An intra-body communication research platform based on virtual instrument

An intra-body communication (IBC) research platform based on virtual instrument was established for the hardware design of IBC transceiver. Firstly, the feasibility of constructing IBC research platform using optic-coupling circuit was verified via comparison of three kinds of measurement methods based on virtual instrument. Then, ASK, FSK and BPSK modulation-demodulation were realized via LabVIEW programming, and user interface of the platform was also designed. The platform could achieve signal transmission or recover under different coupling type, different channel distance and different modulation-demodulation method, etc., by means of dynamic adjusting of platform parameters. Experiment results of capacitive-coupling under the platform indicated the authenticity and feasibility of signal transmission. Finally, a full-floating IBC transceiver was designed aided by the parameters provided by the research platform under the scene of capacitive-coupling, FSK modulation and 180 cm channel distance. Moreover, Bit Error Rate (BER) of the transceiver was less than 1e-5, which meant that it is effective and convenient for the design of IBC transceiver aided by virtual instrument platform.