Metameterial based wearable antenna for body area network

Project Title

Metameterial based wearable antenna for body area network

Project Area of Specialization Wearables and ImplantableProject Summary

Body area network, in wireless communication, is termed as a collection of small lightweight sensors placed on the human body to measure various physical parameters. The network of such intelligent systems permits the doctors and his experts to consistently ensure the health of patients and acquire the response. Very small sized microelectronics sensors installed on the patient's human body or clothes or even implanted inside the human body converts the physical parameters (such as blood pressure (BP), oxygen level, pulse rate, etc..) into electrical signals which are hardwired transmitted to the monitoring stations. These parameters are continuously monitored from remote station and provide the lifesaving drugs to the patient through medical experts or by the actuators implanted on the human body. However, hardwire transmission of signals can become cumbersome, particularly, wherein various parameters are to simultaneously.

Body Area Networks (BANs) incorporate antennas which are mounted on human body to provide wireless connectivity. The characteristics of these antennas are different from the antennas designed for free space. For the BAN, the antenna design needs omnidirectional radiations, directed away from the human body. Ideally, the radiations should have no side and back lobes. The radiations due to these lobes are in the unwanted directions and may be absorbed in the human body causing damage to the tissues and affecting the value of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR).  For this purpose, metamaterial surfaces are desired to optimize the overall performance of the antennas and also to minimize the side and back lobe radiations. Therefore, there is a need to design metamaterial-based antennas to compare it to the conventional counterpart.

Another problem that needs to be considered is the data rate and channel capacity, because in today’s current driven technologies some of the applications requires higher rate for the transmission and reception of data. In this regard, the choice of frequency is very difficult and mostly the ISM band is considered as a suitable candidate for the high date rate devices. To address this problem MIMO antennas, need to be designed. The main focus of the project is to enhance the overall performance of the antenna using metamaterial surfaces and stop the radiations radiated towards the human body. The proposed work also focuses on the high data applications for which MIMO antennas shall be designed and analyzed.

Project Objectives

The following are the main objectives of the proposed work:

1.To design and analyze wearable antennas for Body Area Network (BAN) in the targeted bands.

2.To design and characterize metamaterial structures to be used in wearable antennas.

3. Comparative study of the proposed antennas with and without metamaterial structures on different parts of human body, under normal and bent scenarios.

 4. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis.

 5. To design MIMIO antenna for data rate and channel capacity

6. Fabrication and testing of the proposed antennas and metamaterial structures.

Project Implementation Method

In this work, simulation softwares can play a vital role in the design and evaluation of body worn antennas and metamaterial surfaces. For this purpose, Computer Simulation Technology (CST) and Higher Frequency Structure Simulation (HFSS) software will be used. The layout of the proposed methodology and general design steps is illustrated in Figure 1.

• Selection of frequency Bands

• To select and find out the standard frequency Bands specific to Body Area Network (BAN).

• Material Selection

• Selection of suitable non-conducting material depending upon the frequency bands for both antenna and metamaterial design as a substrate.
• Selection of suitable conducting material for both antenna and metamaterials as antenna radiating element and ground plane.

• Antenna and Metamaterial design and optimization in Simulation Software

• Design of Antennas in the targeted frequency bands: The geometry of the antenna such as radiating element, ground plane and the type of feeding mechanism are to be defined.
• Design, Characterization & Analysis of metamaterial surfaces: The geometry of the metamaterial structure in the targeted frequency bands, the type of excitation and simulation setup for In-Phase Reflection Characterization, Surface Wave Suppression and parametric extraction are to be defined.
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) Analysis: The SAR analysis of the proposed antennas with and without metamaterial surfaces on various parts of human body under flat and bent scenarios is to be conducted. For SAR analysis CST voxel models or self-developed tissue phantom is to be used.

• Comparison of simulated and measured results under normal and bent wearable scenarios

• Based on the optimum results obtained from simulation the fabrication method is to be selected and the prototype of both antennas and metamaterial surfaces will be produced.
• After fabrication of the antennas and metamaterial surfaces, the antenna is to be tested with and without metamaterial surfaces in free space under normal and bent scenario, and the critical parameters like return loss, gain, directivity, efficiency are to be measured.
• The proposed antenna with and without metamaterial surfaces will be tested on various parts of human body under flat and bent conditions and the return loss, gain, directivity, efficiency is to be measured.
• The performance of the antennas is to be compared.

Figure 1: Layout of the proposed methodology

Benefits of the Project

Wearable antennas are commonly used in wearable wireless communication and bio-medical RF systems. These antennas are also used within the context of Body-centric Communication and Body Area Networks (WBAN). The advent of high-efficiency miniature antennas is greatly enabling invasive and non-invasive devices in consumer, healthcare, and several military applications. A few examples of consumer-bound wearable devices that use wearable antennas are smartwatches (integrated Bluetooth antennas), smart glasses (integrated Wi-Fi, GPS, and IR antennas), body-worn action cameras (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), and small sensor devices in sports shoes (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) that can be paired with smartphones.

The proposed research will contribute both practically and in terms of academia, and will be used in various applications such as sports, medicine, healthcare, monitoring, entertainment, consumer electronics, and the military. The specific applications consist of breast imaging systems for tumor detection; blood pressure, glucose level, telemedicine, Doppler radar, gamming, smart shoes, smart watches etc.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The expected deliverables of the project are as follows:

1. Design, fabrication and testing of the proposed wearable antennas and metamaterial structures.
2. A well complied and compressive thesis report.
3. Publication/submission of research output of the project to reputed journals/conferences.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry TelecommunicationOther Industries Medical , Health , Security Core Technology Wearables and ImplantablesOther Technologies Wearables and ImplantablesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Quality EducationRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	60000
Prototypes and their Fabrication	Equipment	3	15000	45000
Testing of the Prototypes	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Printing of Thesis Report	Miscellaneous	3	3000	9000