Abstract ‘The findings of various investigations have unveiled that chronic diseases are the primary factor contributing to mortality among the elderly population worldwide.Consequently, there is a need to revamp public healthcare systems using emerging technology to address this issue. Hence, main focus of this research work is to design and develop an antenna for the implants residing within the patient’s body for neural monitoring. The proposed antenna aids in making the monitoring process minimally invasive to enhance the patient's comfort Firstly, a comprehensive literature survey was undertaken to explore the different methodologies proposed by researchers for the implementation of an antenna in neural implants. Various approaches to power the implant, including the utilization of power cables, batteries, and RF power harvesting, passive monitoring using microwave back scattering were studied. Among these, the Microwave Back Scattering technique, employing an Anti Parallel Diode Pair (APDP), emerged as the preferred choice due to its ability to make the harmonic mixer fully passive, thereby reducing the overall power requirement of the implant, In order to effectively work with the harmonic mixer, the antenna needs to resonate at harmonic frequencies. The key attributes of a neural implant antenna were identified as dual band operability, low profile, compact size, and bio-compatibility. Secondly, a Vivaldi antenna was developed to operate in two frequency bands with harmonic resonant frequencies, resulting in a highly dircctive end fire radiation pattern. However, in order to achiove these desired characteristics, the antenna had a maximum dimension of 35 mm, To address this limitation, a miniaturized antenna was designed using a modified micro-strip patch structure. This new design had a compact size of 15.5 X 13 son? while still achieving the optimum frequency and radiation characteristics. Due to its smaller size, the peak gain of the antenna in the lower and higher resonant bands was only 0.98 and 1.09 dB, respectively. As a result, further refinement of the antenna design was necessary. ‘Thirdly, a tiny hat-shaped antenna with a defected ground was developed to meet the specific requirements of a neural implant antenna, To ensure its bio-compatibility, the antenna was covered with a dielectric polymer material (PDMS) and its performance was evaluated in both in-vitro and in-vivo setups during experimentation, The antenna exhibited an impedance bandwidth of 1.15 GHz, supporting high data rates, and achieved a directive gain of 1.29 dB at 3.84 GHz and 1.39 dB at 7.68 GHz. Finally, a miniature antenna measuring 11 mm X 9 mm was designed with elliptical resonators to enable dual-band functionality. ‘The two elliptical resonators allowed the antenna to receive at 7.15 GHz and transmit, at 143 GHz, The antenna’s impedance bandwidths of 1 GHz and 1.45 GHz facilitated communication at higher data rates. With peak gain values of 1.7 dBi and 2.2 dBi, the link budget was calculated considering data rates of 1 Mbps and 20 Mbps. To evaluate the Specific Absorption Rate, the antenna was simulated within a seven-layer head model with a penetration depth of § mm. ‘The performance metrics were compared, leading to necessary modifications to enhance the antenna’s capability and overall implant performance Keywords— Microwave Back Scattering, Bio-Compatibility, PDMSStudent Details Name of the student Roll Number Date of joining Naine of the research guides Course work details: D Suryachand Gopavajhula 177EC500 07/07/2017 Dr. Sandeep Kumar Assistant Professor, Department of E&C Enge., N.LT.K. Surathkal. Dr.A.V.Narasimhadhan Associate Professor Department of B&C Engg., N.LT.K. Surathkal. Course code | Session _| Course title Credits | Grade E721 | July-Dec 2017 | Mathematical Foundations for Comm. Engg. 4 AA EC911 | July-Dec 2017 | Math. Methods for sig. Pros.and Com. Engg. | 4 AA MA703__ | July-Dec 2017 | Computational Linear Algebra 3 AA MAT04 —_| July-Dec 2017 | Numerical Analysis 3 AB HU800 | July-Dec 2017 | Research Methodology 2 s Earned Credits: 16 CGPA : 9.36Contents Abstract 1 Introduction LL E-Health Evolution 1.1.1 A Patient-Centric Approach to Chronic Disease Management 1.2 Implantable Medical Devices for Neural Monitoring 1.2.1 Microwave Back Se: cring (MBS) Technique 1.3 Literature review 14 Motivation and research objectives 1.5 Contribution of the thesis 1.6 Overview 2 Design and development of dual-band antennas for IMD 241 Objective 2: To design, simulate and fabricate the dual-band antennas for IMD 21.1 Dual-Band Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna For Wireless Neural Monitoring Applications 2.2 Objective 3: To design and develop miniature antennas suited for neural monitoring 22.1 Modified Micro-strip Antenna 3. The performance of implant antenna in in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation 3.1 Objective 4: Evaluate the performance of implant antenna with help of in-vitro and ine experimontation using artificial biological tissue. 