--- title: A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring description: Georgia Tech researchers developed SWANS (Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System), a method for implanted medical devices to communicate through body... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring | daily.dev og:description: Georgia Tech researchers developed SWANS (Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System), a method for implanted medical devices to communicate through body... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/7hI7UvCKm.png og:image:alt: A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring **[Ars Technica](https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Georgia Tech researchers developed SWANS (Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System), a method for implanted medical devices to communicate through body tissue using ionic conduction rather than radio waves. The approach addresses limitations of Bluetooth and NFC in implants, including high power consumption, poor signal penetration beyond one centimeter of tissue, and the need for large antennas that require surgical implantation. By mimicking how neurons transmit signals via ion movement, SWANS could enable smaller, lower-power implants like pacemakers and insulin pumps to coordinate directly with one another. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why is Bluetooth a poor choice for implant-to-implant communication? Bluetooth components can cut an implant's battery life by up to 90 percent when active, and radio signals attenuate heavily once they travel more than about one centimeter through body tissue. Bluetooth also requires antennas at least five millimeters wide, which is too large for implants meant to be injected rather than surgically placed. _Engineers weighing implant connectivity options can follow developments like these through daily.dev._ ### What is SWANS and how does it let implants communicate without radio waves? SWANS, or Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System, is a Georgia Tech-developed method that lets implants send signals through body tissue using ionic conduction, the same mechanism neurons use to shuttle sodium and potassium ions and create voltage differences. Instead of nerves, it uses ordinary body tissue as the conduction medium, avoiding the power and size drawbacks of radio-based systems. _Developers tracking novel bio-integrated networking approaches can follow this research area on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Injectable antenna could safely power deep-tissue medical implants](https://daily.dev/posts/injectable-antenna-could-safely-power-deep-tissue-medical-implants-uf0dlxkzq) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [New therapeutic brain implants defy the need for surgery](https://daily.dev/posts/new-therapeutic-brain-implants-defy-the-need-for-surgery-wlnktjzon) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [This Wireless Brain Implant Is Smaller Than a Grain of Salt](https://daily.dev/posts/this-wireless-brain-implant-is-smaller-than-a-grain-of-salt-pfwoeye8a) · Singularity Hub · 5 upvotes · 0 comments - [Injectable Outlet in the Body Powers Bioelectric Implants](https://daily.dev/posts/injectable-outlet-in-the-body-powers-bioelectric-implants-dmrqogxlm) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Tiny chips hitch a ride on immune cells to sites of inflammation](https://daily.dev/posts/tiny-chips-hitch-a-ride-on-immune-cells-to-sites-of-inflammation-tumjn7lng) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded), [#bluetooth](https://daily.dev/tags/bluetooth) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm"},"datePublished":"2026-09-30T21:34:48.661Z","dateModified":"2026-09-30T21:35:11.255Z","description":"Georgia Tech researchers developed SWANS (Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System), a method for implanted medical devices to communicate through body...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bfad6dc580f69fd6bbb7bee7127497c7?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bfad6dc580f69fd6bbb7bee7127497c7?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Ars Technica","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Ars Technica","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/80883e0e48a34b5ebcf93777016cb3fe","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"embedded,bluetooth","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ars Technica","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A local network of implants uses your body as the wiring"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/a-local-network-of-implants-uses-your-body-as-the-wiring-7hi7uvckm#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is Bluetooth a poor choice for implant-to-implant communication?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Bluetooth components can cut an implant's battery life by up to 90 percent when active, and radio signals attenuate heavily once they travel more than about one centimeter through body tissue. Bluetooth also requires antennas at least five millimeters wide, which is too large for implants meant to be injected rather than surgically placed. Engineers weighing implant connectivity options can follow developments like these through daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is SWANS and how does it let implants communicate without radio waves?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"SWANS, or Smart Wireless Autonomous Networking System, is a Georgia Tech-developed method that lets implants send signals through body tissue using ionic conduction, the same mechanism neurons use to shuttle sodium and potassium ions and create voltage differences. Instead of nerves, it uses ordinary body tissue as the conduction medium, avoiding the power and size drawbacks of radio-based systems. Developers tracking novel bio-integrated networking approaches can follow this research area on daily.dev."}}]} ```