Impact of the Sternotomy Wires and Aortic Valve Implant on the On-Body UWB Radio Channels

In this paper, the impact of the sternotomy wires and aortic valve implant on the ultra wideband (UWB) channel characteristics is studied. The evaluations are performed by calculations, measurement data analysis, and power flow simulations. The aim is to show that implants, which consist of steel, titanium, and other highly conductive materials, do have clear effect on the signal propagation even inside the tissues. This impact should be taken into account when using in-body or on-body communications devices, such as capsule endoscopes, etc.