In-body Antenna Design for Next Generation Hip Implants

In this paper, an implant antenna to form a wireless link for a hip implant equipped with sensor technology to prevent mechanical overload is presented. The antenna is located in the ceramic head so that the integrity of the titanium femoral stem surface is protected and the antibacterial properties of the overall implant are maintained. The antenna is a conformal patch operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The transmission coefficient between the implant antenna and an off-body antenna located 4 cm away from the human body surface is more than 65 dB where the implant depth is approximately 9 cm. −