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An implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry

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IOP PUBLISHING PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT
Physiol. Meas. 34 (2013) 1–16 doi:10.1088/0967-3334/34/1/1

An implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz

band for telemetry

Paco Bogónez-Franco 1 , Lexa Nescolarde 1 , Carolina Gálvez-Montón 2 ,

Ramon Bragós 1 and Javier Rosell-Ferrer 1
1 Electronic Engineering Department, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Jordi Girona 1-3

Edifici C4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

2 Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration (ICREC) Research Program, IGTP, Cardiology Service,

Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain

E-mail: paco.bogonez@gmail.com

Received 24 August 2012, accepted for publication 16 November 2012

Published 17 December 2012
Online at stacks.iop.org/PM/34/1

Abstract
This paper describes a multi-frequency single-channel electrical implantable
bioimpedance monitor (35 mm × 35 mm × 10 mm, weight 52 g) powered
by a NiMH battery. By using the tetrapolar method and injecting 10 μApeak,
the monitor is capable of measuring at 14 different frequencies, from 100 Hz
to 200 kHz. It contains a ZigBee transceiver to monitor the measurements
performed, and has an embedded memory for backing up the data. RC networks
and in-situ heart excised tissues were used to test the system. When measuring
a full spectrum every 5 min, 35 days of autonomy are possible due to the low
power consumption of the monitor. Temperature drift was estimated by short-
term and long-term measurements. Temperature cycling was used to measure
modulus and phase angle stability. The result was a very low effect on a modulus
decrease of 2.34 , with respect to an impedance of 322 , at 100 Hz and a
phase angle increase of 1.1◦ , at 200 kHz. In addition, measurement errors were
bigger at low frequencies because of the high impedance of the electrodes used,
which was higher than 10 k at frequencies below 1 kHz.

Keywords: implantable, bioimpedance, ZigBee, monitor

(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction

The electrical bioimpedance technique has been revealed as a valuable tool in the diagnosis of
multiple diseases or tissular conditions, e.g. predicting the hypovolemia (Allison et al 2005,
Cai et al 2002), detecting the rejection of some transplanted organs (Parsonnet et al 2007),
Harms et al 2000, Harms et al 2001) or in the detection of tissular bubbles in divers (Jossinet

0967-3334/13/010001+16$33.00 © 2013 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine Printed in the UK & the USA 1
2 P Bogónez-Franco et al

et al 1981). In most applications the bioimpedance monitor should be as small as possible to

minimize the effect of its presence on the host (Bogónez et al 2006).
In implantable wireless systems the frequency band of the transceiver is critical since it
imposes the final dimensions, the power consumption of the implantable device and the range
that will be achieved. Historically, the transmission frequencies of the implantable devices
have been below 10 MHz and mainly inductively coupled (Akin et al 1998). These low
frequencies have the disadvantage of using few-centimeter antennas, leading to designing of a
voluminous implantable device. For reducing these dimensions, higher frequency than usual
must be used. The following frequencies in the sub-GHz or GHz bands could be used in
Europe: 434 and 868 MHz and 2.45 and 5.8 GHz in the ISM bands according to The European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
As the ZigBee center frequency is 2.45 GHz, it is near enough to the frequency of water
molecule absorption. Valdastri et al (2008b) evaluated the possibility of data transmission
using ZigBee by means of a system implanted in the gastrointestinal tract and another one
implanted under the skin.
The aim of this study is to design and validate an implantable bioimpedance monitor using
the 2.4 GHz band. Full explanation related to design and characterization of the system, as
well as some bioimpedance measurements in lamb and veal heart tissues is given in this paper.
Monitoring the possible regeneration of the damaged myocardium, using stem-cell therapy in
pigs, will be the final application of the present bioimpedance monitor.

2. Methods

The study involving human subjects was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee
of Fundació Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol under the BELIC trial,
under the BELIC trial NCT00843245.

2.1. System requirements

The most important factors in determining bioimpedance final size are the battery and antenna
of the RF transceiver. The battery size is mainly determined by the autonomy required and
must be proportional to the current consumption. The duration of the experiment of implanting
stem cells into the pig heart and monitoring the possible myocardial tissue regeneration will
be 30 days. This is in accordance with similar experiments (Orlic et al 2001) in which it lasted
27 days. The monitor’s current consumption must be as low as possible in the 30-day duration
of the experiment. That is why some restrictions are required in the selection of the voltage, in
the front-end of the bioimpedance monitor and in the maximum frequency of measurement.
The use of percutaneous cables to extract information can lead to infections and skin
irritations, as well as some kind of discomfort in the animal. Taking this into consideration, it
is better to transmit the data wirelessly or get it recorded in a data-logger, with the possibility
of recovering it after extracting the implantable unit from the animal.

