The galvanic coupling intra-body communication （IBC） was mathematically simulated based on the proposed transfer function. Firstly, a galvanic coupling IBC circuit model was developed and the corresponding parameters were discussed. Secondly, the transfer function of the galvanic coupling IBC was derived and proposed. Finally, the signal attenuation characteristics of the galvanic coupling IBC were measured along different signal transmission paths of actual human bodies, while the corresponding mathematical simulations based on the proposed transfer function were carried out. Our investigation showed that the mathematical simulation results coincided with the measured results over the frequency range of 100kHz to 5MHz, which indicated that the proposed transfer function could be useful for theoretical analysis and application of the galvanic coupling IBC.
In this paper, investigation has been done in the computer simulation of the electrostatic coupling IBC by using the developed finite-element models, in which a.the incidence and reflection of electronic signal in the upper arm model were analyzed by using the theory of electromagnetic wave;b.the finite-element models of electrostatic coupling IBC were developed by using the electromagnetic analysis package of ANSYS software;c.the signal attenuation of electrostatic coupling IBC were simulated under the conditions of different signal frequencies, electrodes directions, electrodes sizes and transmission distances. Finally, some important conclusions are deduced on the basis of simulation results.
The finite-element modeling and simulations of the intra-body communication （IBC） were investigated to provide a theoretical basis for biomedical monitoring. A finite-element model for the whole human body was developed to simulate the IBC. The simulation of galvanic coupling IBC and electrostatic coupling IBC were implemented along with different signal transmission paths, and their attenuations were calculated. Our study showed that the position near the signal electrode had higher potential than other positions in the two types of IBC, while the potential generally decreased along the axis of the body parts. Both signal attenuations of the two types IBC increased with increasing signal transmission distance, and the electrostatic coupling IBC had comparatively higher receiving potential than the galvanic coupling IBC. The results indicated that the proposed modeling method could be used for the research of biomedical monitoring based on IBC technology.
