IEEE Access Special Section Editorial: Bio-Compatible Devices and Bio-Electromagnetics for Bio-Medical Applications

Today research activity is strongly driven by non-invasive exploration of living bodies. Wide-band reflectometry using adequate antennas system represents a possible way, but sometimes more accuracy is required which can be achieved by the use of implantable sensors that can closely investigate the interested tissues and are able to communicate with the external systems. For some applications, this communication can be unidirectional for monitoring purposes, but even in these cases, the transceiver should be carefully designed to obtain the necessary data while generating as low as possible radiofrequency power within the tissues. Blood and/or soft/hard tissue analysis can be based on this technique. The received signal is processed locally or sent to a remote medical center for further processing. The algorithms to extract the information are quite complex, and the low signal to noise ratio makes the analysis even more challenging. A bi-directional communication on the other hand represents a considerable advancement, when the sensor nodes are remotely controlled based on the feedback of the received data, for controlled drug release applications, as an example. Nevertheless, the reduced transmitter-receiver distance and presence of different high-loss tissues introduce strong reflections.