In-Body Power Distribution for Abdominal Monitoring and Implant Communications Systems

This paper presents a study on the power distribution within the tissues for abdominal monitoring and implant communications systems. This study is carried out using finite integration technique based simulations with an anatomical voxel model as well as with recently introduced directive on-body antennas designed for in-body communications. The investigation is conducted by evaluating 2D power flow on the cross-cut of the abdomen area to illustrate the propagation inside the different abdominal tissues. Additionally, power values in different parts of the abdomen area, such as in different parts of the small intestine (SI), colon, stomach etc., are calculated. The main purpose is to examine power distribution in the abdominal area with different antenna location options suitable for abdomen monitoring systems. Furthermore, channel characteristics between an endoscope capsule and an on-body antenna are evaluated in two different areas of the SI tract: close to the on-body antenna and further from the on-body antenna. Power distribution information is useful when designing the medical and health monitoring devices for the abdomen area, such as capsule endoscope, gastrointestinal activity monitoring systems, etc.