A Compact Implantable Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output Antenna for Biotelemetry and Sensing Applications

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) tract diseases are among the most common diseases in the world, resulting in more than 8 million deaths. The majority of these deaths occur due to cancer or tumors. Early detection of these tumors can greatly lower the mortality rate. In this work, an implantable multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna sensor is constructed for GI tract devices to detect the tumor. The implantable MIMO antenna sensor has two embedded antennas, each operating at 915 MHz. Both elements of the system are placed 0.6 mm apart from each other (edge-to-edge). The volume consumed by this design is measured to be 7 × 7 × 0.25 = 12.25 mm3. It occupies a very small volume due to miniaturization achieved using meandered resonating structures and a high-permittivity substrate. It maintains stable radiation performance (gain = −26.2 dBi at resonance). The antenna units are decoupled by maintaining a proper gap between them and adding a slot on the bottom side. An isolation level greater than 28.7 dB is achieved using these approaches. Since the MIMO system utilizes two antenna elements, its effectiveness is verified using MIMO parameters. At SNR = 20 dB, the channel capacity reaches 8.75 bps/Hz. The proposed antenna ensures high channel capacity and enables seamless communication while simultaneously acting as a sensor to monitor internal changes in the observed region. The frequency response change with variations in the permittivity of human tissue, enabling its sensing capability. Moreover, the antenna sensor maintains stable radiation and S-parameter performance throughout the sensing mechanism. Thus, the proposed solution is suitable for biomedical implants requiring both high-data-rate communication and sensing.