Innovative Antennae May Signal A 'New Wave' In Health Care Provision

The use of biosensors attached to the body for health monitoring is not new. However, antennas that enable such devices to be linked together efficiently on a patient's body without wires are currently too uncomfortable to wear for a long time because they need to be large in order to maximise the strength of the signal being received. They can be reduced in size but this leads to the antenna being less efficient, meaning that the battery powering the device has to be recharged more frequently.

....The new types of antenna are the first in the world to deliberately harness the so-called 'creeping wave' effect. With a conventional on-body antenna the majority of the signal is transmitted either away from the patient or inwards, where it is absorbed by the patient's body which weakens the signal. The rest of the signal, though, hugs the skin's surface and 'creeps' round the body where it is picked up by the control unit....

 

Innovative Antennae May Signal A 'New Wave' In Health Care Provision