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A Microstrip Patch Antenna for Biomedical
Applications at 2.45 GHz
Shashiketan Samal, Santanu Dwari
Dept. of Electronics and Communication
Engineering,
Indian School of Mines,
Dhanbad, India
Abstract—A Microstrip Patch antenna resonating at
2.47 GHz is proposed which is made of a silicon
substrate. The proposed antenna has been designed for
biomedical applications in human body. The substrate
chosen has an ease of fabrication and biocompatibility
compared to other semiconductors. The designed
antenna is being aimed to be utilized on skin as well as
inside the body taking into consideration of tissue
parameters. The directivity, gain and radiation
efficiency is high as compared to antenna made on
RO3730 of dielectric constant 3.
Keywords-patch antenna; biomedical implantation;
silicon substrate; in body communication; radiation
efficiency
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years a lot of research work has been
going on implantation of biomedical devices inside
and on the human body. For body centric wireless
communication there is a need of antenna in and out
of the body which reduces the diagnosis of patients. It
can communicate without a wire piercing of the skin
preventing infections in a medical diagnosis [1].
Hence, there is a need of implantable antenna which
can build reliable wireless links. .
The loop and monopole give similar
omnidirectional patterns with maximum radiation
along the surface. The patch antenna and planar
inverted F antenna gives strong radiation away from
the surface, suitable for the free-space links [2].
Dipole antenna has a good radiation pattern but to
size constraint it cannot be implanted on or inside
body. In contrary, Microstrip patch antennas are
lighter in weight, low volume, low cost, low profile,
smaller in dimension and ease of fabrication and
conformity.
For the use of antenna,frequency bands and power
levels are regulated by the Medical Implant
Communication Service (MICS) band. MICS
operates in the 402-405 MHz band, with a power
level strictly limited to 25ȝWof effective radiated
power [3]. However, diagnostic applications are
allowed to exceed the basic restrictions of Council
Recommendation 1999/519/EC as there is a benefit
for the patient. Usual frequencies are those allowed
for industrial, scientific, and medical applications
谠-)))
Ashudeb Dutta, S. Pradeep Reddy
Dept. of Electrical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Hyderabad, India
similar to most industrial sources: 27 MHz, 433 MHz
and 2.45 GHz [4]. Moreover, if resonating frequency
is considered very low the size of the antenna
increases. So, a microstrip antenna resonating at 2.45
GHz is proposed.
When an antenna which is designed for on body
surface is placed inside the body its resonating
frequency decreases. A 2.45 GHz antenna when
placed inside the body resonates at 0.8 GHz. This
decrease is due to the high permittivity of the muscles
tissue and conductivity of tissues [5]. The proposed
antenna eliminates this effect with the use of a
hexagonal patch. With a slight change in dimensions
of antenna it can be used inside the body as well at
2.45 GHz.
The biocompatibility of antenna is another issue.
The antenna performance should not get affected by
body parameters neither the antenna should harm the
body tissues. So, antenna must be fabricated by
biocompatible materials that will not elicit an adverse
biological response. The tungsten metal [6] has been
used as the ground plane of antenna as it least affects
the tissues. Superior fracture and fatigue resistance
have made metals the materials of choice for
traditional load-bearing applications. It doesn’t
corrode inside the body.
For the choice of substrate, silicon (İ =11.7), is
used as a substrate. It is the basic semiconductor
material used for fabrication. This is used extensively
due to its ease of fabrication, abundance in nature,
reliable high volume fabrication and exceptional
physical properties. Silicon has been widely used in
breast implant and prosthetics for increased facial
characteristics [7]. It maintains its mechanical and
electrical properties inside the body. It does not
invoke inflammatory or toxic response proving its
biocompatibility.
The performance of antenna greatly depends on the
permittivity and thickness of substrate. So a thin
substrate is used. The effective dielectric constant of
silicon is reduced by partially removing the silicon
underneath the patch to form a mixed air-silicon
region with a predetermined dielectric constant value.
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II. ANTENNA DESIGN 0.1067 S/m), and 30 mm for muscle of the

