Low-UWB Receiving Antenna for WCE Localization

The paper introduces a novel antenna operating in the UWB band 3.75-4.25 GHz for BAN (Body Area Networks) applications. The proposed antenna has omni-directional and directional radiation patterns in absence and presence of a backed air-filled cavity, respectively. The antenna was simulated using CST Microwave Studio software, showing maximum realized gains of 2.6 and 7.37 dB with and without the cavity, respectively. The designed antenna is planned to have the role of a receiving antenna for wireless capsule localization purposes. Therefore, an initial on-body study was required and detailed in this paper giving the focus on the small-intestine area, since it is the vital human body part of interest for capsule tracking and monitoring. An on-body scenario is presented using two antenna structures and compared with the free-space results. SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) is also investigated in compliance with IEEE/IEC 42704-1 standard. These initial studies prove that the antenna can be regarded a good candidate for WCE (Wireless Capsule Endoscopy) localization.