4.

SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE

4.1 SAR. Definition and equation

The metrics of specific absorption rate (SAR) in biological systems or tissue
models have been adopted as the dissymmetric quantities, especially at RF
frequencies. Regarding the antenna works in RF, specific absorption rate is a basic
tool or rate in this project.
The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is defined as the rate at which RF
electromagnetic energy is imparted to unit mass of biological body. SAR is a
measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the human body when exposed
to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field. Thus, SAR measures exposure to
fields between 100 kHz and 10 GHz.
To calculate SAR, it is necessary to know the induced field (in V/m) that
affects a tissue. Then, SAR is calculated as:

In the above formula, E is the RMS value of the induced field (in V/m), is
the tissue conductivity (in S/m) and m is the mass density of the tissue (kg/m3).
In case of short exposure times, this does not cause significant convective or
conductive heat contribution to tissue temperature rises. Then, in this case SAR can
also be expressed as:

In the formula, c is the heat capacity of the tissue (in J/kg) T is the temperature
rise (in K) and t is the short time exposure (in seconds).

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4.2 SAR Limits
Since some years ago, some authorities have established limits for exposure
to radio frequency energy. These limits establish the permitted levels of RF energy
for the population. There are two different main authorities who have established
two different limits that are not directly comparable. On one hand, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) of the U.S. Government established the SAR
limit to 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 gram of actual tissue.
On the other hand, the Council of the European Union established the limit to 2.0
W/kg averaged over 10 g of actual tissue.
Due to the fact that these limits are calculated averaging different amount of
tissue, the two limits are not directly comparable.

4.3 Rise of temperature in human tissues

Specific Absorption Rate is a good rate to measure the effects of the EM
radiation in human tissues, but sometimes it is not enough. It can be thought that a
high level of SAR in any tissue above the SAR limits (1.6 W/kg in U.S.) means
directly that the device or antenna is dangerous for human use. To conclude that, it
is necessary to know the time of exposure of tissues to EM fields and to obtain the
increase of temperature of the tissues.
Thus, it is necessary to obtain the increase of temperature of the tissues to
finally conclude if the radiation effects are dangerous for human use or not. In a
paper written in Peru it is explained that the limit of temperature increase in head
tissues is 1 K. It is also explained that this increase of temperature in head tissues
may affect the behavior and memory of people, before causing anatomical injuries.
In addition, in a deep study about the radiation effects in eye tissue is done.

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 For this reason, in this project it has been considered that an increase of
temperature equal or higher than 1 K could be dangerous for any of the human
body tissues.

4.4 Sweating Effects

The product sheet of the plaster material describes the plaster as

nonabsorbent, but states that air and water vapor would pass through. Thus it was
expected that sweating would not alter the antenna parameters significantly.

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 5. ANTENNA DESIGN

5.1 Antenna Dimensions

The goal of the design process was to design antennas on a plaster substrate
that cover the frequency band from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz. Linear polarization was
desired, because circular polarization characteristics would depend too much on
antenna bending. The antennas were designed to be flexible and breathable.
Commercially available Molnlycke Mefix plaster material (Self-adhesive
polyacrylate) was chosen as the substrate. Its dielectric properties were measured
at 2.4GHz. The dielectric constant is about 1.38 and loss tangent 0.02. Compared
to a PCB material the dielectric constant is very low but losses are about the same
as of a poor PCB. The conducting material of the antennas was copper tape.
In the future, the antennas could e.g., be printed on the plaster, a ground
plane is used, because the antennas operate less than one millimeter from the body.
The reactive near-field is then trapped between the radiating element and the
ground plane. This reduces the effect of the user on input impedance (resonance
frequency) and radiation, and lowers SAR.
Two antennas were designed, one a half-wave patch and the other a quarter-
wave antenna short-circuited to the ground. The substrate for both is an 8-layer

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plaster, which is 1.36 mm thick. The dimensions of the antennas are given in Table

Fig.5.1.1 Fig.5.1.2
Fig.5.1.1 Dimensions of the patch antennathe part above substrate. The substrate
is shown dashed.

Fig. 5.1.2 Dimensions of the patch antenna ground plane. A substrate (shown
dashed) of width ws, length ls, and height h is placed at the centre of the ground

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plane. Note that the substrate does not cover the entire ground plane. The whole
structure lies on two layers of plaster (thickness about 0.3 mm). The slits in the
ground plane and the patch coincide.

Fig. 5.1.3 Plaster antenna 3D View

To increase flexibility and breathability, slits were cut both in the antenna
elements and ground planes. The x-directional slits do not affect the current flow of
the radiating mode, however extra horizontal strips had to be added at the feed-
point level to allow for y-directional current at the feed.

5.2 Simulation Results

The performance of the antenna is analyzed by the following parameters
such as gain, VSWR, return loss, radiation efficiency, radiation pattern etc., These
parameters are used to critically examine the antennas and determine how suitable
for an application.

5.2.1 Return Loss Measurement

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 The return loss is analyzed using scattering(s) parameters. Return loss is the
loss of signal power resulting from the reflection caused due to improper matching
of the antenna to its feed line. An increased return loss corresponds to high VSWR.

