Finite-element modeling and simulations of the intra-body communication used for biomedical monitoring

The finite-element modeling and simulations of the intra-body communication (IBC) were investigated to provide a theoretical basis for biomedical monitoring. A finite-element model for the whole human body was developed to simulate the IBC. The simulation of galvanic coupling IBC and electrostatic coupling IBC were implemented along with different signal transmission paths, and their attenuations were calculated. Our study showed that the position near the signal electrode had higher potential than other positions in the two types of IBC, while the potential generally decreased along the axis of the body parts. Both signal attenuations of the two types IBC increased with increasing signal transmission distance, and the electrostatic coupling IBC had comparatively higher receiving potential than the galvanic coupling IBC. The results indicated that the proposed modeling method could be used for the research of biomedical monitoring based on IBC technology.