大多数植入物，如心脏起搏器和胰岛素泵，都是孤立工作的。为了帮助它们相互协调，佐治亚理工学院的一组研究人员构建了一个网络系统，通过身体组织而不是天线和无线电波来发送信号。
Most implants like pacemakers and insulin pumps work in isolation. To help them coordinate with each other, a team of Georgia Tech researchers built a networking system that sends signals through body tissue instead of antennas and radio waves.
如今能够通信的植入物大多依赖蓝牙低功耗或近场通信（NFC）等无线电协议。佐治亚理工学院工程师、这项新研究的合著者亚历克斯·阿布拉姆森表示，这两种协议都不适合体内数据传输。
Implants that communicate today mostly rely on radio protocols like Bluetooth Low Energy or near-field communication (NFC). Both are a poor fit for in-body data transfer, says Alex Abramson, a Georgia Tech engineer and co-author of the new study.
第一个问题是功耗。“如果你想让植入物保持活跃状态，以便能在几毫秒内做出响应，用蓝牙系统很难做到这一点，”阿布拉姆森说。根据该论文，蓝牙组件在激活时，最多可使植入物的电池寿命缩短90%。
The first problem is power. “If you want an implant to remain in an active state such that it can respond within milliseconds, it's very difficult to do that with the Bluetooth system,” Abramson said. According to the paper, Bluetooth components, when they’re activated, can cut an implant's battery life by up to 90 percent.