Propagation study of UWB capsule endoscope with multiple on-body antennas

Abstract This paper presents a study of the radio channel characteristics between a capsule endoscopy and a multi on-body antenna system on ultra wideband wireless body area networks (UWB-WBAN). Multiple on-body antennas are required to provide reliable communication link between the capsule and the on-body device, but also essential for capsule localization. The main aim is to study the variation of the frequency and time domain channel characteristics for the selected on-body antennas in different capsule locations, including the most challenging capsule locations deep inside the tissues or far away from most of the antennas. This study also evaluates whether five of selected type directive on-body antennas is enough to cover the intestine area thoroughly. The study is conducted with CST Studio Suite simulations and one of its anatomical voxel models. A simplified capsule model and a directive on-body antenna designed for low-band UWB in-body communications are used in this study. It is found that five of this type directive on-body antennas provide sufficient coverage over the intestine area even in the most challenging capsule locations. In certain capsule locations, the variation between the channel attenuations can be significant, over 40 dB within the frequency range of interest, if the capsule is located deep inside the tissues without smooth access to outer fat layer through which the signal could travel easily to different on-body antennas. Instead, if the capsule is located close to the subcutaneous fat layer, the channel attenuation is moderate even for the antennas which are located far from the capsule