Design and Realization of an Ultra-Wideband Patch Monopole Antenna for Medical IoT and Wearable Healthcare Applications

Abstract

Printed antennas are particularly attractive for medical IoT applications due to their low cost, compact design, and ease of integration into wearable or implantable devices. This paper presents a novel approach to enhance radiation efficiency and overall performance of ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas by combining size miniaturization with the integration of slots on the ground plane. The study focuses on a rectangular patch UWB antenna operating over a frequency range from 2 GHz to 4.8 GHz, achieving a relative bandwidth (BR %) of 82%. Specifically, the antenna covers the 2.0–2.4 GHz band suitable for wearable health monitoring and body area networks (BANs), the 3.1–4.0 GHz band for real-time patient monitoring and wireless ECG/EEG sensors, and the 4.0–4.8 GHz band for microwave-based medical imaging and short-range diagnostics. The antenna geometry, design, and performance were analyzed using CST Microwave Studio simulation software. Detailed design procedures, simulation results, and discussions on its suitability for various medical IoT applications are presented in this paper.