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IS-DAAD-Forskerutveksl. Norge-Tyskland

Enhanced Ultra Wideband Antennas and Propagation for In-Body-to-On-Body Wireless Communications

Awarded: NOK 29,307

Recent advances in wireless radio technology have enabled the development of medical sensors capable of operating inside the human body such as the wireless capsule endoscope (WCE). Our research on implantable ultra wideband (UWB) communications has predi cted the feasibility of establishing high data rate links suitable for WCE communication using UWB impulse radio transceivers. In-vivo experiments conducted at the Intervention Centre (IVS), Oslo University Hospital (Norway), in cooperation with researche rs from Dresden University of Technology (Germany) and Nagoya Institute of Technology (Japan), have demonstrated a maximal transmission range of 12 centimeters in a porcine model for a data rate of 1 Megabit per second. Hence, in this project we build upo n collaborative research that has been initiated between IVS and Dresden University of Technology, to increase the transmission range of UWB in-vivo radio links. For this sake, innovative solutions are going to be investigated. The improvement of UWB comm unication links will be achieved through four main solutions: (1) Optimization of in-body antenna, (2) Enhancement of on-body receiving system through the use of polarization diversity, (3) Use of an optimal on-body dielectric matching layer for the recei ving system, and (4) Use of UWB signals in frequencies below 1 GHz. Collaborative research between the Norwegian and German institutions is needed in order to ensure access to laboratory equipment, chirurgical facilities, and know-how that are necessary f or the implementation of the aforementioned solutions. Although the research will be done in the context of WCE communications, the results are expected to be useful for any other types of implantable wireless sensors. The postdoctoral research of the can didate done in the MELODY Project at IVS from 2009 to 2012 under the support of the Research Council of Norway has provided several results and publications related to the current proposal.

Funding scheme:

IS-DAAD-Forskerutveksl. Norge-Tyskland