The Purdue University research team is touting a fully implantable radio-frequency transmitter chip they developed for wireless sensor nodes and biomedical devices.

The transmitter chip consumes the lowest amount of energy per digital bit among similar technologies published to date, according to the researchers, who published their results in the journal IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II.

The transmitter works similarly to communication technology in mobile phones and smartwatches. But its miniaturization and low-energy consumption is enough that it can be implanted into an eye to monitor pressure for a glaucoma patient or into another part of the body to measure data related to heart functions.

“A transmitter is an integral part of these kinds of devices,” said Hansraj Bhamra, a research and development scientist who created the technology while he was a graduate student at Purdue. “It facilitates a wireless communication between the sensor node or biomedical device and a smartphone application. The user can simply operate the device through a smartphone application and receive the biophysiological data in real-time. The transmitter in this case enables a 24-hour intraocular pressure monitoring for glaucoma patients”

Article source:Medical Design & Outsourcing By Chris Newmarker