Radio-frequency energy harvesting for wearable sensors

[摘要] The use of wearable biomedical sensors for the continuous monitoring of physiological signals will facilitate the involvement of the patients in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. The fabrication of small biomedical sensors transmitting physiological data wirelessly is possible as a result of the tremendous advances in ultra-low power electronics and radio communications. However, the widespread adoption of these devices depends very much on their ability to operate for long periods of time without the need to frequently change, recharge or even use batteries. In this context, energy harvesting (EH) is the disruptive technology that can pave the road towards the massive utilisation of wireless wearable sensors for patient self-monitoring and daily healthcare. Radio-frequency (RF) transmissions from commercial telecommunication networks represent reliable ambient energy that can be harvested as they are ubiquitous in urban and suburban areas. The state-of-the-art in RF EH for wearable biomedical sensors specifically targeting the global system of mobile [phone] cellular and 700 MHz digital terrestrial television networks as ambient RF energy sources are showcased. Furthermore, guidelines for the choice of the number of stages for the RF energy harvester are presented, depending on the requirements from the embedded system to power supply, which is useful for other researchers that work in the same area. The present authors' recent advances towards the development of an efficient RF energy harvester and storing system are presented and thoroughly discussed too.

[学科分类] 肠胃与肝脏病学

[关键词] energy harvesting;body sensor networks;biomedical equipment;biomedical telemetry;medical signal processing;patient monitoring;diseases;health care;digital television;embedded systems;radiofrequency energy harvesting;wearable biomedical sensors;continuous monitoring;physiological signals;chronic disease prevention;chronic disease management;wirelessly physiological data transmission;disruptive technology;wireless wearable sensors;patient self-monitoring;daily healthcare;commercial telecommunication networks;reliable ambient energy;suburban areas;mobile [phone] cellular;digital terrestrial television networks;ambient RF energy sources;RF energy harvester;embedded system;power supply;frequency 700 MHz