3.1.1 Simulation and Experimental Results 4 A miniature antenna with elliptical resonators 4.1 Objective 5: ‘To improve the key parameters of Implantable antennas such as gain, directive radiation and reduction of size 4.1.1 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 5 Conclusions and Future Directions 5.1 Concluding remarks 5.2 Future work Bibliography List of Publications u a 14 u 15 16 16 18 20Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 E-Health Evolution ‘The Introduction of the X-ray technology in 1897 to detect bullet fragments and fractured bones inside patients in the war zone during the Balkan War, was the earliest recorded instance of using electronics for diagnosing medical conditions. Subsequently, the swift advancement in electronics facilitated the development of compact electronic devices capable of playing a crucial role in medical diagnosis and treatment, In 1952, a pacemaker device that stinulates the heart externally through two electrodes inserted into the chest was implemented ‘This marked the inception of the use of external electrical devices for patient treatment Nebeker (2002) Currently, in the realm of medicine, a diverse range of electronic devices are utilized for forecasting, diagnosing, and treating a wide range of diseases, These devices include medical imaging tools, radiation-based tools used in cancer therapies, and monitoring devices for various physiological functions to facilitate accurate diagnosis. Some of these devices necessitate internal operation within the patient's body. Thus, integrating wireless capabilities into such electronic devices would improve patient comfort by minimizing the invasiveness associated with their utilization, ‘The evolution of ingestible devices equipped with sensing capabilities has transformed the monitoring, and treatment of internal bodily conditions, offering solutions to a variety of illnesses. These devices utilize wireless communication to enable external control of the system and report internal conditions of the patient in applications such as blood sugar monitoring, brain activity analysis, and endoscopy. These systems enable early disease detection and contimious patient monitoring with minimal doctor intervention, making them particularly valuable in the management of chronic diseases, The severity of chronic diseases and the imperative requirement for the advancement of monitoring devices for patients suffering from chronic diseases are explained in the subsequent sub-section, 1.1.1 A Patient-Centric Approach to Chronic Disease Management ‘There is a need for altcmative non-invasive, and painless diagnostic methods, especially for chronic discascs that require continous monitoring, Microwave based diagnosis systems are a promising solution as they are swift, portable, non-invasive, and do not use ionizing radiation Srikanth et al. (2020). By implementing microwave techniques in Body Area Networks (BAN), it is possible to collect data from patients remotely. The 1integration of microwave based diagnosis methods in BAN is accomplished by utilizing an Implantable Medical Device (IMD) placed in close proximity to the patient. This device is responsible for gathering patient data and transmitting it to a central hub, which can be accessed by doctors from any location around the globe at any point in time. This solution would be highly comforting and economical for patients suffering from chronic diseascs. Remote monitoring using IMDs for neural data acquisition is the only available solution for periodic health updates and emergency alerts Arefin et al, (2017). Therefore, this study aims to develop the antenna component for IMD, which is a part of a passive wireless neural monitoring system. A pictorial depiction of an IMD in BAN in the case of a neural monitoring application is shown in Fig.1 ast mE Figure 1.1: Proposed Health care system with wireless implantable Monitoring device 1.2 Implantable Medical Devices for Neural Monitoring Implantable Medical Device (IMD) proves to be a suitable option, particularly for individuals afflicted with chronic neural diseases Merli (2011). Such IMDs make use of Microwave Back Scattering (MBS) Technique to achie © passive neural monitoring 1.2.1 Microwave Back Scattering (MBS) Technique The principle of MBS relies on the characteristic of a harmonic mixer to produce the harmonic frequency of the received signal, serving as a carrier for the signal to be transmitted. As a result, there is no requirement for a local oscillator in IMD. The implant antenna inside the IMD is impinged by an external interrogator antenna using a signal of frequency f.. This signal is then received and forwarded by the implant antenna to the harmonic mixer. Simultaneously, the mixer is supplied with a signal centered at f,, whieh is obtained from the sensor module. ‘The mixer combines these two incoming signals and transmits a signal centered at a frequency of (2* f.) + f,. As a result, the communication link is established by simply backscattering the impinged signal on the mixer, eliminating the need for a local oscillator and an additional power supply Gregory (2021). Finally, the external interrogator antenna receives the mixer output transmitted via the implant antenna, 2considering all the prerequisites for an implant antenna suitable for passive neural monitoring using an IMD, we study a selection of neural monitoring implementations and antennas documented in the literature