University of Waterloo engineers have invented a powerful antenna small enough to fit in a ring and capable of transmitting critical medical data to healthcare workers and individual patients.
Lead researcher Dr. Omar Ramahi, a professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, worked with Rania Rabhi, a visiting scholar from Tunisia, to build an antenna that is small enough to be worn like a piece of jewelry and powerful enough to safely send medical-related information to smartphones or a health clinic over long distances through airwaves.
This breakthrough is the first step to creating a device that can be used for non-invasive medical sensing applications such as monitoring blood and oxygen levels, assessing one’s fitness or tracking Parkinson’s disease.
“When it comes to wearable medical devices, it’s the size of the antennas that causes design issues, not the transmitters and receivers which can be easily miniaturized,” said Rabhi.
In addition to the antenna’s tiny size and need to be efficient, the researchers had to consider how to make it comfortable to wear, flexible and compact while ensuring a low absorption rate for radiation.
The team hopes to see the miniaturized, wearable antenna used in health care settings to send vital data to doctors without the need for regular, in-person check-ups — which could result in a more efficient and resourceful health care system.
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