Powering Reconfigurable Implantable Medical Devices
ECE William Lincoln Smith Professor Tommaso Melodia received a patent for creating a “Reconfigurable implantable medical system for ultrasonic power control and telemetry.”
Abstract Source: USPTO
A reconfigurable implantable system for ultrasonic power control and telemetry includes a charging device that includes an ultrasonic transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals transmitted through a biological body, and a signal generator to drive the ultrasonic transducer to transmit an ultrasonic charging signal through the biological body. The system further includes an implantable device configured to communicate wirelessly with the charging device through the biological body via an ultrasonic communication link between the implantable device and the charging device. An implantable ultrasonic transducer receives the ultrasonic charging signal from the charging device and transmits ultrasonic signals through the biological body. A power unit coupled to the ultrasonic transducer harvests energy from the received ultrasonic charging signal when the implantable device is in an energy harvesting mode. A communication unit is configured to switch the implantable device between the energy harvesting mode and an ultrasonic communication mode, and to read data from the sensing or actuation unit and transmit the data through the implantable ultrasonic transducer when the implantable device is in the ultrasonic communication mode.