in the subsequent section, 1.3. Literature review ‘The primary consideration in the design of any implant system is the optimal operational power and frequency range of the implant. The use of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) signals allows for transmission within the unlicensed frequency range approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which ranges from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz Bahrami et al, (2014). This option offers numerous advantages, such as higher bit rates and the ability to create highly integrated systems due to smaller antenna sizes compared to other low frequency bands Consequently, implants are predominantly designed to function within the UWB range or the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, which is available for unrestricted use. Regarding power, it is crucial to consider the limits set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on the SAR. The maximum value allowed for SAR is 1.6 Watt/Kg, ensuring that the radiation absorbed by biological tissue remains within safe levels. Additionally, adherence to FCC regulations is necessary to prevent interference with other devices ‘These regulations impose limits on the maximum allowable transmission power of the implant, ensuring safety to the tissue and media surrounding the implant, The communication media consists of multiple layers of biological tissues, each of which is characterized as a dispersive dielectric material with three electrical parameters: relative permittivity, loss tangent, and mass density, The relative permittivity and loss tangent vary with frequency across the entire UWB band. The mass density, which represents the mass of each tissue per unit volume, is necessary for calculating the SAR, but it is not dependent on the frequency response. Additionally, the thickness of each layer plays a role in its impact on the channel. Therefore, it is advisable to consider both minimum and maximum adult tissue thickness during simulation and testing. During these phases, the experimentation is not done in isolation for the antennas alone. Instead, it encompasses the transmitter and receiver antennas along with all adjacent tissues. The antennas should operate at optimum power level to ensure stable communication link and yet causing minimal harm to the ti snes surrounding it. However, despite the several considerations in the design of the system, there may still be discrepancies between the simulated and measured results in terms of performance. ‘This can be attributed to the environ- ment within the human body surrounding the implant system, The neural implant is surrounded by highly sensitive brain tissues. ‘Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the antenna within the implant only directs radiation towards the interrogator. One possible solution is to incorporate a back metal behind the implant structure to prevent back radiation from the implant. However, cach additional layer added to the structure occupies additional space and introduces variations in the system's properties, To account for all the layers surrounding the implant, as well as the biocompatible layer, and to minimize the impact of the background material on energy transfer efficiency, Castronia et al. conducted experiments in Castorina et al. (2016). They 3suggest that by constructing a suitable cover with an appropriate permittivity value, the antenna can maintain robust performance despite modifications in the embedding mediums permittivity. This approach simplifies the design of an antenna in terms of input impedance and Axial Ratio(AR). The antenna can operate within a wide range of permittivity values provided by the surrounding medium, while maintaining a consistent return loss at the working frequency. In a similar experiment, ShicMin Huang et al conducted a study where they simulated the behaviour of an antenna enclosed within biological tissue Huang et al. (2014). The objective is to compare performance of antenna with internal feed and external coaxial cable. Subsequently, the antenna was tested while immersed in a tissue phantom, The aim was to investigate any variations in performance between the simulation setup, where the antennas were connected to a VNA through a coaxial cable for scattering parameter measurements, and the actual implementation, In the actual implementation, the antenna was internally connected to electronic circuitry and the entire device was fully coated with a bio-compatible material, with or without a metallic casing, Slot antennas were generally found to outperform strip antennas in terms of radiation efficiency and symmetrical beam. Additionally, the thickness of the bio-compatible coating above the antenna was discovered to significantly impact the resonance frequency. To achieve a closer resemblance of the antenna’s performance when embedded into the implantable device, the spacing between the substrate and the back metal should be filled with the same material, A coaxial feed mechanism is employed which is an unbalanced feed. In order to mitigate any potential performance discrepancies caused by current present on the outer surface of the coaxial cable, a bio-compatible coating was applied to the cable's