2.2. System overview

The bioimpedance monitor is based on the AD5933 from Analog Devices, which is a 1 MSPS
impedance converter network analyzer, and on a MSP430F2274 (Texas Instruments), as main
controller of the whole system. Figure 1 shows the block diagram of the bioimpedance monitor.
The system developed has 16 Mbits of embedded memory to store the measurements.
The bioimpedance monitor’s dimensions are 35 mm × 35 mm × 10 mm and the weight is
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 3

Figure 1. Block diagram of the designed bioimpedance monitor.

Figure 2. Photograph of the bioimpedance monitor. The scale is in centimeters.

about 52 g. For powering the monitor, a NiMH battery with a capacity of 500 mAh was used.
Figure 2 shows the photograph of the monitor. All the measurement data are sent to the host
computer via RF, using the ZigBee protocol. In addition, as backup, measurements are stored
in a memory. The host computer controls the monitor behavior and displays the measurement
results.

2.3. Current source

Several current source structures have been used in electrical impedance measurement systems.
Ross et al (2003) designed a current source based on the Howland circuit with very high-output
4 P Bogónez-Franco et al

Figure 3. Scheme of the designed current source.

reported impedance, in the order of 2 G from 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Such high value was achieved
using a generalized impedance converter (GIC) connected in parallel with the current source
with the aim of minimizing both, the output capacitance and the stray capacitance. The current
consumption of the Howland circuit alone is about 37.5 mW. Seoane et al (2006) designed a
current source based on an operational amplifier inverter driven by current instead of voltage.
The output impedance of this design is 150 k at 1 MHz.
With restrictions on size and power consumption, the voltage-controlled current–source
(VCCS) designed is based on the modified Howland circuit. The AD8038 was the operational
amplifier selected, due to its high bandwidth and low power consumption. Figure 3 shows
the circuit of the modified Howland current source. The maximum current of 10 μAp in the
range of 100 Hz to 200 kHz was injected to the tissue, being low enough respecting the limits
imposed by the IEC-60601. Figure 3 shows the scheme of the current source designed. Its
power consumption is of 5.6 mW.

2.4. Voltage detection

An instrumentation amplifier and an input buffer for each lead were used to measure
the voltage generated on the tissue due to the injected current. Selection of the AD8616
(Analog Devices) input buffers was based on their high-input impedance, less current
consumption, high bandwidth and low-noise. The selected instrumentation amplifier was the
AD620 (Analog Devices) because of its following characteristics: low power consumption,
low noise and high bandwidth. The AD620 gain was fixed to 11.4 dB with 450 kHz bandwidth.

2.5. Impedance measurement

AD5933 (Analog Devices) is an integrated circuit for implementing the core of an impedance
spectrometer. Nevertheless, the two-electrode method and voltage are also used for impedance
measurements. Using an internal oscillator, the AD5933 is capable of measuring values from
1 k to 1 M with 1 kHz to 100 kHz range. The frequency range can be lowered with an
external oscillator. AD5933 has a 1 MSPS ADC to sample the voltage and current passing
through the tissue, and a DSP to do the digital sine correlation on windows of 1024 points. It
returns the real and the imaginary parts of the impedance.
The current through the sample is converted into voltage by means of the feedback
resistor, RFB. The output has a selectable level among 1.980 Vpp, 0.970 Vpp, 0.383 Vpp and
0.198 Vpp.
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 5

Figure 4. Block diagram of AD5933 integrated circuit of impedance spectrometer.

Figure 5. Schematic representation of the input modification on the AD5933 for measurement
using the four-electrode method.

Biological tissues have much lower impedance than the 1 k (Gabriel and Gabriel 1997)
lower limit measurable by the AD5933. Due to the low impedance of biological tissues and
because the AD5933 adds a dc level, the current flowing through the tissue may exceed the
IEC-60601 safety limits. Furthermore the use of dc levels in voltage may cause burns and
electrolysis in the contact areas of electrodes. For measurements in biological tissues some
modifications in the injection/measurement stage must be carried out. Figure 4 shows the
block diagram of AD5933.
Seoane et al (2008) solved the problem previously mentioned by adding a voltage-to-
current converter using a VCCS to add a dc level. With these modifications the four-electrode
method was used for measurements. An additional operational amplifier was necessary for
using a voltage-to-current converter.
Due to the power restriction in the system designed, the voltage-to-current converter is
performed without any additional operational amplifier. In fact, the voltage sensed by the
instrumentation amplifier, which is proportional to the current flowing within the biological
tissue, is converted to a current using the op amp embedded in the AD5933. Figure 5 shows
the implemented voltage-to-current converter.
6 P Bogónez-Franco et al

2.6. Temperature measurement

Temperature was measured using the internal sensor of the AD5933. The accuracy is ± 2.0 ◦ C
in the temperature range from −40 ◦ C to 125 ◦ C.

