Linking Medical Implants Through Human Tissue
The human nervous system is exceptionally good at moving information around the body. Signals generated in one location can trigger actions somewhere else almost instantly. Today's implantable medical devices, however, are nowhere near that level of coordination. Even though wearable sensors and implanted therapeutics have become increasingly common, getting them to communicate is still a major engineering challenge.
Researchers have now demonstrated a communication system that uses the body's own tissue as the transmission medium. Called the Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System (SWANS), the platform allows tiny implants and wearable devices to exchange simple signals without relying on conventional wireless technologies. The approach dramatically reduces both power consumption and device size, which are very important factors for a device designed to be implanted in the body.
A wearable hub (📷: R. Ghanim et al.)
SWANS injects carefully controlled electrical pulses into the body's tissue through a wearable hub. Implanted...
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