Suitability of NFC for Medical Device Communication and Power Delivery

E Freudenthal; D Herrera; F Kautz; C Natividad; A Ogrey; J Sipla; A Sosa; C Betancourt; L Estevez

doi:10.1109/EMBSW.2007.4454171

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Conference proceeding

Suitability of NFC for Medical Device Communication and Power Delivery

E Freudenthal, D Herrera, F Kautz, C Natividad, A Ogrey, J Sipla, A Sosa, C Betancourt and L Estevez

2007 IEEE Dallas Engineering in Medicine and Biology Workshop, pp.51-54

11/2007

DOI: 10.1109/EMBSW.2007.4454171

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Abstract

Near Field Communications (NFC) is a 13.56 MHz inductively coupled power delivery and communication protocol that extends the ISO 14443 RFID standard. Low cost NFC scanner subsystems are anticipated to be widely incorporated in coming generations of commodity cellular phones. We consider the potential of this emerging infrastructure to provide convenient and low cost power distribution and communication channels for a range of medical devices. For example, an NFC device within a cell phone could relay measurements collected from a defibrillator-pacemaker to a monitoring physician, remotely control an insulin pump, or activate an implanted neural simulation system. NFC devices pose similar bio-compatibility challenges to other implanted electronics without requiring the provisioning of battery power to support communication. Furthermore, an NFC communication subsystem's power-independence provides a measure of defense against potential denial-of-service attacks that consume power in order to discharge a capacity-limited power source. The 13.56 MHz band has minimal interaction with human and animal tissues. We conducted several successful proof-of- concept experiments communicating with with ISO 14443 tags implanted at multiple locations within a human cadaver. Magnetic field strength decays with the cube of distance-to- antenna, limiting limits the range of potential eavesdroppers. At present, NFC protocols do not provide an appropriate set of privacy properties for implanted medical applications. However, NFC devices are implemented using embedded general purpose processors and thus only software modifications would be required to support protocol extensions with enhanced privacy.

Battery charge measurement

Cellular phones

Communication standards

Costs

Humans

ISO standards

Power distribution

Privacy

Protocols

Radiofrequency identification

Details

Title: Subtitle: Suitability of NFC for Medical Device Communication and Power Delivery
Creators: E Freudenthal - The University of Texas at El Paso
D Herrera - The University of Texas at El Paso
F Kautz - The University of Texas at El Paso
C Natividad - The University of Texas at El Paso
A Ogrey - The University of Texas at El Paso
J Sipla - The University of Texas at El Paso
A Sosa - The University of Texas at El Paso
C Betancourt - Texas Instruments (United States)
L Estevez - Texas Instruments (United States)
Resource Type: Conference proceeding
Publication Details: 2007 IEEE Dallas Engineering in Medicine and Biology Workshop, pp.51-54
DOI: 10.1109/EMBSW.2007.4454171
Publisher: IEEE
Language: English
Date published: 11/2007
Academic Unit: Neurology; Anatomy and Cell Biology
Record Identifier: 9984284453802771

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