

i...

-----../ \

.12.\1)

.,,,,

Fig 5. Simulated Radiation Pattern

Fig 3. S-parameter versus Frequency Plot

The return loss was measured and analysed by using S

parameter in Figure. The maximum value of return loss is 19dB achieved in 5.6GHz. The return loss characteristics of
proposed antenna are -15.56 dB, -14.24 dB or resonant
frequencies of 2.36 GHz, 3.2 GHz.
For measuring and examining VSWR is when installing and
tuning transmitting antennas. Ideally, the VSWR must lie in
the range of 1-2 which is achieved in figure for the (l-lOGHz)
frequency range. The VSWR value 1.4 achieved in 2.3GHz
and 1.3 in 3.7GHz of operating frequency, which could satisfy
the antenna to work on above operating frequency to suit in
their application.
- ,
,
., , ...1m
12 UIIII 14m
II) 118'.
M
'-- 11117
1110.01

r
...

...

.,

".
0.

I.

Fig 4 VSWR versus Frequency Plot

The simulated radiation pattern of the proposed antenna is

presented in figure. The maximum radiation 5dB at 2.4GHz
achieved at the direction. In order to cover upper band of
operating region the more negative radiation pattern is
obtained at 5GHz and 7GHz for on single antenna are 9 dB
and 6.40 dB respectively.
The 3D current distribution plot gives the relationship
between
the
co-polarization
and
cross-polarization
components. The surface currently mainly flows along the
lower edge of patch and along the signal strip line. The current
distribution and current density of the patch.

Discussion

The simulated impedance bandwidth of the proposed

antenna covers the 2.4-2.48GHz band of the wireless
communication system. The radiation pattern obtain in the x-y
plane is nearly bi-directional, and that in the elevation plane is
similar to dipole kind of antenna. Implantable wireless
telemetry systems have been worked recently for wireless
monitoring of physiological antennas provide communication
between the implantable antennas provide communication
between the implant and external environment, their efficient
design is vital for overall system reliability.
Frequency bands and the radiation efficiency also higher
and the impedance of antenna also matched.
Conclusion

The implantable microstrip antenna was designed and

simulated using transmission line feed. The simulated results
of antenna consists return loss, VSWR and radiation patterns
achieved their optimum values. The return loss achieved from
-14dB to - 19dB and the VSWR values are achieved from 1.4
to1.28
The design of implantable antennas mainly emphasizes
miniaturization and biocompatibility. Conserving energy to
extend the life span of the implantable medical device is also
significant. ISM band antennas are being designed for these
purposes that "wake up" the implantable medical device only
when there is a need for information exchange. The bi
directional radiation pattern is achieved. The proposed antenna
is suitable for biomedical applications.
The ANSOFT HFSS simulation give results good enough
to satisfy our requirement to fabricate it on hardware which
can be used wherever needed.
Future Works

Fabrication of prototype antenna will be carried out in

future and measured results will be compared with
simulated results.
The size of the antenna will be reduced. The reduced size
of the antenna will cover the all the parameters of
biomedical applications.
In order to examine the quality and range, radiation with
high gain are required for some application.

IEEE Sponsored 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Information Embedded and Communication Systems ICIIECS'15

Simulation of proposed implantable antenna for various

substrate thicknesses to obtain required gain and
bandwidth coverage's.
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