Implanted devices used to diagnose, monitor or treat medical conditions need a reliable, secure, high-throughput and energy-efficient in-body communication link. An example is the communication between a glucose sensor and an insulin pump for patients suffering from diabetes. Ultrasonic (US) wave communication has several advantages compared to other techniques such as electromagnetic waves, inductive, or capacitive communication: US has lower in-body attenuation, it can be highly integrated and miniaturized, and its physiological impact is well-studied. Wireless body area networks (WBAN) can profit even more from the advantages of in-body US communication. Recently we have developed and demonstrated a highly flexible transceiver for US in-body communication. With this solution we have provided an answer to some fundamental challenges: we achieved a robust communication link by implementing an advanced modulation scheme, and we realized a compact system with a symmetrical end-to-end set-up.
The next steps consist in integrating the system on one chip and reducing the power consumption to make the system suitable for long term implantation.
This seminar motivates the use of ultrasound waves for in-body communication, discusses the key principles used to realize a long-distance, high-throughput in-body communication link and introduces the next challenges to take this research one step closer to the implementation of deep implant networks.
25/4/2025 11:00 - 12:00
ESAT Aula R