2.7. Microcontroller
The bioimpedance monitor system is controlled by a microcontroller (MCU). For getting
monitor’s great autonomy, it becomes extremely important for every part of the monitor to
consume less power. For this reason the MSP430F2274 from the MSP430 family of Texas
Instruments microcontrollers was selected. The MSP430 was designed for low power devices,
having therefore a wide variety of operating power modes focused on reducing the power
consumption. The current consumption in mode LPM3 is 200 nA. Open-source Eclipse IDE
which is code limited to 16 kBytes, and low cost of the development tools were important
keys for selecting this microcontroller.
When turning on the system, the MCU configures I/O ports, serial ports and internal
variables and switching to the low power 32 kHz oscillator. Then, it is switched to LMP3
and the timer interrupts are enabled. To save power, the rest of the circuits are turned off.
Every second the MCU awakes and switches the oscillator to 1 MHz, turning on also the
power to the RF transceiver and waiting for incoming data during 250 ms, it gets back to the
low power state if no data are available. The system has been programmed to perform a new
set of measurements every 5 min. In the same period of time, the microcontroller switches
its internal oscillator to 1 MHz and turns on the analog part, performing measurements at
every frequency and storing them in the external memory. When the analog part is switched
off, the measured data are sent to the host PC. If no connection has been made between the
bioimpedance monitor and the host computer, data are re-sent for a number of programmed
times.

2.8. Power supply

A battery of NiMH of 4.2 V and 500 mAh powers the system. Three dc–dc converters produce
all voltages required for the circuits. The MCU monitors the battery voltage and stores it inside
the memory during every measurement. The voltage required is ± 2.8 V for the analog part,
and 3.3 V for the MCU, memory and RF transceiver.

2.9. Backup Memory

For security point of view all measurement data are stored in a 16 Mbit flash memory,
AT45DB161D (Atmel Corporation). The modulus, the phase and the temperature are the data
stored, as well as a number for controlling the data sent to the host PC. This kind of memory
is able to store measurements for 45 days, which is much more than the 30 days specified at
the beginning of the experiment.

2.10. RF transceiver
The eZ430-RF2500 (Texas Instruments) was the transceiver selected which uses the 2.4 GHz
frequency band and has a current consumption of 21.2 mA when transmitting at 0 dBm
power level and 18.8 mA in the receiving mode. The maximum data transfer rate is 500 kbps.
The output power can be adjusted from −30 dBm to 0 dBm. In order to achieve a tradeoff
between range and autonomy, the data rate was set to 2400 bps and the RF power transmission
to −10 dBm. This development tool consists of two USB dongles to test the CC2500 RF
transceiver. There is one MSP430F2274 microcontroller and a CC2500 RF transceiver as parts
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 7

Figure 6. Current consumption of the bioimpedance system designed.

of a USB dongle. It can be programmed using the USB dongle and it is possible to implement
different communication protocols like SimpliciTI, a reduced version of the ZigBee protocol.
The host PC is connected to a self-made board attached to a CC2500EMK (Texas
Instruments) Evaluation module. This evaluation modulus is connected to a seven element
Yagi antenna (model YAGI-7-2.4G from LPRS) with a gain of 9 dBi. The board also has
RS232 connection to interface with the PC.

2.11. Software
To control the different operating modes of the bioimpedance monitor, an application in Visual
Basic (Microsoft Corporation) was developed. By means of that application it is possible to
program the time during measurements, erase memory, read data stored in the memory,
program date and the time, perform only a single measurement and also read the received
signal strength indicator (RSSI) and the battery voltage. Additionally, the magnitude, the
phase, the temperature and the impedance locus graphs can be plotted.

2.12. Calibration
The bioimpedance monitor was calibrated using two saline solutions with conductivities
5.40 mScm and 89.3 μScm. These solutions were measured using a pH meter (pH meter
model Basic 20 from Crimson). The calibration was tested measuring over a saline solution
of 617 μScm.

