Power Approaches for Implantable Medical Devices

Abstract

Implantable medical devices have been implemented to provide treatment and to assess in vivo physiological information in humans as well as animal models for medical diagnosis and prognosis, therapeutic applications and biological science studies. The advances of micro/nanotechnology dovetailed with novel biomaterials have further enhanced biocompatibility, sensitivity, longevity and reliability in newly-emerged low-cost and compact devices. Close-loop systems with both sensing and treatment functions have also been developed to provide point-of-care and personalized medicine. Nevertheless, one of the remaining challenges is whether power can be supplied sufficiently and continuously for the operation of the entire system. This issue is becoming more and more critical to the increasing need of power for wireless communication in implanted devices towards the future healthcare infrastructure, namely mobile health (m-Health). In this review paper, methodologies to transfer and harvest energy in implantable medical devices are introduced and discussed to highlight the uses and significances of various potential power sources.

Fiber‐Based Thermoelectric Generators: Materials, Device Structures, Fabrication, Characterization, and Applications

“…[181] In a common vehicle, more than two-thirds of the energy produced from gasoline is expended as waste heat and is discharged by the exhaust gas and cooling system, which is approximately tens of kilowatts of heat losses. [189] One challenge for the development of IMDs is that its batteries, the energy source of the device, may exceed their lifespan after long-term usage. [171] A challenge for the utilization of FTEGs on exhaust pipes is the polymer stability, because the temperature of exhaust gas in a vehicle can reach as high as 500 °C.…”

A Computational Study on the Magnetic Resonance Coupling Technique for Wireless Power Transfer

“…It has been over 180 years since Michael Faraday figured out that power can be exchanged by magnetic induction through the air [5]. In 1914, Tesla first reported about the wireless power and transferring of data based on the magnetic coupling of two loops.…”

Simultaneous wireless power transfer and data communication using synchronous pulse-controlled load modulation

“…With an advanced concept of strongly coupled magnetic resonances, which was proposed in 2007[1, 2], the WPT has become a promising method to address the problem of power delivery in highly constrained environment. One of the most popular application areas of WPT is wirelessly powering biosensors or implants within the bodies of humans or animals [3–5]. The non-invasive solution has attracted a great deal of attention in diverse applications, such as electric stimulators for muscles and neural tissues, endoscopic capsules, cardiac pacemakers, and cochlear implants [6–14].…”

“…One additional challenge associated with medical implants is the transmission of data acquired by these devices to the outside of the biological body[4, 5]. The methods of data transmission usually involve an independent wireless data link.…”