MICS Radios

Principal Investigators:

• Anantha Chandrakasan
• Joel Dawson

Students:

Jose Bohorquez

Description

Until recently, very few implantable medical devices existed, and almost none of them offered the capability for wireless transmission of information. Most devices capable of data transmission did so through inductive coupling, which requires physical contact with the base-station and allows for only low data rates. In 1999, the FCC created the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) band in the range of 402–405 MHz specifically for medical telemetry. The MICS band plan allows for RF communication between a medical implant and a base-station that is up to two meters away. This research focuses on designing a transceiver specifically optimized for low-power, short-distance data transmission in a temperature-regulated environment, i.e., the human body. We do this by pushing as much complexity as possible out of the implant and into the base-station, taking advantage of the attributes of the environment, such as temperature control and slow transients. By optimizing the transceiver for reduced power, we hope to extend the battery lifetime and functionality of medical implants for greater comfort and benefits to patients.

Figure 1: An example MICS-based radio front end.