3. Results

3.1. Current consumption

The current consumption was measured with an Agilent 34970A (Agilent Technologies) data
acquisition unit with a sample period of 100 ms. Figure 6 shows the current profile during
1 min.
8 P Bogónez-Franco et al

Figure 7. Output impedance. Dotted trace: simulation, continuous trace, measured.

When the microcontroller is in sleep mode the current consumption is of 0.2 mA. In the
impedance measurement mode, the current consumption is 11.6 mA. For RF communication,
the current consumption is 34.1 mA and 2.7 mA for storing measurements in memory. Peaks
appear in the sleep mode because the RF transceiver is looking for new incoming data.
Experimentally the voltage of the battery was measured and at the end of the 30th day
the battery voltage had dropped 1 V, from 4.2 V to 3.2 V, indicating that there was yet enough
charge to power the monitor during some more additional days. In a period of 5 min, the
mean consumption calculated was 0.588 mA, having the bioimpedance monitor, therefore, a
theoretical autonomy of 35 days.

3.2. Output impedance of the current source

Output impedance was measured with a HP4192A (Hewlett-Packard) low-frequency
impedance analyzer, and using the method proposed by Bertemes-Filho et al (2000). The
magnitude of the output impedance measured was 198 k in the range of 100 Hz–100 kHz.
Figure 7 shows the output impedance modulus of the current source designed.
The output impedance obtained in the measurements was low in comparison to other
circuits developed (Cook et al 1994), where output impedance measured was over 50 M
at 100 kHz. Such high output impedance corresponds to complex structures, implying high
power consumption.

3.3. Common-mode rejection ratio

Common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of the input stage was measured and the values
obtained are in the same order with those in the datasheet of the instrumentation amplifier.
CMRR has a value of 97 dB at 1 kHz, and at 100 kHz the value is 58 dB. Figure 8 shows
CMRR measured.
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 9

Figure 8. Common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) measured.

3.4. RC networks

Measurements on RC networks during short- and long-term with temperature variations, as

well as measurements with electrode impedance mismatch were done for characterization of
the bioimpedance monitor. Measurements obtained from 200 Hz to 200 kHz are mentioned
below.
Measurements on two RC networks with frequency characteristics similar to biological
tissues (Grimnes and Martinsen 2000) were obtained. Measurements on RC networks were
also done using a RCL meter (Fluke PM 6306, Fluke Corporation) and errors in modulus and
phase were additionally calculated. Figure 10 shows the RC network topology used.

3.5. RC networks without electrode mismatch

The first network measured was formed by Rs = 51 , Rp = 150  and Cp = 100 nF, shown
in figure 9. The second network had the following values Rs = 68 , Rp = 130  and Cp =
100 nF.

3.6. RC networks with electrode impedance mismatch

The effect of electrode mismatch due to poor contact of the electrodes with the tissue is a
common cause of the errors in measurements (Bogónez-Franco et al 2009).
To model this effect, a PCB with two electrode impedances connected in series was created.
One of these electrode impedances can be short-circuited to cause an electrode impedance
mismatch of 100% in any of the leads of the bioimpedance monitor. Figure 13 shows the
electrical circuit used to cause the electrode impedance mismatch. As the final electrodes
that were to be used in the experiment were not ready at the time of writing this paper, the
skin–electrode impedance model was used for non-invasive EBI measurements.
For evaluating electrode effect, impedance was measured over a resistor of 320  with and
without a mismatch in each lead. It was observed that when a mismatch is provoked, electrode
impedance has a more noticeable effect when the mismatch is produced in the injecting leads
than when produced in the sensing ones, and also when frequencies are low instead of high.
10 P Bogónez-Franco et al

Figure 9. Impedance locus (imaginary part of the impedance versus real part of impedance) plot
of the RC network with the following values, Rs = 51 , Rp = 150  and Cp = 100 nF. Fluke
measurements (continuous line) and measured with the designed system (dotted line).

3.7. Short-term measurements

Short-term measurements indicate effects of quick events, such as self-warming of the
bioimpedance monitor. For the measurements obtained in short intervals of time, 5.5 h in
this case, the bioimpedance monitor was placed in a thermally isolated box. Figure 10 shows
measurements at 50 kHz of modulus, phase and temperature.
From figure 10 it can be observed that temperature has a slow increment of 1 ◦ C in the
printed circuit board (PCB) until it reaches a plateau, but that slow temperature increase had
almost no effect on the modulus and phase impedance measurements.