exterior, thereby preventing direct contact with the high loss tissue. During experimentation, it is imperative to insulate the coaxial outer conductor metallization from the surrounding phantom, This precaution is necessary as even a minimal amount of current on the cable's exterior could interact with the lossy phantom, resulting in unexpected deviation in performance. To ensure proper grounding for symmetric antenna structures, it is crucial to establish a symmetric connection to the back plane, such as through the use of vias. Alternatively, a cylindrical metallic wall can be employed as a substitute, yielding no significant differences, For in-vitro experimentation, the proposed phantom in this study was created by combining 53 percent sugar and 47 percent deionized (DI) water. ‘To solidify the liquid mixture, one gram of agarose per 100 mL, solution was added. This phantom creation is useful for testing the implant in homogeneous media. ‘This study has helped in preparation of a homogeneous phantom model useful in the experimentation of antenna prototypes The selection of the antenna for the brain implant system is a crucial factor to consider, In Bahrami et al (2015), Hadi Bahrami et al. examined various types of antennas for the implant and thoroughly analysed the entire communication link between the implant and the base station, They compared four different types of implantable antennas within the frequency range of 2-11 GHz: with combinations among rigid, flexible antennas and single, dual polarized antennas, In all cases, a rigid antenna was utilized outside the body, as it does not need to conform to any movement and can maintain an appropriate polarization. Although both flexible and rigid antennas exhibit similar efficiency, flexible antennas pose a lower risk of tissue damage, making them 4preferable for internal use. Dual polarization antennas have been proven to possess superior characteristics, including smaller size, lower sensitivity to angular misalignments, and higher fidelity. An experiment was conducted by Pal Anders Floor et al. to develop an Ultra wide band propagation model for In-Body to On-Body communication using living porcine subjects Floor et al, (2015). ‘The study focused on deriving measurements from these subjects to understand the physical and medium access control layers specified by the IEEE Standard 802.15.6 (Body Arca Network) for communication between small RF transceivers placed on or near the human body. UWB systems, with their various modulation and coding strategies, offer attractive features for wireless implantable bio-medical sensors, These systems allow for the creation of smaller and faster transceivers with extremely low power consumption, making them suitable for integration into more advanced implantable biomedical sensors and actuators. However, the propagation of UWB signals through hoterogencous layers of biological tissues poses a significant challenge due to the large path loss experienced. ‘To design optimal implantable transceivers, it is crucial to accurately characterize UWB radio propagation in living biological tissues. While channel measurements in phantoms and numerical simulations using digital anatomical models can provide some insights into path loss in complex propagation media like the human body, they often fail to account for the effects of blood circulation, respiration, and temperature gradients in a living subject, Therefore, the researchers conducted UWB channel measurements within the frequency range of 1-6 GHz. on two living porcine subjects, as these animals have anatomical similarities to the average human torso. The resulting path loss model includes frequency-dependent attenuation. The implant is useful in monitoring neural activity by examining changes in the chemical composition of the brain. This implant has a wide range of applications, such as detecting epilepsy at an early stage, conducting behavioural studies to evaluate levels of consciousness during sleep, anaesthesia, or instances of brain injury. Additionally, it aids in comprehending and enhancing the brain’s functionality as it ages, and effectively assisting individuals afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and mental disorders Kipke et al. (2008), To implement this, the implant must detect the brain's activity using a sensor. Subsequently, the gathered information is transmitted to an external receiver located outside the skull. This transmission is facilitated through head model that consists of varions layers of the brain, including white matter, grey matter, Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF), dura, skull bone, and skin. Transmission of signal through these layers is studied by Lee et al. in Lee et al. (2015). In the case of neural monitoring using implants, patients tend to experience post-resection issues and a lot of inconveniences if the IMDs use wires to transfer power and data to external units Waziti et al. (2009). The wired IMDs also cause heat due to conduction and radiation heat loss from the internal circuitry LaManna et al, (1989). This additional heat has the potential to disrupt the normal functioning of the brain by harming the cerebral tissue Dethier et al. (2013). Although the IMD