constitutive parameters of (ߝ௥ = 52.668 and ߪ =1.882
Fig.1 shows the simulation of proposed antenna S/m).
which is modified from [8] in High Frequency
Simulation Software (HFSS). The antenna substrate
is silicon wafer of the dielectric constant 11.9, height
1.534 mm and side is 21.8 mm. The substrate rests on
58mm x 78mm ground plane made of tungsten.
Window of 56 mm x 76 mm is open on back side of
wafer and open a rectangular cavity of depth 0.567
mm in silicon. Fig-2 shows the side view of the
antenna. The feedline width is 0.064mm.

Figure 3. Antenna on Human Tissue Model

IV. SIMULATION AND RESULTS

Figure 1. Proposed Patch antenna in HFSS
The antenna was simulated in HFSS software with
air as boundary. The antenna resonates at 2.47 GHz.
The return loss and radiation pattern were as shown
in Fig.4. The directivity is 4.99, gain is 4.39, and
radiation efficiency is found to be 95.37%. The
radiation efficiency increased by around 10% as in
comparison to the antenna on substrate RO3730 of
dielectric constant 3 in [8].

Figure 2. Side view of the antenna

III. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

The selection of height and dielectric constant of

the substrate plays a key role in obtaining high
directivity and better radiation efficiency [9]. Hence, Figure 4(a). Return loss of antenna in air
the effective permittivity of silicon is optimized to 3
F/m from 11.9 F/m by creating a cavity.
If ݄௔௜௥ is the height of cavity then, synthesized
dielectric constant can be calculated from the
following formula.
ߝ௔௜௥ ‫ߝ כ‬௦௜ (1)
ߝ௦௬௡௧௛ ൌ
ߝ௔௜௥ ൅ ሺߝ௦௜ ൅ ߝ௔௜௥ ሻ݄௔௜௥

The height was found to be 0.417mm. So,

dimension of cavity after optimization is: 56mm
76mm 0.567mm.
For the simulation of antenna on body a human
tissue was modeled as shown in Fig.3. Its layers
Figure 4(b). Radiation pattern of antenna in air when ‫ ׎‬ൌ Ͳι
dimensions are 120 mm 130 mm with 1mm height
for the skin of the constitutive parameters of (ߝ௥ =
The same antenna was then placed on the body
37.952 and ߪ =1.4876 S/m), 2 mm for fat of the
model and simulated. The antenna resonates at 2.47
constitutive parameters of (ߝ௥ = 5.2749 and ߪ=

谠-)))
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GHz with a directivity of 5.909 and gain of 4.91 the
radiation efficiency however decreased to 82.98%.
The return loss and radiation pattern are as shown in
the figure.
Figure 5(a). Return loss of antenna on body
V. PERFORMANCE OF ANTENNA INSIDE
HUMAN BODY
The peculiar characteristic of this hexagonal
patched microstrip antenna is that it can be used
inside human body taking into considerations all
tissue parameters with a little change in dimensions.
For simulation of antenna inside the human body a
three layer model or a single layer model can be used.
The one layer model tends to overestimate losses so it
can be accepted as a conservative approach from the
point of view of antenna pair gain [5]. If the antenna
is placed inside a fat tissue then detuning and
impedance mismatch takes place. Hence it should be
placed in between the muscle tissue. The implanted
antenna should be insulated from the body tissues as
much as possible.
The above proposed antenna with reduced
dimensions based on silicon substrate is used as
shown in Fig.6. The ground plane is of dimension 50
mm x70 mm. Window of 46 mm x 66 mm is open on
back side of wafer with same depth of 0.567 mm. The
antenna was enclosed within a muscle tissue
(permittivity 52.4 S/m and conductivity 1.882) of
height 6mm.