3.8. Long-term measurements

Long-term measurements report effects in the circuit, something very important in systems
like the designed one, because the bioimpedance monitor must be implanted inside the animal
for a long time. The long-term measurements are done similar to the short-term, but the interval
of time changes to 15 days.

3.9. Temperature measurements

Temperature drifts are important since the bioimpedance monitor has to be implanted into
the animal. The normal temperature of the animal is 37 ◦ C (Capstick and Wood 1922), but,
due to fever, it can rise to 41 ◦ C in case of an infarct. The bioimpedance monitor designed
was submitted to a temperature step from 28 ◦ C to 40 ◦ C to observe the effects of varying
temperature.
Figure 11 shows measurements of modulus and phase at 50 kHz and the temperature
step used. Variations in temperature indicate effects of temperature changes in accuracy when
measuring impedance.
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 11

Figure 10. Modulus, phase and temperature measurements at 50 kHz on a 320  resistor during
5.5 h.

Figure 11. Modulus and phase measurement at 50 kHz on a 320  resistor under a temperature
profile.

3.10. Heart excised measurements

To validate the bioimpedance monitor with biological tissues, two lamb hearts and two veals
were measured 5 min after the animal was sacrificed. To avoid decrease in temperature,
the hearts were placed into a thermally isolated box. Measurements lasted for 2 h and the
12 P Bogónez-Franco et al

Figure 12. Impedance plot of the lamb heart measured at the beginning, in 30, 50 and 90 min.
Solid line was the Cole function fitted with an algorithm created by the research group.

electrodes used to measure the heart excised tissue were custom-made stainless steel needles.
The injecting electrodes were located at the extremes, and the sensing electrodes in the middle
of the injecting electrodes. The distance between the injecting and sensing electrodes was
2.5 mm, and the distance between the injecting electrodes was 7.6 mm. The diameter of the
needles was 0.3 mm.
Dimensions of the lamb heart were: 60 mm long; 42 mm wide; weight 250 g. As the heart
came attached to the lungs, it was necessary to separate it. Afterwards the heart was put inside
a polyethylene box, which was then put inside a corrugated cardboard filled with small balls
of expanded polystyrene in order to create a thermal box. The heart temperature was 39.1 ◦ C
at the beginning of the measurements and 39.0 ◦ C at the end. The electrodes were placed in
the left ventricle. Figure 12 shows the Cole plot of the bioimpedance measurements.

3.11. RF range measurement

To find the range of the RF communications, the packet error rate (PER) has been measured.
PER is the ratio of the number of packets not received in relation to the total number
of packets sent. For the calculation, both the not-received and the incorrect packets were
included as packets not received. For measuring PER, a pig was put on a metallic table and
the bioimpedance monitor was placed inside its kidney cavity.
Power transmission was adjusted to 0 dBm and the receiver antenna was placed 1 m from
the center of the pig, varying the distance by 0.5 m until it reached 2 m. The height of the
center of the antenna was also placed varying from 1 m to 2 m in 0.5 m increments.
Figure 13 shows the setup for PER measurement and figure 14 shows the animal and the
bioimpedance monitor just before being implanted in the kidney cavity for PER measurement.
Table 1 shows the PER measurement results. Data are sent to the receiver and the receiver
acknowledges the data. If there is no acknowledgement, the process is repeated three times
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 13

Figure 13. Setup for PER measurement. The antenna was moved horizontally and vertically from
the center of the table.

Figure 14. Designed bioimpedance monitor before complete implantation inside the animal and
just before beginning PER measurement.

Table 1. PER error at different distances and heights from the receiver antenna.
Distance (m) Height (m) PER (%)
1 1.0 2.3
1.5 1.4
2.0 1.2
2 1.0 11.0
1.5 7.6
2.0 6.4
3 1.0 26.0
1.5 23.4
2.0 15.7

before discarding the communication. Even if data are not received, they are saved in the
internal memory.
The bioimpedance monitor will be implanted in the animal shoulder and placed
subcutaneously. This allows a reliable communication between the bioimpedance monitor
and the PC.
14 P Bogónez-Franco et al

3.12. Bioimpedance monitor seal

The bioimpedance monitor will be covered with a biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane silicone
(PDMS) (Sylgard 184, Dow Corning Corp.) and then sterilized prior to the implantation using
chemical agents. From other studies made on the research group, this method has proved to
be resistant to body tissue. The report for this study can be found in Zábaco (2010).