can be powered using a battery, frequent battery replacement necessitates multiple invasive surgeries. The utilization of a battery as a power source for the implant is not feasible, thus the alternative option is to harvest energy from within the implant itself. One possible solution is to employ a RF-to-de converter and storage device to power the IMD. Despite being referred to as passive implants, they are not entirely passive as they rely on external electromagnetic waves to activatetheir circuitry. However, a significant amount of radiation is required to sufficiently power these implants due to the very low efficiency of RF to DC conversion, This poses a safety concern, particularly when it comes to neural monitoring, as exposing brain tissues to such high levels of radiation is not advisable. Another energy 1g method proposed by Rappaport et.al involves utilizing the glucose present in the patient's body to fucl the IMD throngh oxidation and reduction reactions Rapoport et al. (2012). ‘This approach requires complex circuitry and is highly expensive to implement, Some researchers have explored a hybrid communication model for monitoring neural activity, which involves using RFID-based tags placed outside the skull to minimize the need for internal power sources within the skull Dementyey and Smith (2013). However, the effectiveness of RFID-based tags has been found to be limited. Hence, the most optimal approach is to employ a completely passive and wireless implant situated within the cranium to acquire Electro Corticographic signals. In this context, the phrase "fully passive" explicitly denotes the absence of both a battery and an energy-harvesting unit in the IMD. By operating passively, the need for bulky power sources is eliminated, thereby diminishing the complexity of the overall circuitry Schwerdt et al. (2011). ‘This mode of operation eliminates the risk of power failures and significantly reduces power dissipation inside the IMD. Furthermore, the inclusion of wireless connectivity not only mitigates the chance of infections but also enables invasive detection of neural signals, In Schwerdt et al. (2012), schwerdt et. al provided an overview of the different types of neural signals and their respective properties. Hence, best choice is to embed an antenna within a passive IMD in order to efficiently option to acquire and transfer the neural signals to an external unit via a wireless communication link. 1.4 Motivation and research objectives ‘Traditionally, the focus of patient monitoring systems has been on acquiring and transferring patient data using wired media in order to prolong the lifespan of the implant. Some researchers have attempted to utilize external RFID tags wireless communication between the implant and external units, but these attempts have proven to be ineffective, The emergence of harmonic mixers has led to the development of passive IMDs However, there have been fow reports on neural implants that utilize passive IMDs. Nevertheless, there is still r04 further exploration and development of miniature antennas to realize tiny IMDs. In order to censure the safety of the tissue surrounding the implant, it is crucial to ensure the bio-compatibility of the antenna and IMD. Additionally, there is a strong need to enhance the performance of the antenna in terms of gain and directive radiation. With this motivation, the proposed research aims to develop a bio-compatible miniature antenna for a passive neural monitoring system using a harmonic mixer that does not require any power supply. Based on this, the objectives of the proposed research are as follows: « To study the design and challenges of Implantable Medical Devices (IMD) ‘© To design, simulate and fabricate the dual-band antennas for IMD. To design and develop miniature antennas suited for neural monitoring, 6¢ To evaluate the performance of implant antenna with help of in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation using artificial biological tissue. ‘* To improve the key parameters of Implantable antennas such as gain, directive radiation and reduction of size. 1.5 Contribution of the thesis In this thesis, some of the important problems associated with implementation of passive neural monitoring from the antenna design perspective are addressed. The key contributions of the thesis are as follows: Designing antennas suited for neural implant — Dual band antennas with harmonic resonant frequencies are designed and fabricated. — Miniature antennas suited for neural implants were fabricated and tested ‘* Ensuring optimum performance of antenna inside Neural Implant, — SAR analysis is performed on the antenna in the simulated neural tissue environment to meet FCC and ANSI safety guidelines and to determine maximum operable power. — Suitable superstrate material for Fabricated antennas is proposed to ensure bio-compatibility during experimentation. = Thorough in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation methods are detailed and proposed antennas are tested in those set-ups to ensure optimum performance. ‘* Performance analysis / Enhancement in key parameters of the antenna — Link margin analysis is performed to estimate maximum range of communication link = Using a combination of multiple slots in radiating patch and defected ground structures, gain and directive radiation of antenna are improved. 