title: An attempt to model the human body as a communication channel.
abstract: Using the human body as a transmission medium for electrical signals offers novel data communication in biomedical monitoring systems. In this paper, galvanic coupling is presented as a promising approach for wireless intra-body communication between on-body sensors. The human body is characterized as a transmission medium for electrical current by means of numerical simulations and measurements. Properties of dedicated tissue layers and geometrical body variations are investigated, and different electrodes are compared. The new intra-body communication technology has shown its feasibility in clinical trials. Excellent transmission was achieved between locations on the thorax with a typical signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 20 dB while the attenuation increased along the extremities.
authors.affiliation: Integrated Systems Laboratory (IIS), (ETH), Hochstrasse 20, Zurich 8092, Switzerland. mwegmuel@iis.ee.ethz.ch
authors.forename: Marc Simon
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wegmueller
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: Juerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Froehlich
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oberle
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Felber
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuster
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fichtner
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D007257:Information Theory; D008954:Models, Biological; D010992:Plethysmography, Impedance / Q000379:methods*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*