Investigation on performance of wearable flexible on‑body ultra‑wideband antenna based on denim for wireless health monitoring

Abstract

Wireless health monitoring systems based on flexible wearable antennas are in high demand in recent times to facilitate communication among people and their health care providers. The major purpose of this research is to investigate the performance of a low-cost, fabric-based flexible wearable antenna design fabricated on denim for wireless health monitoring. The primary features of this antenna are its small size with overall dimensions of 30 mm × 35 mm × 1.2 mm, large impedance bandwidth of 114.6 %, high gain, and directivity of 4.63 dB and 4.86 dBi, respectively, at 9.82 GHz. The compact size, light weight, low cost, flexibility, simple fabrication, and easy integration within clothing are the key highlights of the ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna that make it a perfect choice as a human body-worn antenna for utilization in wireless body area network (WBAN) systems. The simulation and measurement results of the designed antenna are found to be in good agreement and confirm its superiority and fitness for WBAN applications to be operable for the ultra-wideband.