Biocompatible Antennas for Implantable Biosensor Systems

This paper presents a biocompatible antenna for a subcutaneous implantable biosensor. With the large number of Americans who manage chronic diseases, biosensors offer the capability for better management of these diseases. For diabetes, particularly, the most common monitoring system used is a blood finger pricking system only offers snapshots of blood glucose levels and not trends of glucose changes. These limitations yield a demand for a monitoring system that can provide continuous data streams of glucose levels for better dietary and medicinal regimens. Fully implantable systems offer continuous monitoring while not sacrificing normal daily activities that implantable sensors with an external transmitter can pose. One bottleneck is the miniaturization of telecommunication system. Current implantable devices use the MedRadio band, which offer a challenge for antenna miniaturization for subcutaneous implantation. Additionally the use of copper as the radiator is a challenge due to biocompatibility. As a result there is a need for an implantable antenna that utilizes biocompatible materials, such as Titanium Nitrite (TiN). This paper presents the design and fabrication of a TiN antenna for subcutaneous implant operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The simulation and in vivo test data are presented.