New Wireless Technology to Enable Better Smaller Medical Implants
A new wireless charging technology, developed by researchers at Stanford University, is promising to make more advanced and effective electrical medical implant devices. Many implant devices run on electricity, like pacemakers and nerve stimulators, but the current models depend on large batteries that eventually need to be replaced.
A new wireless charging technology, developed by researchers at Stanford University, is promising to make more advanced and effective electrical medical implant devices.
Many implant devices run on electricity, like pacemakers and nerve stimulators, but the current models depend on large batteries that eventually need to be replaced.
William Newsome, director of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute, is quoted as saying: “To make electroceuticals practical, devices must be miniaturized, and ways must be found to power them wirelessly, deep in the brain, many centimeters from the surface.”
Some medical devices already charge their batteries using near-field electromagnetic waves, but researcher Ada Poon and her team have come up with what they call mid-field wireless transfer to keep smaller batteries charged.
The same team has already developed a miniature pacemaker without a battery that is charged by a power supply held over the skin, but the new method will allow for smaller devices with tiny batteries to be implanted deeper into the body.
Other possible uses include deep brain stimulation, implanted sensors that can keep track of vital bodily functions, and drug delivery systems that target specific parts of the body.
The technology has already been successfully tested on a rabbit and a pig, and the researchers are getting ready to begin human testing.
A new wireless charging technology, developed by researchers at Stanford University, is promising to make more advanced and effective electrical medical implant devices.
Many implant devices run on electricity, like pacemakers and nerve stimulators, but the current models depend on large batteries that eventually need to be replaced.
William Newsome, director of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute, is quoted as saying: “To make electroceuticals practical, devices must be miniaturized, and ways must be found to power them wirelessly, deep in the brain, many centimeters from the surface.”
Some medical devices already charge their batteries using near-field electromagnetic waves, but researcher Ada Poon and her team have come up with what they call mid-field wireless transfer to keep smaller batteries charged.
The same team has already developed a miniature pacemaker without a battery that is charged by a power supply held over the skin, but the new method will allow for smaller devices with tiny batteries to be implanted deeper into the body.
Other possible uses include deep brain stimulation, implanted sensors that can keep track of vital bodily functions, and drug delivery systems that target specific parts of the body.
The technology has already been successfully tested on a rabbit and a pig, and the researchers are getting ready to begin human testing.