4. Discussion

Electrode impedance mismatch has a net effect on the modulus impedance measurement,
although that effect is minimized because of the high input impedance of the sensing leads.
More significant errors in measurement are due to the limited output impedance of the
current source and the high electrode impedance at low frequencies. The proposed electrodes
used in the final measurements are built from a modified DSI Coupler Lead (Data Science
International), leaving the distal end of 5 mm uncoated with only one of the imbricate spirals.
Measurements errors at low frequency are related to the high electrode impedance and
probably, to the aliasing in the digital demodulation stage of the AD5933. To measure at such
low frequencies, the AD5933 must use a down-scaled clock.
Measurements of RC networks showed that the modulus largest error was produced below
2 kHz, being 2.77% the largest value, at 200 Hz. The phase error had a maximum value of
–51.66◦ at 100 Hz and fell up to −2.96◦ at 2 kHz. At higher frequencies the modulus error was
below −0.25% and the phase error remained below −0.8◦ . Those were the results because the
impedance of the RC network at low frequencies is in the order of some tenths of k and with
the limited output impedance of the current source it has a noticeable effect. Measurements
on biological tissues were planned to start at the end of July 2012.
There is more noticeable effect when the mismatch is produced in the injecting leads
than when produced in the sensing leads and when frequencies are low instead of high; all
this is related with the output impedance of the current source. For example, at 700 Hz with
no electrode mismatch, the modulus and phase errors are −3.43  and 0.02◦ , whereas when
the electrode mismatch is produced in the injecting leads, I+ and I−, the errors are −14.36
 and −14.28  in the modulus and 1.37◦ and 1.20◦ in the phase, respectively. When the
mismatch is produced in the sensing leads, V+ and V−, the errors are −6.50  and 1.85
 in the modulus and 0.40◦ and −0.23◦ in the phase, respectively. At low frequencies the
impedance of the electrode had a value of 10 k at 100 Hz and of 7 k at 1 kHz. In the
sensing leads this effect is less important due to the high input impedance, in the order of M
because of input buffers. Degradation in the CMRR of the detection circuit is greater.
No influence on measurement results were observed when doing short- and long-term tests.
A temperature increase in the designed system from 28 ◦ C to 40 ◦ C, produces a maximum
decrease of 2.34  in the modulus, in relation to an impedance of 320  at 100 Hz, and a
maximum increase in the measured phase of 1.10◦ at 200 kHz.
Using ZigBee Protocol to transmit data has been proved in a valid way to extract data from
inside the body. Valdastri et al (2008a) used three implantable devices to transmit pressure
and temperature from stomach with that protocol. The goals of that experiment were to record
the minimum transmission power levels from different parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract
and to compare those levels to international safety regulations. The power density emitted
by the implanted devices was measured with a strength meter, being the result 38 mW/m2,
much lower than the reference level taken from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation (ICNIRP). To demonstrate the feasible data transmission in the GHz bands, Poon
et al (2007) performed some simulations making later measurements to check-out the results
Implantable bioimpedance monitor using 2.45 GHz band for telemetry 15

obtained. She assembled an antenna of 2 cm and the receiver was a 2 mm width coil, and used
beef sirloin for the measurements. Due to the un-optimized transmitter antenna the optimal
frequency for a 2 cm antenna was 1 GHz.

5. Conclusions

An electrical implantable impedance monitor was created and tested in RC networks and heart
excised tissue. It has small dimensions and RF communications can be used to extract data
generated during measurements. A memory is also included to back up data.
Power consumption is very low, allowing autonomy of 35 days when measuring every
5 min.
Short and long-term measurements were done for characterization of the monitor.
Temperature drifts were also measured, appreciating no great errors in modulus and phase
measurements.
Errors in measurements were greater at low frequencies due to the high impedance of
electrodes used and the low output impedance of the current source designed.
Preliminary experiment was carried on with animals and is shown in Sánchez et al (2012).
The experiment was performed on seven pigs wherein myocardial infarction was induced; two
of them were used as control. The results are coherent with the known behavior of normal,
acute ischemia and healed scar tissue. The bioimpedance monitor allows us to provide an
indicator to the transition between these tissue states.

Acknowledgments

The presented work was supported by grants SAF2008-05144-C02-02 from the Spanish
Ministry of Science and Innovation; 080331 from Fundació La Marató de TV3, Redes de
Investigación del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (REDINSCOR, RD06/0003) and Fondo Europeo
de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER).
We would like to thank Sı́lvia Núñez and José Núñez for their valuable help in the
correction of this document.

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