A miniaturized implantable antenna for GPS application

A miniature Hilbert inverted-F antenna (PIFA) is proposed for implantable device application in the 1575 MHz Global Positioning System (GPS) frequency band. The antenna when subcutaneously implanted will help locate the elderly with declining mental capacity (Alzheimer's disease) with the use of an implanted GPS receiver. Such an antenna can also be implanted under the skin of potential kidnap victims. The antenna investigated in this paper is sandwiched between two pieces of standard biocompatible materials, macor (epsi_r = 6.1) and silicon (epsi_r = 3.1). The proposed antenna occupies a surface area of 7.7 mm by 3 mm and has a bandwidth of 2.8% within 2.5:1 VSWR