Epidermal RFID-based programmable smart shield for enhancing security of implantable cardiac devices

In recent years, Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) have advanced with wireless connectivity, enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities while introducing cyber and physical vulnerabilities that could threaten patient safety. This paper proposes an epidermal RFID-based wireless programmable smart shield to protect Implantable Cardiac Devices (ICDs) from physical attacks. Positioned on the patient’s skin, the shield blocks untrusted electromagnetic fields in the 401-406 MHz band and can be wirelessly reconfigured at 900 MHz to enable communication with a trusted external programmer for medical assistance. The smart shield is designed as a programmable Frequency Selective Surface (FSS). Preliminary simulations of the unit cell, featuring an RFID IC and PIN diodes for wireless reconfiguration, confirm the concept’s feasibility.