Improving the Communications Performance and Reliability of In Vivo Wireless Medical Devices
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project has the goal of advancing novel wireless communications technologies that enable high performance, reliable communications, and the ability to overcome link and/or power failures among networked in vivo medical devices. Achieving this goal over the in vivo wireless channel is a considerable challenge in a nascent, high-risk, field with enormous potential for radically transforming healthcare. For example, achieving this goal enables a new paradigm for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) by exploiting the possibilities offered by distributed wireless networking of in vivo medical devices. Novel enabling technologies investigated in this research will include packet-level coding across OFDM subchannels and cooperative network coding using spatially distinct multihop links. Such technologies will have application in many wireless systems. An initial benchmark application is the design and exploratory development of a high-definition video imaging system that includes a Camera Module that is both wirelessly controlled and wirelessly communicates the video signals to an external receiver. In this research, the Camera Module design will be extended to be capable of distributed networking with other such Camera Modules to demonstrate the benefits of the above novel technologies.
The broader impact/commercial potential of realizing technologies that achieve high performance and reliability for in vivo wireless networked communications among medical devices will be an important component in radically transforming many biomedical applications, and in the creation of vast commercial, career, and educational opportunities The prototype Camera Modules designed in this project will facilitate a fundamentally new distributed-networking approach to Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) and can replace cabled endoscopes with an order-of-magnitude lower cost that has been validated by component and manufacturing partners. Enabling Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) devices such as embedded sensors and actuators to provide reliable continuous monitoring or/and actuation will stimulate many additional paradigm shifts in healthcare. The expected wireless innovations that will realize high performance and reliability, with near zero latency, and mitigation of interference over the in vivo wireless channel will also have a broad impact on enabling solutions for other special purpose wireless systems, such as sensor systems and emergency communications systems. Beyond improving the capabilities of these special-purpose wireless devices, these innovations provide foundation technologies that will significantly advance wireless access and spectral utilization for a plurality of wireless systems, including next-generation cellular and WLAN systems.
This STTR Phase I/IB project achieved the goal of advancing novel wireless communications technologies that enable high performance, reliable communications, and the ability to overcome link and/or power failures among networked in vivo medical devices. Achieving this goal over the in vivo wireless channel was a considerable challenge in a nascent, high-risk, field with enormous potential for radically transforming healthcare. The results enable a new paradigm for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) by exploiting the possibilities offered by distributed wireless networks of in vivo medical devices. Novel enabling technologies investigated in this research include bit-level coding across OFDM sub-channels, cooperative network coding using spatially distinct multi-hop links, antenna design to optimally perform in an in vivo environment, and design and development of a high data rate transmitter. Such technologies will have application in many wireless systems. This work has produced innovative techniques that provide the benefits of high performance, high reliability and low latency, for applications such as real-time high-definition video imaging during MIS. These research innovations and their extensions are the foundation technologies to improving the performance and reliability of in vivo wireless links used by medical devices. Because of the potential negative drastic consequences that a RF link failure could cause when performing MIS, the main objective achieved was the design of a highly reliable, distributed, and networked system of communicating in vivo wireless medical devices. This ongoing research and development of advanced wireless communications and networking technologies will further enhance the performance and increase the reliability of wireless communications to overcome potential link failures. An initial benchmark application was the design and development of a high-definition video imaging system that is based on the MIS research platform developed by Innovatia Medical Systems LLC and the University of South Florida (USF), which includes a Miniature Anchored Remote Videoscope for Expedited Laparoscopy (MARVEL) Camera Module (CM) that is both wirelessly controlled and wirelessly communicates high definition video to an external receiver. The MARVEL CM is attached in multitude and networked inside the abdominal cavity through one incision site without occupying a trocar port during surgery. Several wireless CMs can be attached within the body cavity by the surgeon during MIS procedures to provide simultaneous high resolution wide-angle and close-up views of the surgical space while minimizing interference caused by traditional laparoscopic instruments. The innovations, accomplishments and conclusions of the Phase I/IB project include: The MARVEL CM achieves high bit rates, low latency and reliable high-definition video transmission and imaging. Implementing Diversity Coding in the MARVEL OFDM-based system provides reliable communication that is tolerant of link failures. The design of the helical antenna with an adaptive matching network achieves optimum performance while ensuring that the maximum specific absorption rate (SAR) levels are not exceeded. A set of critical results is the development, implementation and benchmarking of the complete system on an FPGA which demonstrated the ability of an ASIC to implement much of the MARVEL CM signal processing.