Figure 5(b). Radiation pattern of antenna on body

‫ ׎‬ൌ Ͳι

A brief comparison has been provided in Table. I

with that of [8] whose substrate is made of RO3730. Figure 6. Antenna structure inside human body

T ABLE I. (a) C OMPARISON OF ANTENNA PERFORMANCE WITH The structure was simulated in HFSS software. The
R O 3730 AS SUBSTRATE antenna was found to resonate at 2.45 GHz with a
very good value of directivity, gain and radiation
RO3730 In air On body efficiency as compared to [10] and [5].
Resonating frequency 2.45 2.45 The return loss parameters and radiation efficiency
Directivity 5.0281 5.2285 are as shown in the figure.7:
Gain 4.3671 4.2997
Radiation Efficiency 86.85 82.235

T ABLE I. (b) C OMPARISON OF ANTENNA PERFORMANCE WITH

SILICON AS SUBSTRATE

Silicon In air On body

Resonating frequency 2.47 2.47
Directivity 4.9525 5.909
Gain 4.7235 4.9034
Radiation Efficiency 95.377 82.982

Figure 7(a). Return loss of antenna inside body

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[3] Mehmet R. Yuce on "Implementation of wireless body

area networks for healthcare systems," ELSEVIER,
Sensors and Actuators A 162 (2010) 116–129
[4] "Preliminary Opinion on Possible effects of
Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) on Human Health,"
adopted by scientific committee on emerging and
newly identified health risks, 2006
[5] J. Gemio, J. Parr¶on, and J. Soler on "Human body
effects on implantable antennas for ism bands
applications: models comparison and propagation
losses study," Progress In Electromagnetics Research,
Vol. 110, 437-452, 2010
[6] D. Mihov*, B. Katerska on "Some biocompatible
materials used in medical practice," Trakia Journal of
Figure 7(b). Radiation pattern of antenna inside body Sciences, Vol. 8, Suppl. 2, pp 119-125, 2010.
‫ ׎‬ൌ Ͳι [7] Biodegradable materials for medical appliicatiions,
Biomedical Engineering Università degli Studi di
A comparison of antenna parameters has been Pavia - Structural Mechanics Department.
provided in Table II with [10] and [5]. [8] Ahmed al-Shaheen, on "New patch antenna for ISM
band at 2.45 GHz," ARPN Journal of Engineering and
Applied Sciences, vol. 7, no. 1, January 2012
T ABLE II. C OMPARISON OF ANTENNA PERFORMANCE [9] Rathi.V, Rawat.S, Pokhariya H.S., on "Study the effect
of substrate thickness and permittivity on patch
Proposed Compared antenna,"Signal Processing, Communications and
antenna antenna Computing (ICSPCC), 2011 IEEE International
Conference on 14-16 Sept. 2011
Radiation 86.211 0.16 [10] [10] Jaehoon Kim, Rahmat-Samii, Y., on "Implanted
efficiency antennas inside a human body: simulations, designs,
Directivity 5.2399 -- and characterizations, "Microwave Theory and
Gain 2.5 dB -15 dB [5] Techniques, IEEE Transactions Volume: 52, Issue: 8
Page(s): 1934- 1943, aug 2004

VI. CONCLUSION
Hence, a Silicon based hexagonal patched
microstrip antenna has been proposed and simulated.
The antenna can be used on the surface of human
body and inside the body easily due to
biocompatibility of materials which are used in
antenna. The above proposed antenna can be
fabricated and used for biomedical applications as
they are lighter in weight, low volume, low cost, low
profile, smaller in dimension and ease of fabrication
and conformity.
However, there are some factors which need to be
dealt cautiously while implanting antenna inside
human body. The proposed antenna takes care of air
gap between the antenna and the skin however
interstitial fluid between the antenna and skin andthe
internal body temperature may affect the
performance.

REFERENCES
[1] Tamotsu Houzen1, Masaharu Takahashi2, and Koichi
Ito3 on "Implanted Antenna for an Artificial Cardiac
Pacemaker System, "Progress In Electromagnetics
Research Symposium 2007, Prague, Czech Republic,
August 27-30
[2] M.R Kamarudin, Y.I.Nechayev, P.S.Hall on
"Performance of Antennas in the On-Body
Environment," Antennas and Propagation Society
International Symposium, 2005 IEEE475-478 vol. 3A,
2005

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