RF communication with implantable wireless device: effects of beating heart on performance of miniature antenna

The frequency response of an implantable antenna is key to the performance of a wireless implantable sensor. If the antenna detunes significantly, there are substantial power losses resulting in loss of accuracy. One reason for detuning is because of a change in the surrounding environment of an antenna. The pulsating anatomy of the human heart constitutes such a changing environment, so detuning is expected but this has not been quantified dynamically before. Four miniature implantable antennas are presented (two different geometries) along with which are placed within the heart of living swine the dynamic reflection coefficients. These antennas are designed to operate in the short range devices frequency band (863–870 MHz) and are compatible with a deeply implanted cardiovascular pressure sensor. The measurements recorded over 27 seconds capture the effects of the beating heart on the frequency tuning of the implantable antennas. When looked at in the time domain, these effects are clearly physiological and a combination of numerical study and posthumous autopsy proves this to be the case, while retrospective simulation confirms this hypothesis. The impact of pulsating anatomy on antenna design and the need for wideband implantable antennas is highlighted.