A new wireless power transfer technology that can reduce power loss in implantable medical devices and ease the burden of battery replacement surgery has been developed.
The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) announced Thursday that a research team led by Professor Byun Young-jae of the Department of Electrical Engineering has developed a technology that changes the path of electrical energy transmission according to the power usage state of implantable medical devices.
Implantable devices such as pacemakers contain both circuits that momentarily require large amounts of power and circuits that operate on small amounts of power. The function of stimulating the heart requires significant current, while signal detection and data processing functions can operate with relatively little power. The problem is that conventional wireless charging technology cannot flexibly respond to such changes in operating state. When power is not sufficiently delivered into the device, charging efficiency drops, and the lost power converts to heat, which can place a burden on surrounding tissue.
To address this, the research team determined power consumption levels and applied a "matching circuit" suited to each. A matching circuit is a device that adjusts conditions so that power sent from a transmitting coil outside the body is properly delivered through a receiving coil inside the body to the interior of the medical device. The team installed an electronic switch inside the device so that high-load and low-load circuits are automatically connected according to power consumption.
The research team expects the technology to contribute to enhancing the stability and operating time of implantable medical devices and extending battery replacement cycles. It is also expected to be applicable to wearable devices and ultra-compact Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
