Optimising BLE connectivity in implantable CGMs
Balancing size, power and signal strength
Implantable continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) face one of the toughest RF challenges: maintaining a reliable Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) connection with a smartphone despite severe size, power, and tissue-related constraints.
TTP’s Biosensing team shows how a system-level approach can achieve dependable wireless performance in implantable CGMs and reduce development risk for next-generation biosensing devices.
From miniaturisation to reliable wireless performance
Enabling reliable wireless communication in implantable continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) requires solving a complex set of design trade-offs.
Despite the efficiency gains of Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) and advances in micro-batteries, the tight cylindrical form factor of an implant leaves very limited volume for antenna structures.
Performance must also be robust across varying tissue compositions, implant orientations, and real-world use scenarios.
By integrating electromagnetic modelling, tissue phantoms, and antenna miniaturisation techniques our Biosensing team have demonstrated that dependable BLE connectivity can be achieved within these stringent constraints.
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Designing for reliability, from day one
By addressing these challenges early, device developers can avoid costly redesigns and late-stage setbacks.
Our experience shows that when RF, mechanical, and power considerations are engineered together from the outset, implantable CGMs can deliver consistent connectivity throughout their intended lifetime.
This approach not only ensures reliable access to critical patient data but also accelerates the path from feasibility to manufacturable, commercially viable devices.
Miniaturising antennas for implantable CGMs
While advances in low-power electronics and battery technologies have enabled smaller implantable devices, designing Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) antennas for implantable continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) remains constrained by trade-offs between size, efficiency, and signal loss through body tissue.
To address these challenges, leveraging cross-disciplinary expertise, our team has combined multidisciplinary expertise to develop two robust prototypes that maintain reliable connectivity across diverse real-world scenarios.
Here, we share how these approaches are helping unlock the next generation of implantable CGMs.
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Testing and validating antennas for implantable devices
Designing antennas for implantable continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) requires navigating complex tissue environments and ensuring reliable performance across human variation.
Overly complex models and test setups can slow development. TP’s Biosensing team applied streamlined tissue models, pragmatic body phantoms, and careful test setups to eliminate errors.
This approach allowed the team to validate antenna performance efficiently and robustly, accelerating the path toward the next generation of implantable CGMs.
Discover more about our approach to testing implantable CGM antennas.
Designing for the real world
In this video, Simon and Qing from our Biosensing team explain why achieving reliable Bluetooth connectivity inside the body is far more complex than just optimising an antenna.
It requires understanding the whole system in real-world conditions. From tissue modelling and electromagnetic simulations to rigorous prototyping and RF testing, they show how TTP helps clients design antennas that perform reliably across different patients and scenarios.
By addressing design trade-offs early and validating performance with advanced testing, TTP enables medical device teams to move faster, reduce risks, and deliver dependable implantable technologies.
Our areas of focus:
Medical Devices & Drug Delivery
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We deliver across the entire life of a project, from opportunity discovery to production engineering. Discover how our interdisciplinary teams of experts collaborate to tackle the toughest product development challenges.
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Engaged in all stages of software and product development, our software capability at TTP covers the full spectrum—from in-depth analysis and system architecture to prototype design, implementation, and test development.
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Working seamlessly with our development teams, we take clients' products through prototype builds, clinical trials, pilot manufacture and more. Using TTP Manufacturing reduces uncertainty, risk and time to market for our clients.
Meet some of the team
Simon Calcutt
Qing Liu
James Gooch
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