Internet of bodies links devices with human body communication

Detailed in IEEE Internet of Things Journal, researchers at KAUST have shown that human body communication (HBC), which takes advantage of the mostly conductive features of body tissues, can provide the highly secure and power-efficient data transmission among wearable, implanted and ingested medical devices.

The team said their findings could lead to the interconnection of wireless devices as the foundation for the internet of bodies (IoB). In use, devices such as smartwatches, pacemakers and cochlear implants could be interconnected to monitor human biomarkers.

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“The IoB is a network of wearable, implantable, ingestible and injectable smart objects that allows for in-, on- and off-body communications,” Ahmed Eltawil said in a statement.

Interconnecting these IoB devices using radio waves like those used in Wifi networks can, however, produce stray outward signals that could allow eavesdropping or biohacking, as well as use excess energy.

Through a systematic investigation of potential IoB interconnection technologies, Eltawil and colleagues Abdulkadir Celik, Abeer Alamoodi and Khaled Salama found HBC to be the most promising.