Near-Field Communication in Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Near-field communication (NFC) is a low-power wireless communication technology used in contemporary daily life. This technology contributes not only to user identification and payment methods, but also to various biomedical fields such as healthcare and disease monitoring. This paper focuses on biomedical applications among the diverse applications of NFC. It addresses the benefits of combining traditional and new sensors (temperature, pressure, electrophysiology, blood flow, sweat, etc.) with NFC technology. Specifically, this report describes how NFC technology, which is simply applied in everyday life, can be combined with sensors to present vision and opportunities to modern people.

Keywords: applications; battery-free; biomedical; near-field communication (NFC); sensors.

Figure 1

Wireless power transfer circuitry between the reader antenna and tag antenna including reader integrated circuit (IC), matching network, and near field communication (NFC) IC [44].

Figure 2

Examples of NFC applications for temperature and pressure sensing. (a) Construction of a multifunctional epidermal NFC sensor. FS, filamentary serpentine; EP, electrophysiological; RTD, resistance temperature detector [45]. (b) Temperature sensing results [45]. (c) Photographs of a NFC temperature sensor on a neck [46]. (d) The result of converting the voltage measured wirelessly to temperature through calibration of the infrared (IR) camera [46].

Figure 3

Examples of NFC applications for temperature and pressure sensing. (a) Temperature and pressure sensor integrated with an NFC chip [47]. (b) Photograph of an NFC sensor pressed with the fingertip [47]. (c) Pressure measured by a device on the left forearm [47]. (d–g) Photographs of NFC-enabled clothing [48].

Figure 4

Examples of NFC applications for electrophysiology sensing. (a) Construction of a soft flexible cardiac sensor [49]. (b) The device twisted and bent [49]. (c) Results of comparing the heart rate measured by the sensor with commercial products [49].

Figure 5

Examples of NFC applications for electrophysiology sensing. (a–d) Schematics and architecture of an NFC sensor system [50].

Figure 6

Examples of NFC applications for blood flow sensing. (a) Construction of an NFC-enabled pulse oximeter device. PD, photodetector [51]. (b) Photograph of an NFC device on a fingernail [51]. (c) Results of SpO₂ during a breath-hold test [51]. (d) Top view of an NFC heart rate sensor [52]. (e) Photograph of an NFC device on skin [52]. (f) Biosignal data measured by the device [52]. (g–i) Construction of an NFC heart valve monitoring device [53].

Figure 7

Examples of NFC applications for sweat sensing. (a) Construction of an NFC sweat monitoring device [54]. (b) Photograph of the sweat monitoring device [54]. (c) Construction of a integrated NFC sweat sensor [55]. (d,e) Photograph of the device attached to the forearm during sweating [55]. (f) Results of reading distance between the device and reader antenna [55].

Figure 8

Examples of NFC applications for sweat sensing. (a) Block diagram of an electrochemical patch. MCU, microcontroller; EEPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory [56]. (b) Photograph of the patch on the arm [56]. (c) Construction of a sweat sensor [57]. (d) Photograph of the device on the arm [57].

Figure 9

NFC application in hospitals. (a) Photograph of a blue light dosimeter/photometer for hospital application. SoC, system on chip; SC, supercapacitor [36]. (b) Photograph of the NFC device on the chest of a jaundiced infant [36]. (c) Results from the NFC device on the chest of a jaundiced infant [36].

Figure 10

NFC application in hospitals. (a) Construction of an NFC electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor. EES, epidermal electronic system; PPGs, photoplethysmograms [37]. (b) Photograph of the ECG sensor on the chest and foot of an infant [37]. (c) Biosignal results compared to gold-standard monitoring equipment [37].