A Physics-Based Digital Human Twin for Galvanic-Coupling Wearable Communication Links

TL;DR

This paper introduces a physics-based digital human twin model for wearable galvanic coupling communication links, enabling detailed analysis of signal propagation, distortion, and design trade-offs in wearable bioelectronic systems.

Contribution

It provides a systematic, physics-consistent framework that maps anatomical and interface properties into transfer functions for wearable galvanic communication analysis.

Findings

Electro-quasistatic, weakly dispersive behavior over 10 kHz-1 MHz

Interface conditioning improves amplitude and phase stability

Propagation geometry influences link budget and delay

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic characterization of wearable galvanic coupling (GC) channels under narrowband and wideband operation. A physics-consistent digital human twin maps anatomical properties, propagation geometry, and electrode-skin interfaces into complex transfer functions directly usable for communication analysis. Attenuation, phase delay, and group delay are evaluated for longitudinal and radial configurations, and dispersion-induced variability is quantified through attenuation ripple and delay standard deviation metrics versus bandwidth. Results confirm electro-quasistatic, weakly dispersive behavior over 10 kHz-1 MHz. Attenuation is primarily geometry-driven, whereas amplitude ripple and delay variability increase with bandwidth, tightening equalization and synchronization constraints. Interface conditioning (gel and foam) significantly improves amplitude and phase stability, while propagation geometry governs link budget and baseline delay. Overall, the framework quantitatively links tissue electromagnetics to waveform distortion, enabling informed trade-offs among bandwidth, interface design, and transceiver complexity in wearable GC systems.