The design and experimental verification of a deeply implanted conformal printed antenna is presented. The hip implant acts as the ground plane for a coaxial-cable-fed trapezoidal radiator designed to transmit biological signals collected within the body by proper biosensors. The arrangement, consisting of a metallic (or equivalent) hip implant, bio-compatible gypsum-based dielectric, and conformal radiator, was tested when the hosting 3D-printed plastic bone was immersed in tissue-like liquid contained in a plastic bucket. The dimensions of the set-up are similar to a human leg. Matching and radiation characteristics are presented in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency band (2.4-2.5 GHz), showing the feasibility of the proposed arrangement.
Keywords: bio-electromagnetic; bio-telemetry; conformal antennas; implanted antenna; in-body microstrip antenna.