Ultrasonic wireless charging for implantable devices
Researchers in Korea have developed a biocompatible wireless charging system for next-generation wearable and implantable electronic devices.
The flexible ultrasonic receiver maintains its performance even when bent and overcomes many of the limitations of existing wireless power transmission methods while improving biocompatibility,
The team led by Dr. Sunghoon Hur of the Electronic and Hybrid Materials Research Centre at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Professor Hyun-Cheol Song of Korea University demonstrated wireless charging of batteries by receiving ultrasonic waves, which is an important step toward commercializing the technology.
The design dramatically improves the power conversion efficiency compared to conventional ultrasonic receivers by using high-efficiency piezoelectric materials and a unique structural design. By designing a stretchable and biocompatible ultrasonic receiver that conforms closely to the curves of the human body while achieving stable power conversion, they were able to transmit 20 mW of power at a distance of 3 cm underwater and 7 mW at a depth of 3 cm from the skin. This is enough power to continuously power low-power wearable devices or implantable medical devices.
The 5 cm × 5 cm TENG triboelectric generator uses a popular commercial polymer in the biopharmaceutical industry, acrylic or poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for the substrate with a mixture of a polarized ferroelectric polymer and dielectric particles, polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene, and calcium copper titanate (P(VDF-TrFE)pol/CCTO) to enhance charge density generation of the triboelectric layer.
This composite film was covered with a tribopositive layer of polyurethane (PU) to further increase electric charge production. The components were assembled and made electrically conductive using double-sided adhesive electrode tape to attach the PU-coated (P(VDF-TrFE)pol/CCTO) layer to the acrylic substrate and encapsulated in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) solution for waterproofing.
The resulting wireless charging system can provide continuous power to low-power medical devices such as implantable pacemakers, neurostimulators, and wearable sensors. It is also expected to be applied not only to medical devices, but also to underwater drones and marine sensors that require long-term power supply.
“Through this research, we have demonstrated that wireless power transmission technology using ultrasound can be applied practically,” said Sunghoon Hur at KIST. “We plan to conduct further research for miniaturization and commercialization to accelerate the practical application of the technology.”
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