ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the principles of operation of the optical communication systems for sensor data transmission. It presents some technical solutions for the implementations of the optical links. The chapter discusses two applications concerning sensor data communication in prosthetic systems and neural implantable devices. It also presents a description of the digital architectures for the coding and decoding processes of the sensor data and the analogue circuits for the sensor signal conditioning. The complete sensory system must be able to return the most important features of the touched objects such as their shape, size, surface roughness, temperature, consistency, and weight. The chapter also discusses the applications of the optical communications systems for the actuation of prosthetic devices and for the implementation of implantable biotelemetry systems. The understanding of the general methodology to be used for the design and implementation of optical communication links for biotelemetry applications is facilitated by analyzing the transmitter and receiver modules.
