Increasing transmission distance of wireless power links for active implantable medical devices

Cardiovascular diseases, neuronal conditions, and metabolic disorders together cause 22 million deaths each year worldwide.

Fortunately, those conditions can often be addressed through local sensing and treatments using for example active implantable medical systems (AIMDs) or transcutaneous bioelectronic devices.

To be “invisible” to the patients, those devices should have the smallest volume possible, which means they pack only limited data and energy storage, relying on a wireless link to get recharged and to transfer data.

Improvement in this link is urgently needed, as today’s poor transfer distance (few centimeters) leads to discomfort, cognitive overload, induces stress, reduces quality of life, and is associated with several suboptimal treatment outcomes.

Because of this drawback, many medical solutions already validated in the lab cannot be implemented on patients.My aim is to achieve a major advance in the way energy and data are transferred, and to gain an order of magnitude in the wireless transfer distance over existing technologies, through the development of a novel time-modulated magnetic coupling strategy.The approach will consist of: (WP1) developing a “smart Q-modulation”, which operates in a manner similar to regenerative braking systems, where energy is temporary saved when the quality factor of the resonator has to be reduced for data transmission, and later reused to increase the quality factor for power transmission; (WP2) maintaining the system in energy-efficient operation against the body changing environment, and (WP3) guaranteeing a safe operation of the power transfer link.By enabling new wireless scenarios, this project will enable a whole set of new medical devices to reach the market, providing autonomously and imperceptibly operation to the user, thus alleviating their cognitive burden.

The technology will also be transferable to many other applications, such as industrial sensing, reinforcing the European leadership on the field