Wireless powering efficiency of deep-body implantable devices

Abstract

The wireless power transfer efficiency to implanted bioelectronic devices is constrained by several frequency-dependent physical mechanisms. Recent works have developed several mathematical formulations to understand these mechanisms and predict the optimal operating conditions. However, existing approaches rely on simplified body models, which are unable to capture important aspects of wireless power transfer. Therefore, this paper proposes the efficiency analysis approach in anatomical models that can provide insightful information on achieving the optimum operation conditions. First, this approach is validated with a theoretical spherical wave expansion analysis, and the results for a simplified spherical model and a human pectoral model are compared. The results show that although a magnetic receiver outperforms an electric one for near-field operation and both sources could be equally employed in far-field range, it is in mid-field that the maximum efficiency is achieved with an optimum frequency between 1-5 GHz depending on the implantation depth. The receiver orientation is another factor that affects the efficiency, with a maximum difference between the best and worst-case scenarios around five times for the electric source and over 13 times for the magnetic one. This approach is used to analyze the case of a deep-implanted pacemaker wirelessly powered by an on-body transmitter and subjected to stochastic misalignments. We evaluate the efficiency and exposure, and we demonstrate how a buffered transmitter can be tailored to achieve maximum powering efficiency. Finally, design guidelines that lead to optimal implantable wireless power transfer systems are established from the results obtained with the proposed approach.