Power Approaches for Implantable Medical Devices.

Achraf Amar,Ammar Kouki,Hung Cao

doi:10.3390/s151128889

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.

Highlights

In the past few decades, we have witnessed tremendous development in electronics, micro- and nano-fabrication, and wireless technology which have greatly enhanced the quality and efficacy of healthcare as well as life-science research [1,2,3,4]. These innovations dovetailed with advanced biomaterials have enabled miniaturized sensors and biocompatible devices that could be implanted in vivo in humans and animal models, allowing diagnosis, prognosis and biological investigations [5,6,7]
The devices need to be inserted to stay safely and securely in the body for a period of time; a new expectation is raised for Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) that the implant needs to be able to communicate with external units for real-time tracking and sensing, diagnosis and treatment
The limited lifespan and biocompatibility are the most serious issues with all power approaches used in IMDs

Summary

Introduction

In the past few decades, we have witnessed tremendous development in electronics, micro- and nano-fabrication, and wireless technology which have greatly enhanced the quality and efficacy of healthcare as well as life-science research [1,2,3,4]. These innovations dovetailed with advanced biomaterials have enabled miniaturized sensors and biocompatible devices that could be implanted in vivo in humans and animal models, allowing diagnosis, prognosis and biological investigations [5,6,7]. According to statistics from a decade ago, there were about three million people around the world with pacemakers and each year 600,000 more pacemakers were being implanted

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion