04-07-2014, 03:55 PM
Wireless Telemetry for Electronic Pill Technology
[attachment=65634]
Abstract
This work will address the challenges to facilitate the
development of a high capacity radio system for a small,
miniaturized electronic pill device that can be swallowable or
implantable in human body in order to detect biological signals
or capture images that could eventually be used for diagnostic
and therapeutic purposes. In addition to reviewing and
discussing the recent attempts in electronic pill technology, a
wideband (UWB) telemetry system aimed for the development
of an electronic pill will be presented in this paper. We have
successfully realized more than half a meter UWB link under
conditions emulating an implant
INTRODUCTION
Recent development in electronic pill technology requires
the integration of more complex systems on the same platform
when compared to conventional implantable systems. A small
miniaturized electronic pill can reach areas such as small
intestine and deliver real time video images wirelessly to an
external console. Fig. 1 shows a wireless endoscope (i.e.
electronic pill) for a medical monitoring system. The device
travels through the digestive system to collect image data and
transfers them to a nearby computer for display with a
distance 1 meter or more. A high resolution video based
capsule endoscope produces a large amount of data, which
should be delivered over a high capacity wireless link.
Since its early development [1]-[3], wireless endoscope (i.e.
electronic pill) designs have been based on narrow band
transmission and thus have limited number of camera pixels.
One of current state-of-the-art technologies for wireless
endoscope device is commercially available by the company
“Given Imaging” [4]. The pill uses the Zarlink’s RF chip [5]
for wireless transmission based on the Medical Implant
Communication Service (MICS) band. The allowable channel
bandwidth for this band is only 300 kHz. It is difficult to
assign enough data rate for the high quality video data at the
moment for a real time monitoring. It is quite obvious that
there is a need for higher-bandwidth data transmission for
electronic pills that could facilitate a better diagnosi
WIRELESS TELEMETRIES USED IN ELETRONIC PILL
There are plenty of publications describing the current
trend on wireless endoscopes and technologies. One of the
recent articles given in [7] gives a good history of capsules
from their early development to clinical implementation. The
design of wireless capsules started around 1950s. Since then,
they have been called as endoradiosondes, capsule, smartpill,
electronic pill, wireless capsule, wireless endoscopy, video
capsule and so forth. Herein we will use the term electronic
pill to cover all these names. The early attempts were based
on low frequencies and with simple structures [1][6]. A basic
transmitter using Collpitts or Hartley oscillator topology
connected to a sensor has been used to send the signal from
inside the body to external devices for tracking physiological
parameters of inner organs. Despite simplicity, the early
systems were bulky due to large electronic components and
batteries used and were targeting temperature, pH and
pressure [8][9].
As the electronic device should deeply be placed inside
the body, which makes the wireless communication
interesting due to its surrounding medium, the recent attempts
in electronic pills have also been limited to low frequency
transmissions (UHF-433 ISM or lower) [10]-[16]. The low
IW-UWB TELEMETRY FOR ELECTRONIC PILL
Although the image based electronic pill systems listed in
Table I & II can provide some level of accuracy, for some
diseases detailed images may be required [21]. Thus a better
resolution camera will be used. In order to monitor high
quality images in real-time, a wideband radio link will be
desired for a high capacity data transfer and thus improved
image resolution [14][22]. A wideband, high frequency
technology will especially be useful for high definition images
exceeding 2 megapixels (i.e. > 1920 x 1080). Although there
have been ongoing advancements in UWB communication for
short range applications; they cannot directly be applied to
electronic pill technology because of different design and
optimizations required due to stringent physical constraints
and biological safety. In the following section, we will study
the feasibility of wideband technology for electronic pills.
The important parameters of the wideband technology are
its low power transmitter design, low-interference effect in
medical environment and high data rate capability. The design
of a UWB wireless chip has been difficult for chip designers
due to the difficulty in the demodulation of narrow pulses with
a low signal power level. Generally a UWB receiver circuit
has demonstrated power consumption higher than that of a
narrow band system. One way to eliminate the high power
consumption of an ultra wideband transceiver is to use a
transmitter only in the electronic pill that will not need a signal
from external unit to the electronic pill in the body.
CONCLUSION
A high capacity radio system is currently necessary for
electronic pill technology in order to visually examine the
digestive tract wirelessly with better and detailed images.
Techniques and methodologies have been presented in this
paper for the use of wideband technology in a miniaturized
electronic pill to provide a high capacity wireless channel. A
prototyping system including UWB transmitter/receiver and
antennas has been developed to investigate the feasibility of a
high data rata transmission for the electronic pill technology.
Integration of antenna with the UWB transmitter electronics
has been considered in a capsule shaped structure. Although
it is known that tissue imposes strong attenuation at higher
frequencies, we have shown there are some advantages to use
wideband technology.
