Whispering through my body: ultrasound waves based body area networks

Due to the rapid miniaturization of electronic circuits, tiny sensing and actuation devices can be built to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases. These devices, after being implanted or digested can continuously collect diagnostic information, and perform very localized fine-tuned medical treatments over extended periods of time. For a controlled operation of these devices, it is however crucial that they can reliably communicate with each other and with the outside world. This is however challenging with radio-frequency (RF) based communication technology, as RF waves do not propagate deep into the human tissue and pose serious health risks. This project targets the development of an alternative data transfer mechanism for electronic devices in and around the body through the use of ultrasound (US) waves. US has been used extensively for underwater communication as well as for medical imaging, and has demonstrated good conductance through the body. However, its use towards device to device commu nication in body area networks remains still largely unexplored.

Keywords:Ultrasound, body area network, electronics, transducer, communication, channel model

Disciplines:Nanotechnology, Design theories and methods