Compact and Low-Profile Textile EBG-Based Antenna for Wearable Medical Applications

A compact wearable antenna with a novel miniaturized electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structure at 2.4 GHz for medical application is presented in this letter. The design demonstrates a robust, compact, and low-profile solution to meet the requirements of wearable applications. The EBG structure reduces the back radiation and the impact of frequency detuning due to the high losses of human body. In addition, the structure improves the front-to-back ratio (FBR) by 15.5 dB. The proposed compact antenna with dimensions of 46 × 46 × 2.4 mm
³
yields an impedance bandwidth of 27% (2.17-2.83 GHz), with a gain enhancement of 7.8 dBi and more than 95% reduction in the specific absorption rate. Therefore, the antenna is a promising candidate for integration into wearable devices applied in various domains, specifically biomedical technology.