Due to the high data rate capacity (e.g. 100 Mbps), a
wideband electronic pill can transmit raw video data without
any compressing, resulting low-power, less delay in real-time
and increased picture resolution. With a high definition
camera such as 2 megapixels, UWB telemetry can send up to
10 frame per second (fps). We believe that the wideband pill
technology is going to open up a new set of diagnostic
[attachment=65634]
Abstract
This work will address the challenges to facilitate the
development of a high capacity radio system for a small,
miniaturized electronic pill device that can be swallowable or
implantable in human body in order to detect biological signals
or capture images that could eventually be used for diagnostic
and therapeutic purposes. In addition to reviewing and
discussing the recent attempts in electronic pill technology, a
wideband (UWB) telemetry system aimed for the development
of an electronic pill will be presented in this paper. We have
successfully realized more than half a meter UWB link under
conditions emulating an implant
INTRODUCTION
Recent development in electronic pill technology requires
the integration of more complex systems on the same platform
when compared to conventional implantable systems. A small
miniaturized electronic pill can reach areas such as small
intestine and deliver real time video images wirelessly to an
external console. Fig. 1 shows a wireless endoscope (i.e.
electronic pill) for a medical monitoring system. The device
travels through the digestive system to collect image data and
transfers them to a nearby computer for display with a
distance 1 meter or more. A high resolution video based
capsule endoscope produces a large amount of data, which
should be delivered over a high capacity wireless link.
Since its early development [1]-[3], wireless endoscope (i.e.
electronic pill) designs have been based on narrow band
transmission and thus have limited number of camera pixels.
One of current state-of-the-art technologies for wireless
endoscope device is commercially available by the company
“Given Imaging” [4]. The pill uses the Zarlink’s RF chip [5]
for wireless transmission based on the Medical Implant
Communication Service (MICS) band. The allowable channel
bandwidth for this band is only 300 kHz. It is difficult to
assign enough data rate for the high quality video data at the
moment for a real time monitoring. It is quite obvious that
there is a need for higher-bandwidth data transmission for
electronic pills that could facilitate a better diagnosi
WIRELESS TELEMETRIES USED IN ELETRONIC PILL
There are plenty of publications describing the current
trend on wireless endoscopes and technologies. One of the
recent articles given in [7] gives a good history of capsules
from their early development to clinical implementation. The
design of wireless capsules started around 1950s. Since then,
they have been called as endoradiosondes, capsule, smartpill,
electronic pill, wireless capsule, wireless endoscopy, video
capsule and so forth. Herein we will use the term electronic
pill to cover all these names. The early attempts were based
on low frequencies and with simple structures [1][6]. A basic
transmitter using Collpitts or Hartley oscillator topology
connected to a sensor has been used to send the signal from
inside the body to external devices for tracking physiological
parameters of inner organs. Despite simplicity, the early
systems were bulky due to large electronic components and
batteries used and were targeting temperature, pH and
pressure [8][9].
As the electronic device should deeply be placed inside
the body, which makes the wireless communication
interesting due to its surrounding medium, the recent attempts
in electronic pills have also been limited to low frequency
transmissions (UHF-433 ISM or lower) [10]-[16]. The low
IW-UWB TELEMETRY FOR ELECTRONIC PILL
Although the image based electronic pill systems listed in
Table I & II can provide some level of accuracy, for some
diseases detailed images may be required [21]. Thus a better
resolution camera will be used. In order to monitor high
quality images in real-time, a wideband radio link will be
desired for a high capacity data transfer and thus improved
image resolution [14][22]. A wideband, high frequency
technology will especially be useful for high definition images
exceeding 2 megapixels (i.e. > 1920 x 1080). Although there
have been ongoing advancements in UWB communication for
short range applications; they cannot directly be applied to
electronic pill technology because of different design and
optimizations required due to stringent physical constraints
and biological safety. In the following section, we will study
the feasibility of wideband technology for electronic pills.
The important parameters of the wideband technology are
its low power transmitter design, low-interference effect in
medical environment and high data rate capability. The design
of a UWB wireless chip has been difficult for chip designers
due to the difficulty in the demodulation of narrow pulses with
a low signal power level. Generally a UWB receiver circuit
has demonstrated power consumption higher than that of a
narrow band system. One way to eliminate the high power
consumption of an ultra wideband transceiver is to use a
transmitter only in the electronic pill that will not need a signal
from external unit to the electronic pill in the body.
CONCLUSION
A high capacity radio system is currently necessary for
electronic pill technology in order to visually examine the
digestive tract wirelessly with better and detailed images.
Techniques and methodologies have been presented in this
paper for the use of wideband technology in a miniaturized
electronic pill to provide a high capacity wireless channel. A
prototyping system including UWB transmitter/receiver and
antennas has been developed to investigate the feasibility of a
high data rata transmission for the electronic pill technology.
Integration of antenna with the UWB transmitter electronics
has been considered in a capsule shaped structure. Although
it is known that tissue imposes strong attenuation at higher
frequencies, we have shown there are some advantages to use
wideband technology.
Due to the high data rate capacity (e.g. 100 Mbps), a
wideband electronic pill can transmit raw video data without
any compressing, resulting low-power, less delay in real-time
and increased picture resolution. With a high definition
camera such as 2 megapixels, UWB telemetry can send up to
10 frame per second (fps). We believe that the wideband pill
technology is going to open up a new set of diagnostic