On the UWB in-Body Propagation Measurements Using Pork Meat

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the in-body propagation using pork meat at the lower ultrawideband (UWB) frequency band 3.74-4.25 GHz of the wireless body area network (WBAN) standard 802.15.6. Pork meat in terms of the dielectric properties is one of the most similar to human tissues and thus is commonly used in in-body propagation studies. Nevertheless, there are differences in the dielectric properties, creating some differences also in the radio propagation. The first objective of this paper is to investigate by simulations the propagation differences between human and pork tissue layer models. The simulations results show clear differences between the channel characteristics obtained using a human tissues and pork tissues: within the frequency range of interest, the path loss with pork meat can be up to 5 dB less than with the human meat. The second objective of this paper is to study, by measurements, the in-body channel characteristics using different types of pork meat piece having different fat and muscle compositions. It was found that path loss is clearly higher with the pork meat having separate skin, fat, and muscle layers compared to the pork meat having interlaced fat and muscle layers. Furthermore, the third objective of this paper is to study the impact of the meat temperature on the measured channel characteristics by comparing the channels obtained with the meat at the temperatures of 12°C and at 37°C. Also, in this case clear differences were observed in path loss: within the frequency range of interest, the path loss was maximum 5 dB lower with meat at 37°C than with a colder meat. The results presented in this paper provide useful information and relevant aspects for the in-body propagation studies conducted with pork meat.

Optical Wireless Power Transmission Through Biological Tissue Using Commercial Photovoltaic Cells Under 810 nm LEDs: Feasibility Study

“…The percentages of power density and optical power received in relation to free space are 13%, 9%, 2%, and 1% for sample #1, sample #2, sample #3, and sample #4 respectively. These results suggest that fat tissue (sample #1) is a suitable signal propagation medium compared to muscle tissue (sample #2), in line with previous research on RF wave cases [10,29]. We found that the results in optical waves coincide with those in RF waves on biological tissue.…”

“…Performing measurements on ex-vivo meat samples offer a more convenient option compared to measurements on anaesthetized animals, as it eliminates the requirement for a clinical setting as typically conducted in hospital environments. Furthermore, the tissue dielectric characteristics of adult pigs closely mimic those of humans, rendering a commonly employed substitute for simulating the human body in medical studies [10]. In addition, adjusting the meat to temperatures closer to the average human body temperature, specifically 37 °C, is important as it will yield more realistic results, as concerned by [9,38].…”

“…IMDs offer significant advantages in real-time health monitoring and targeted treatments within the human body [1][2][3]. So far, a massive amount of research has been conducted to enhance wireless implantable medical devices (IMDs) dedicated to improving patients' well-being, for instance, in [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Various types of IMDs have been developed, each with unique functions and designs [11][12][13].…”

Realistic 3D Phantoms for Validation of Microwave Sensing in Health Monitoring Applications

“…In recent years, the research community has shown a keen interest in the development of more accurate and realistic phantoms for different sensing techniques based on microwaves, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optics, and acousto-optics. Emulation platforms are usually built with human-tissue-mimicking phantoms [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] or with animal tissues, e.g., pig tissues [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. This paper focuses on phantom development for microwave techniques.…”

Realistic 3D Phantoms for Validation of Microwave Sensing in Health Monitoring Applications

“…Therefore, the development and the use of realistic simulation and emulation platforms is essential for evaluating techniques already in their initial phase. Emulation platforms are usually build with human tissue mimicking phantoms [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] or with animal tissues, e.g pork tissues [11][12][13][14]. Recently, there has been strong interest on the development of more accurate and realistic phantoms for different sensing techniques based on, such as microwaves, optics, and acousto-optics.…”