1.6 Overview ‘The rest of the thesis is organised as follows. Chapter 2 presents the design and implementation of dual band antennas suitable for IMDs employed with harmonic mixers for neural monitoring applications. It also discusses the sclection of frequency of operation and its impact on the size of antenna. It also proposes a miniature antenna suitable for neural implant. Chapter 3 deals with methods to be followed in ensuring the bio- compatibility of the proposed antenna. The proposed antennas are tested in homogencous and heterogeneous environment to asses their performance. Chapter 4 presents the performance analysis of the fabricated antennas in-terms of link margin, gain and directivity. Finally, the concluding remarks and future research directions are presented in Chapter 5.Chapter 2 Design and development of dual-band antennas for IMD 2.1 Objective 2: To design, simulate and fabricate the dual-band antennas for IMD As the objective is to design dual band antennas with directive radiation pattern and good gain for IMD , Vivaldi antenna which has planar two dimensional structure is considered. 2.1.1 Dual-Band Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna For Wireless Neural Monitoring Applications A Antenna Design (b) Fabricated antenna {a) Schematic of antenna Figure 2.1: Antenna in simulation vs fabrication An Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna with two flares of the antenna on either side of substrate is chosen for the 8application. One of the Micro-strip flare was used for radiation and the other as ground plane. The antenna can be extensively used in bio-medical applications, due to its features like broad impedance bandwidth and high data rate and also highly directive radiation pattern over wide band of operation. Coming to design aspects, the width of slot in a Vivaldi antenna at order of half-wavelength of a particular frequency results in radiation at that frequency. Also, the lower part of operable band is controlled by the width of the antenna. ‘The schematic showing the design of the antenna is shown in the figure below. Although the antenna performance was good, the maximum dimension of the antenna was 35mm which was too big to fit into neural implant. Hence, a miniaturized antenna suitable for neural implant is to be designed. 2.2 Objective 3: To design and develop miniature antennas suited for neural monitoring 2.2.1 Modified Micro-strip Antenna A normal Micro-strip antenna resonates in a narrow band with moderate gain and directive radiation, To meet the requirement of the application, the design of patch antenna is modified. A Micro-strip line fed miniature (b) Fabricated Miniature Antenna (a) Schematic of the Proposed Antenna Figure 2.2: Antenna in simulation vs fabrication patch antenna operating in dual band for neural monitoring applications was proposed. It is best suited for neural implants because of its small size (15.5 X 13 mm?) and simple electronics. The proposed antenna has ‘a mono pole for operating in the lower band(receiving at 2.8 GHz) with an open ended stub for supporting 9the higher band operation (transmitting at 5.6 GHz). Also, the ground plane was modified to enhance the performance of the antenna in terms of gain and return loss. A Antenna design ‘The design of patch antenna was modified in a way to meet the requirement of the application. Two extensions were made from the micro-strip feed line on top of the substrate, A schematic showing the design of the antenna was shown in the Fig.2.2. One extension ends in a square shaped patch while the other extends into a narrow rectangular patch, Both these extensions help the antenna to operate in different bands. The ground plane was also on the other side of substrate extending from input port all the way up to the length of feed line. ‘The size of this ground patch was designed to improve impedance matching at feed over operating frequency bands. ‘The length, width and position of the metal extensions were optimized and effect of those parameters on antenna performance was assessed, Though the antenna has return loss characteristics and good radiation characteristics, achieving good gain ensures the proper performance of the system. ‘The gain achieved was moderate, Hence, to improve the gain the antenna design is further improved and bio-compatibility was verified as explained in chapter 3. 