Two-port networks to model galvanic coupling for intrabody communications and power transfer to implants

Abstract

Galvanic coupling, or more precisely, volume conduction, can be used to communicate with and to transfer power to electronic implants. Since no bulky components for power, such as coils or batteries, are required within the implants, this strategy can yield very thin devices suitable for implantation by injection. To design the circuitry of both the implants and the external systems, it is desirable to possess a model that encompasses the behavior of these circuits and also the volume conduction phenomenon. Here we propose to model volume conduction with a two-port network so that the whole system can be studied in circuit simulators. The two-port network consists only of three impedances whose values can be obtained through simple measurements or through numerical methods. We report a validation of this modeling approach in a geometrically simple in vitro setup that allowed us to determine the impedances of the two-port network not only by performing measurements or through a finite element method study but also through an analytical solution.