Abstract: Implantable antennas have been used for communication with medical implants for decades. Since then, wireless medical telemetry systems and their associated implantable antennas have expanded rapidly. Implantable medical devices now touch virtually every major function in the human body. Cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, neural recording and stimulation devices, cochlear and retinal implants are just a few of the many implantable medical devices available today.  Wireless telemetry for these devices is necessary to monitor battery level and device health, upload reprogramming for device function, and download data for patient monitoring. 

Emerging medical telemetry devices have led to recent advances in the design of small, biocompatible antennas that can be implanted in the human body.  This paper will track the types of antennas seen in the past, the technologies that enabled these changes, and prospects for future implantable antennas for medical applications.