10Chapter 3 The performance of implant antenna in in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation 3.1 Objective 4: Evaluate the performance of implant antenna with help of in-vitro and in-vivo experimentation using artificial bio- logical tissue. As discussed in chapter 2, the scope for realizing a low-profile antenna with high bandwidth supporting higher data rates, stable radiation pattern, and optimum gain over the entire band of operation still exists. Hence, ‘we propose an implantable Hat shaped antenna of size 16 x 16 mm with enhanced bandwidth and gain, "7 Figure 3.1; Schematic of the proposed hat-shaped antenna (a) Radiating Patch (b) Ground Plane 3.1.1 Simulation and Experimental Results ‘The proposed hat-shaped antenna was simulated in CST microwave studio environment to evaluate the per formance of the antenna, A Return loss Characteristics in various media ‘The application requires the antenna to operate from inside the human brain. Hence, the performance of the antenna in various media mimicking the human tissue was evaluated. During the evaluation, the antenna was covered with a bio-compatible material namely polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). It is an organic polymer among the group of polymeric organosilicon compounds (known as silicones) with a dielectric constant (e) of 2.8 and iloss tangent(tans) of 0.001. It is commercially available in its liquid state. A measured amount of PDMS left covering the surface of the antenna for around 8 hours will mold the surface of the antenna. Thus, the implanted antenna is secured with a Imm thick PDMS layer. ‘This superstrate layer preserves the bio-compatibility of the antenna while insulating its metallic parts from shorting due to the conductive biological tissues around it After securing the antenna with PDMS, two kinds of media were sclected for experimentation. Homogeneous and heterogencous media were used to mimic the typical human tissues during this experimentation. B Mimicking the human tissue In medical experiments involving living organisms, In vitro and In vivo types of experimentation were followed In vitro experimentation is performed ‘outside of a living organism’. In our case, we have prepared a saline solution (homogeneous) for in vitro, In vivo experimentation is performed ‘within the living organism such as a plant, human or laboratory animal’, In our case, we used a freshly cut chicken (heterogeneous) to conduct this experiment. The homogeneous media was a saline solution made of 60 percent water, 39 percent sucrose, and 1 percent NaCl. This solution closely resembles the chemical properties of human tissue. ‘The heterogeneous media was freshly cut chicken meat mimicking the tissues of a human head as we are ethically not able to perform the experiment within a living organism. ‘The experimental setup for this is shown in Fig.3.2. Figure 3.2: Experimental setup for evaluation in homogeneous and heterogeneous media A comparative graph depicting the performance of the fabricated antenna among various media was shown in Fig. 3.3 In the lower band, the antenna performs equally well in all the media. However, the performance of the antenna in the higher band is degraded especially in the case of saline solution. Though the dual-band characteristics were observed, Six was well above -10 dB making it unsuitable to operate in that band. ‘The antenna performance in free space and chicken was in great unison except for a minor shift in resonant frequency. An additional loss of 4 to 5 dB is observed to slight variation in impedance match while the antenna is covered with PDMS layer and the chicken, The poor performance of the antenna in saline solution is attributed to 1225, measured in free space Return Loss characteristics ( in dB) 8,4 measured in mimicking gel —+ 5; measured in chicken 30°35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 Frequency (in GHz) Figure 3.3: Comparative study of Si; among various media higher resistive losses in the layers of pure saline solution compared to chicken. Thus, analysis of the proposed design under different mimicking media was performed. Although the design performs at optimum level, the antenna design is further modified in chapters to follow for better performance. 13Chapter 4 A miniature antenna with elliptical resonators 4.1 Objective 5: To improve the key parameters of Implantable an- tennas such as gain, directive radiation and reduction of size ‘This chapter presents a miniature antenna with elliptical resonators with enhanced performance in terms of gain, directive radiation and reduced size C Antenna Structure A typical neural implant antenna demands a low profile and dual-band of operation, Hence, a circular ring resonator antenna is chosen in the first step. The design of this antenna is further optimized to fit the targeted application. The substrate chosen for the antenna is a 0.8 mm thick flame retardant (FR-4) substrate with a diclectric constant (¢,) and a loss tangent (tané) of 4.4 and 0.02 respectively. The finalized schematic of the proposed antenna is shown in Fig. 4.1. The antenna is confined to an area of 9 X 11 mon®, The width of the tapered feed line changes from 1.6 mm near the feeding point to 0.7 mm near the ERI. Also, after multiple iterations, the gap between the split ends of ER2 is fixed at 0.6 mm. The other dimensions of ER1 and ER2 are finalized after parametric analysis. The ground plane has a semiccircle shape of radius 2.6 mm. Figure 4.1: Schematic of the proposed antenna, u4.1.1 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ‘The fabrication process uses an accurate laser etching technique on a 0.8 mm thick double-sided PCB made of FR-4 epoxy. The fabricated antenna is shown in Fig. 4.2(b).The whole experimental setup is shown in Fig.4.2(a) to 4.2(A) respectively. Figure 4.2: Experimental Setup (a) fabrieated antenna (b) Si in free space (c) Si: inside chicken (A) radiation pattern measurement A comparison of the proposed work with some of