Robust low-profile electromagnetic band-gap-based on textile wearable antennas for medical application

A low-profile electromagnetic band-gap enabled textile wearable antenna covering the spectrum between the 2.36 and 2.40 GHz of the new released medical wireless body networks (MBANs), is presented. The integrated EBG with the proposed antenna reduces the radiation intensity into the human tissues around 13 dB; and also decreases the effect of frequency detuning. The antenna structure is compact size with total volume of 54 × 54 × 3.1 mm3. It offers 8.5% impedance bandwidth and a power gain of 6.79 dBi. Specific absorption rate (SAR) evaluation is also carried out to validate the performance of the antenna when it is placed closely to human body. The antenna size and its ultimate performances could be selected as a good candidate for integration into various wearable devices.