Bioelectronic Sensor Nodes for the Internet of Bodies

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Internet of Bodies

Background:

• Biosensors for continuous health monitoring face challenges in energy efficiency and security.
• The Internet of Bodies (IoB) network of biosensors presents resource constraints and security vulnerabilities.
• Efficient on-body energy harvesting is critical for powering IoB devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review challenges and opportunities in low-power sensing, processing, and communication for biosensor nodes.
• To analyze and compare different sensing mechanisms, communication modalities, and powering techniques for IoB.
• To highlight the importance of in-sensor analytics for reducing energy consumption.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of voltage/current domain versus time domain sensing mechanisms.
• Review of low-power, secure communication techniques including wireless and human body communication.
• Evaluation of various powering techniques for wearable and implantable biosensor devices.

Main Results:

• Identified trade-offs between different sensing and communication modalities.
• Assessed the feasibility of various energy harvesting methods for IoB applications.
• Emphasized the necessity of in-sensor processing for energy efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Low-power sensing, secure communication, and efficient energy harvesting are key for future biosensor nodes.
• In-sensor analytics are imperative to reduce energy consumption per unit of information.
• Addressing these challenges will enable robust and sustainable Internet of Bodies applications.