the implant antennas reported in the literature is shown in Table 4.1 ‘Table 4.1: Comparison Of The Proposed Antenna With Similar Antennas In The Literature Ref No Volume | ‘Type of an- | Bandwidth | Peak gain | Implant (in mm?) | tenna (in GHz) | (4Bi) Depth Singh et al. | 2800 Planar patch 002,08 | 2.2.3.3 aBi | - (2021) Nakmouche | 680 Slotted DGS | 10.9 17, 25 dBi | - et al. (2021) Shah and Yoo | 24 Meander patch | 0.09,0.2 | -28,-22 dBi | 4 (2018) Zada and Yoo | 21 PIFA 0.08, 0.018, | -26.4, -28, - | 45 (2018) o.017, 21 dBi Proposed An- | 79.2 Elliptical Res- | 1.1.45 17,22 4Bi | 10 tenna onator ‘Thus, from the comparison made in Table 8, it is clearly evident that the antenna proposed was able to work very well for a passive neural monitoring implant. The tiny volume, harmonic resonant bands and the optimum gain make the antenna a perfect choice for neural monitoring implants. 15Chapter 5 Conclusions and Future Directions ‘This chapter provides the concluding remarks on the research conducted in this thesis. Additionally, it outlines potential areas for future research that are connected to this study. 5.1 Concluding remarks ‘This thesis proposes various antenna choices for a neural implant utilized in passive wireless neural monitoring applications employing a harmonic mixer. Initially, a dual band antipodal Vivaldi antenna with a directive radiation pattern is developed Gopavajhula et al. (2020). Nevertheless, its large dimensions make it unsuitable for @ neural implant, Consequently, a modified microstrip antenna with compact dimensions of 15.5 X 13 sq.mm is devised. The antenna’s return loss characteristics, gain and radiation pattern are examined. This particular antenna exhibits a narrow bandwidth and moderate gain, Furthermore, a hat-shaped dual-band implantable antenna is designed and validated for passive neural monitoring applications. An L-shaped slot in the ground plane with a triangular slot near the feed helps realize the dual-band operation Gopavajhula et al. (2023).Although the antenna had harmonic resonant bands, scope for development of an implant antenna with a further reduction in size of implant antenna, improved gain and directive radiation still exists. Hence, an antenna with elliptical resonators is proposed. ‘The antenna resonates at 7.15 GHz and 14.3 GHz with impedance bandwidths of 1 GHz and 1.45 GHz respectively, supporting high- resolution data. Due to the lower SAR value, the proposed antenna is operable with an input power of 10 miWV at a penctration depth of 10 mm, The majority of neural activity monitoring implant systems reported in literature operate in the ISM band with a gain value of less than -5 dBi. ‘The proposed antenna has an improved gain of 1.7 dBi at 7.15 GHz and 2.2 dBi at 14.3 GHz, Thus, with improved gain, reduced size and directive radiation the proposed antenna proves to be ideal for an implant capable of passive neural monitoring applications, ‘The following section provides a summary of future research directions that may be carried out based on this study. 165.2 Future work ‘The scope of this thesis is limited to the design of the implant antenna for a neural implant. It assumes that the sensor within the implant accurately acquires the signal and transfers it to the harmonic mixer without any loss. Additionally, the parametric study and experimental set-ups consider the performance of the antenna alone, rather than the entire implant as a whole. In the future, it would be beneficial to conduct similar studies that encompass the entire implant, incorporating dummy units for the sensor and mixers, in order to gain a more precise understanding of the implant behaviour. ‘This research also assumes that the diodes in the harmonic mixer exhibit ideal behaviour with instantaneous switching speed, Consequently, a minor error may have occurred in the IMD output sent to the external interrogator unit. Furthermore, this work can be expanded to accurately model the entire neural monitoring system. 17Bibliography Arefin, M.'T.,M. H. Ali, and A. F. Haque (2017). Wireless body area network: An overview and various applications, Journal of Computer and Communications, 5(7), 53-64 Bahrami, I, S. A. Mirbozorgi, R. Ameli, L. A. Rusch, and B, Gosselin (2015). 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Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Electrical Engineering (2023): 1-15. Conference Publications 1. D, Suryachand G, Sandeep Kumar, and A. V. Narasimhadhan, "Dual-Band Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna for Wireless Neural Monitoring Applications." In 2020 Sth IEEE International Conference on Recent Advances and Innovations in Engineering (ICRAIE), pp. 1-4. IEEE, 2020, Biography D Suryachand Gopavajhula received the B.Tech. degree in electronics and communication engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India, in 2010, and the M-Tech. degree in Advanced Communication Systems from NIT Warangal, India, in 2013. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in electronics and communication engineering with the National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal, Mangalore, India, His research interests include Antenna Design, Neural Monitoring, and Wireless communication. 2