UNIT 2

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 1

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 2

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 3

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 4

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 5

Fig. 5.1: Different Telemetry Components

It was mentioned previously that sometimes it is desirable to implant the

telemetry transmitter or receiver subcutaneously. The implanted transmitter is especially
useful in animal studies, where the equipment must be protected from the animal. The
implanted receiver has been used with patients for stimulation of nerves.The life of the
Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 6

unit depends on how long the battery can supply the necessary current.
A partial implant is a good example of a system used for the monitoring of the
electroencephalogram where the electrodes have been implanted into the brain and the
telemetry unit is implanted within and on top of the skull. This type of unit needs a
protective helmet. The use of implantable units also restricts the distance of transmission
of the signal. The body fluids and the skin greatly attenuate the signal and because the
unit must be small to be implanted, therefore has little power, the range of signal is quite
restricted, often to just a few feet. This disadvantage has been overcome by picking up
the signal with a nearby antenna and retransmitting it. However, with the plastic potting
compounds and plastic materials available today, encapsulation is easily possible. Silicon
encapsulation is commonly used.
Mercury and silver-oxide primary batteries have been used extensively and, more
recently, lithium batteries have found many applications. For field work with freeroaming animals, the power requirements are quite different from those needed in a

27

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 7

closed laboratory cage. Requirements range from an electrical capacity of 20 mA-hr to

1000 mA-hr.

Fig. 5.2: Single channel implantable transmitter for blood pressure. [2]

In simple terms the complete implantable telemetry transmitter system consists of

the transducer(s), the leads from the transducer(s) to the transmitter, the transmitter unit
itself, and the power source. The transducers are implanted surgically in the position
required for a particular measurement, such as in the aorta or other artery for blood
pressure. Fig.5.3 shows a typical pressure transducer implantation in a dog. The
transmitters and power units have to be placed in a suitable body cavity close to the under
surface of the skin and situated so that they give no physical or psychological disturbance to
the animal. An antenna loop is also part of the transmitter.

Fig. 5.3 Transducer implanted in the aorta [2]

A basic unit is shown in Figure 5.1. This is a single-channel blood pressure

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 8

transmitter. The module at the top contains the signal conditioning circuitry and RF
28

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 9

transmitter. The second module contains a 200-mA-hour lithium power source and a 1.7MHz RF switch for turning the system on and off remotely.

Fig. 5.4: Cut-away single channel temperature transmitter. [2]

Fig. 5.4 is a cutaway view of a single-channel temperature transmitter. A 1.35-V

battery is contained inside the antenna loop at the top. Besides, one of the three hybrid
packages is shown open. Fig. 5.5 shows array of all parts of the complete system. The top
unit in the figure is the, 6 Telemetry Demodulator. It has six main channels and is
designed to work with the 88 to 108-MHz receiver shown immediately below it. The
receiver is modified to accept both continuous FM and pulsed-RF-mode telemetry
signals. An inductive power control wand for turning the implant on and off is shown on
the bottom right side. Below the wand there is an external recharging transmitter.
A cutaway view of an inductively-powered multichannel telemetry system is
shown in Fig.5.6. Sensor leads and compensation components are shown on the right.
Power and antenna leads are shown on the left. I the center, one of three hybrid packets is
shown open. It contains six sensor input amplifiers, an eight-channel multiplexer, an
analog-to-PWM converted and a 1O-kHz clock and binary counter. Finally, there are
systems with only partial implantations. Refer again to Fig.5.3, a pressure transducer is
shown implanted in the aorta of a dog. In that particular system, the lead from the
transducer brought Out through the dogs back and connected to a telemetry transducer
external to the body of the dog. This type of preparation is achieved b having the dog
wear a jacket. Prior to surgery, dogs are trained to wear jackets continuously so that they
get used to them. After the surgical it plantation of the transducer and after the chest wall
is healed, the jacket put back on the dog. It is made of strong nylon mesh so that it is
comfortable and permits air circulation, but cannot easily be bitten into by the dog. The
lead that comes out of the dogs back from the transducer is plugged into an external
telemetry transmitter which is kept in a pocket of the jacket. The transmitter can be
removed when not in use. Another pocket, on the opposite side of the jacket, is available
for other equipment.

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 10

29

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 11

Fig.5.5: Complete implantable telemetry system. [2]

Fig. 5.6: Cut-away multi-channel telemetry system [2].

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 12

30

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 13

For example, in an experiment concerned with the effect of the hormone,

norepinephrine, on blood pressure, a small chemical pump was placed in the other pocket to
inject norepinephrine into the blood stream at various rates. The effect on the blood
pressure of the dog was observed and recorded by the use of the telemetry system. The
system is the same as that shown in Fig.5.2 A photograph of a dog wearing a jacket with the
telemetry transmitter in the pocket is shown in Fig.5.5.

Fig.5.7: Jacket for partially implanted telemetry system. [2]

6. Applications
There are many instances in which it is necessary to monitor physiological events
from a distance. Typical applications include the following:
1. Radio-frequency transmissions for monitoring astronauts in space.
2. Patient monitoring where freedom of movement is desired, such as in obtaining an
exercise electrocardiogram. In this instance, the requirement of trailing wires is
both cumbersome and dangerous.
3. Patient monitoring in an ambulance and in other locations away from the hospital.
4. Collection of medical data from a home or office.
5. Research on unrestrained, unanesthetized animals in their natural habitat.
6. Use of telephone links for transmission of electrocardiograms or other medical
data.
7. Special internal techniques, such as tracing acidity or pressure through the
gastrointestinal tract.
8. Isolation of an electrically susceptible patient (see Chapter 16) from power-lineoperated ECG equipment to protect him from accidental shock.
These applications have indicated the need for systems that can adapt existing methods of
measuring physiological variables to a method of transmission of resulting data. This is the
branch of biomedical instrumentation known as
Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 14

Prepared by V.Mythily, JCE

Page 15