Enhancing the performance of medical implant communication systems through cooperative diversity

Abstract

Battery-operated medical implantssuch as pacemakers or cardioverter- defibrillatorshave already been widely used in practical telemedicine and telecare applications. However, no solution has yet been found to mitigate the effect of the fading that the in-body to off-body communication channel is subject to. In this paper, we reveal and assess the potential of cooperative diversity to combat fadinghence to improve system performancein medical implant communication systems. In the particular cooperative communication scenario we consider, multiple cooperating receiver units are installed across the room accommodating the patient with a medical implant inside his/her body. Our investigations have shown that the application of cooperative diversity is a promising approach to enhance the performance of medical implant communication systems in various aspects such as implant lifetime and communication link reliability. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.