Fig 5.2.1 Return Loss Plot obtained from CST for Half Wave patch antenna

5.2.2 Standing Wave Ratio Measurement

It is also a measure of mismatch between the load and the transmission line.
The Standing Wave Ratio is usually defined as a voltage ratio called the VSWR.
.The VSWR can be represented by
VSWR=Vmax/Vmin

Fig 5.2.2 VSWR plot for Half wave patch antenna

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5.2.3 Radiation Pattern Measurement
The radiation pattern of an antenna is a plot of the far-field radiation from
the antenna. It is a specific plot of the radiated power from an antenna per unit
solid angle or its radiation intensity U.

Fig 5.2.3 Radiation pattern for half wave patch antenna

5.2.4 Electric-Field Distribution:

The following figures shows E-field distribution,

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 Fig 5.2.4 Electric field distribution for half wave patch antenna

5.2.5 Magnetic-Field Distribution:

The following figures shows H-field distribution,

Fig 5.2.5 Magnetic field distribution for half wave patch antenna

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5.3 Simulation results of Bent Plaster Antenna
Simulation parameters of the bent antenna are shown:

Fig 5.3.1 3D structure of bent antenna

Standing Wave Ratio Measurement

Fig 5.3.2 VSWR pattern obtained from CST for half wave bent patch antenna

Return Loss Measurement

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 Fig 5.3.4 Return Loss Plots obtained from CST for half wave bent patch antenna

Radiation Pattern Measurement

Fig 5.3.5 Radiation pattern obtained from CST for half wave bent patch antenna

5.4 On-Body Radiation Patterns

The on-body radiation patterns were measured in an anechoic chamber. The
antennas were attached to the abdomen. We only measured the radiation patterns in
the yz plane. The inaccuracy associated with the on-body results is about 2 dB.

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From the free-space measurements we get the radiation efficiency, and from the
change in Q value between free-space and on-body we can estimate the body worn
efficiency.
Measurements show that both antennas perform well on body. The radiation
efficiency in free space is quite large considering that the antennas were made on a
plaster substrate. Even a non-uniform ground plane prevents the radiation
efficiency from dropping too much on the body. Figure shows the antenna is
bent on the phantom model of the arm (tissue).
SAR is observed when Half Wave patch antenna is placed on the flat tissue

Fig 5.4.1 Front view of the half wave patch antenna when placed on flat tissue

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 Fig 5.4.2 Side view of the half wave patch antenna placed on tissue with flat
surface

S parameters

Fig 5.4.3 Return loss plot antenna placed on flat tissue

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VSWR

Fig 5.4.4 VSWR plot on antenna placed on flat tissue

Radiation Pattern

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 Fig 5.4.5 Radiation Pattern plot on antenna placed on flat tissue

5.4.1 SAR of Half Wave Antenna on Flat Tissue

Specific Absorption Rate for 1g tissue

fig 5.4.6 SAR of antenna placed on 1g flat tissue

Specific Absorption Rate for 10g tissue

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 Fig 5.4.7 SAR of antenna placed on 1g flat tissue

5.5 Half Wave Antenna Placed on Cyclindrical tissue

Bodyworn antennas, and especially disposable plaster antennas can prove
useful in patient monitoring in e.g. hospitals or home nursing, or in monitoring
athletes recovery after training. Current technology requires the transmitter to be a
beltcarried box, but in the future we may see disposable transmitters printed on
plasters, harvesting their transmit power from ambient radio waves. Plaster
antennas are also feasible for passive RFID applications such as locating a patient.
To make the bent antennas more comfortable, they could also be constructed
bent. The eight plaster layers and the associated glue make the substrate quite rigid,
which results in the antenna being easily wrinkled. If the layers were attached to
each other on a cylinder, the antenna would be easier to bend on the arm.

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 Fig 5.5.1.3D view of the antenna placed on the tissue model

All results in this section are normalized to 1W input power. It was assumed
that the largest bend radius would have the largest effect, therefore, three
geometries were considered: 1) the flat antenna on a 94mm thick rectangular
phantom, 2) the flat phantom on a cylindrical phantom (radius =47mm) and 3) the
antenna bent around a 47mm cylindrical phantom.The simulated SAR has been
considered when the antenna is bent around a cylinder. Bending changes the
antenna properties, but the structure is usable on curved body parts if properly
placed.
. REFERENCE
[1] T. Vuorela, J. Hannikainen, and J. Vanhala, Plaster like Physiological Signal
Recorder Design Process, Lessons Learned, in Proceed of the Ambience 08
Smart Textiles Technology and Design, p. 8996.Boras, Sweden, June 23,
2008.
[2] Mefix. [Online]. Available: http://www.molnlycke.com/item. aspid=924.

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[3] SATIMO [Online]. Available: http://www.satimo.com/
[4] W. G. Scanlon and N. E. Evans,Numerical analysis of bodyworn UHF antenna
systems, Electronics & Communication Engineering Journal,vol.
[5] ANSI/IEEE 1992 IEEE standard for safety levels with respect to human
exposure to radio frequency fields 3 kHz to 300 GHz. Standard C95.11992.
[6] ICNIRP 1998 Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric,
magnetic and electromagnetic fields (up to 300 GHz), Health Phys., 74, 494522.
[7] CST [Online.] Available: http://www.cst.com/

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