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

2026-03-13

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of systematic modeling approaches for wearable galvanic-coupled communication channels across varying bandwidths. It presents the first physically consistent digital human twin that unifies anatomical structure, propagation geometry, and electrode–skin interfaces into a complex-valued transfer function. By integrating electro-quasistatic theory with experimental validation, the work quantitatively elucidates how bandwidth, interface conditions, and geometric factors govern signal attenuation, phase response, and group delay. Results demonstrate that within the 10 kHz–1 MHz band, the channel exhibits weak dispersion, with attenuation primarily dictated by propagation geometry. Increasing bandwidth amplifies magnitude ripple and delay fluctuations, whereas optimizing the electrode–skin interface significantly enhances both amplitude and phase stability.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Simulating Human Behavior
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization

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.

Problem

• galvanic coupling
• wearable communication
• digital human twin
• channel characterization
• electromagnetic propagation

Innovation

• Digital Human Twin
• Galvanic Coupling
• Wearable Communication
• Electro-Quasistatic Propagation
• Channel Dispersion