Bio-electromagnetic THz propagation modeling for in-vivo wireless nanosensor networks

Nanosized devices operating inside the human body open up new prospects in the healthcare domain. In vivo wireless nanosensor networks (iWNSNs) will result in a plethora of applications ranging from intrabody health-monitoring to drug-delivery systems. With the development of miniature plasmonic signal sources, antennas and detectors, wireless communications among intrabody nanodevices will expectedly be enabled in the Terahertz Band (0.1–10 THz). This result motivates the analysis of the phenomena affecting the propagation of electromagnetic signals inside the human body. In this paper, a rigorous channel model for intrabody communication in iWNSNs is developed. The total path loss is computed by taking into account the combined effect of the spreading of the propagating wave, molecular absorption from human tissues, as well as scattering from both small and large body particles. The overall attenuation model of intrabody THz propagation facilitates the accurate design and practical deployment of iWNSNs.