Georgia Tech's SWANS Network Sends Signals Through Body Tissue
Georgia Tech researchers announced SWANS, a networking system that lets body implants communicate through tissue using ionic conduction instead of radio waves.
Researchers at Georgia Tech have announced a networking system called SWANS that lets body implants communicate through body tissue instead of antennas and radio waves. The team says the approach uses ionic conduction, mimicking how neurons communicate by shuttling sodium and potassium ions through membranes.
The announcement, reported by arstechnica.com, describes a system that could change how medical implants talk to each other. Today, implants like pacemakers and insulin pumps mostly work in isolation.
Implants that do communicate mostly rely on radio protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy or NFC. According to the paper, Bluetooth components can cut an implant's battery life by up to 90 percent when activated.
Radio communication between implants also runs into attenuation issues if the signal travels more than one centimeter through tissue. And commercial Bluetooth components require a device at least five millimeters wide, while implants thinner than three millimeters can be injected with a syringe.
Quick answers
What is SWANS?
SWANS is a networking system built by Georgia Tech researchers that sends signals through body tissue instead of antennas and radio waves, using ionic conduction.
How does SWANS transmit signals?
It mimics how neurons communicate by shuttling sodium and potassium ions through membranes, a process called ionic conduction.
Why not use Bluetooth for implants?
According to the paper, Bluetooth components can cut an implant's battery life by up to 90 percent when activated, and radio signals face attenuation beyond one centimeter of tissue.