Flexible and conformable antennas for body-centric radiofrequency identification

The fast growth of radiofrequency identi cation (RFID) research is currently exploring new applications for body-centric systems where exible, miniatur- ized and conformal antennas are required for placement over the human body and implantation inside limbs and internal organs. When compared with conventional antennas for body-centric purpose, the design of RFID tags involve additional challenges related to the absence of local power source and, in some cases, to the close interaction with the interrogating unit. This chapter reviews the state of the art in the design and experimentation of exible and conformable antennas for body-centric RFID applications with great attention to the de nition of the performance parameters, the achievable read range, and nally, the technology solutions. For the most challenging family of implantable antennas, two cases study are given concerning design and experi- mentation of tags for orthopaedic limb prosthesis and for vascular implants.