Wireless Data Transceivers for Brain-machine Interfaces

By acquiring and transmitting the human brain’s neural activities, brain-machine interface (BMI) technology enables direct communication between the brain and an external device. This technology opens up new ways to investigate brain function and treat neurological disorders. However, the increasing demands for large-scale neural recording impose a challenge for the wireless telemetry module, requiring it to provide a high data rate within a restricted power budget. In this paper, We present a comparative analysis of commonly adopted wireless data transmission technologies for BMI systems. The advantages and limitations of different technologies including Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, WMTC, MICS, and ultra-wideband (UWB) are identified, compared, and analyzed in a quantitative manner. Furthermore, solutions to build future wireless transmission technologies for high-throughput and low-power implantable BMIs are projected.