In-body and out-of-body wireless communication

As the name implies, in-body and out-of-body wireless communication are wireless communications that connects to wireless terminals inside and outside of a body.
The body tissues that make up the human body; muscles, organs, blood, etc., have an electrical characteristic called ‘lossy medium’, resulting in a large attenuation of radio waves.
The wireless terminal for in-body devices must also be significantly reduced in size (incl. antenna); this is a technically challenging area for wireless communication.

NICT is engaged in research and development on in-body and out-of-body wireless communications, including antenna design that takes into account the electrical characteristics of body tissues, the design of signal waveforms suitable for low amplitude fluctuation and low power consumption, and location estimation technology for terminals inside the body; e.g., in the digestive tract.

These technologies are expected to be applied to gastrointestinal sensors (e.g., capsule endoscopes) that use swallowable wireless terminals.