COPLANAR ENERGY TRANSFER

• US 20130043736A1
• Filed: 08/17/2012
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Leviticus Cardio Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Leviticus Cardio Ltd.
• Inventors: Zilbershlag, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,343,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/104
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8243 by induction
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/148 in line with a blood vessel using resection or like techniques, e.g. permanent endovascular heart assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/178 drawing blood from a ventricle and returning the blood to the arterial system via a cannula external to the ventricle, e.g. left or right ventricular assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/873 specially adapted for wireless or transcutaneous energy transfer [TET], e.g. inductive charging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37229 Shape or location of the implanted or external antenna
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10

Abstract

An external transmitter inductive coil can be provided in, on, or with a belt designed to be placed externally around a part of a body of a patient. An implantable device (such as a VAD or other medical device) that is implanted within the patient'"'"'s body has associated with a receiver inductive coil that gets implanted within that part of the patient'"'"'s body along with the device. The externally-located transmitter inductive coil inductively transfers electromagnetic power into that part of the body and thus to the receiver inductive coil. The implanted receiver inductive coil thus wirelessly receives the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power, and operates the implant.

Claims

1. A system for wirelessly powering an implantable ventricular assist device (VAD), comprising:

a transceiver inductive coil configured to be disposed externally around a part of a body of a patient within which the VAD is implanted and to inductively transfer electromagnetic power into that part of the body; and

a receiver inductive coil associated with the VAD and configured to be implanted within that part of the patient'"'"'s body along with the VAD to wirelessly receive the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power and provide that received power to the VAD.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one capacitor is associated with the transceiver inductive coil to form a transceiver resonance structure.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one capacitor is associated with the receiver inductive coil to form a receiver resonance structure.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a DC-to-DC converter configured to be implanted within the patient'"'"'s body along with the receiver inductive coil and the VAD.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the DC-to-DC converter automatically adjusts to provide a substantially constant and optimum load to the receiver inductive coil.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the DC-to-DC converter is located between a motor of the VAD and the receiver inductive coil.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver inductive coil uses a coil of the VAD to adjust to an ideal working point of the receiver inductive coil.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver inductive coil is disposed in the pericardium and under the heart of the patient.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver inductive coil is disposed in the pleural cavity of the patient.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second receiver inductive coil and wherein one of the receiver inductive coils is disposed in a left pleural cavity of the patient and the other receiver inductive coil is disposed in a right pleural cavity of the patient.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second receiver inductive coil and wherein the two receiver inductive coils are coupled in series and function together as a single receiver inductive coil.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver inductive coil comprises a stent and wherein the stent is disposed in the aorta of the patient.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising a circuit associated with the receiver inductive coil and wherein the circuit detects the resonance frequency of the receiver inductive coil and locks the resonance frequency of the transmitter inductive coil to the resonance frequency of the receiver inductive coil.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising a circuit associated with the transmitter inductive coil and wherein the circuit compensates and keeps the resonance frequency of the transmitter inductive coil locked to the resonance frequency of the receiver inductive coil when the shape and thus the impedance of the transmitter inductive coil changes.

15. A system for wirelessly powering an implantable device, comprising:

a transmitter inductive coil configured to be disposed externally around a part of a body of a patient within which the implantable device is implanted and to inductively transfer electromagnetic power into that part of the body; and

a receiver inductive coil associated with the implantable device and configured to be implanted within that part of the patient'"'"'s body along with the implantable device to wirelessly receive the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power and provide that received power to the implanted implantable device.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein at least a portion of the implanted receiver inductive coil is disposed within an imaginary plane that passes through the part of the patient'"'"'s body and that is defined by the external transmitter inductive coil.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the entirety of the implanted receiver inductive coil is disposed with the imaginary plane.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the patient is a human or an animal.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the implantable device is a medical device.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the medical device is a blood pump.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the medical device is a ventricular assist device (VAD).

22. The system of claim 15 wherein the transmitter inductive coil is associated with a belt that is configured to be disposed externally around the part of the patient'"'"'s body within which the implantable device and the associated receiver inductive are implanted.

23. The system of claim 15 wherein the transmitter inductive coil comprises one or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the transmitter inductive coil comprises two or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

25. The system of claim 15 wherein the receiver inductive coil comprises one or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the receiver inductive coil comprises two or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

27. The system of claim 15 wherein the part of the patient'"'"'s body is an arm, a leg, a torso, or a head.

28. A transmitter inductive coil configured to be disposed externally around a part of a body of a patient within which a wirelessly-powerable implantable medical device is implanted and to inductively transfer electromagnetic power into that part of the body, the implantable medical device including a receiver inductive coil associated therewith and the implantable medical device together with the associated receiver inductive coil configured to be implanted within that part of the patient'"'"'s body to allow the implanted receiver inductive coil to wirelessly receive the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power and provide that received power to the implanted implantable medical device.

29. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 28 wherein the external transmitter inductive coil defines an imaginary plane that passes through the part of the patient'"'"'s body and that also passes through at least a portion of the implanted receiver inductive coil.

30. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 29 wherein the entirety of the implanted receiver inductive coil is disposed with the imaginary plane.

31. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 28 wherein the patient is a human or an animal.

32. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 28 wherein the external transmitter inductive coil comprises a belt that is configured to be disposed externally around the part of the patient'"'"'s body within which the implantable medical device and the associated receiver inductive are implanted.

33. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 28 wherein the external transmitter inductive coil comprises one or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

34. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 33 wherein the external transmitter inductive coil comprises two or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

35. The transmitter inductive coil of claim 28 wherein the part of the patient'"'"'s body is an arm, a leg, a torso, or a head.

36. A receiver inductive coil associated with a wirelessly-powerable implantable medical device and configured to be implanted within a part of a body of a patient along with the implantable medical device to wirelessly receive inductively-transferred electromagnetic power from external to the part of the patient'"'"'s body and provide that received power to the implanted implantable medical device, the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power being transmitted by a transmitter inductive coil configured to be disposed externally around the part of the patient'"'"'s body within which the implantable device and its associated receiver inductive coil are implanted.

37. The receiver inductive coil of claim 36 wherein at least a portion of the implanted receiver inductive coil is disposed within an imaginary plane that passes through the part of the patient'"'"'s body and that is defined by the external transmitter inductive coil.

38. The receiver inductive coil of claim 37 wherein the entirety of the implanted receiver inductive coil is disposed with the imaginary plane.

39. The receiver inductive coil of claim 36 wherein the patient is a human or an animal.

40. The receiver inductive coil of claim 36 wherein the receiver inductive coil comprises one or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

41. The receiver inductive coil of claim 40 wherein the receiver inductive coil comprises two or more turns of electrically-conductive wire.

42. The receiver inductive coil of claim 36 wherein the part of the patient'"'"'s body is an arm, a leg, a torso, or a head.

43. A method of wirelessly powering an implantable device, comprising:

disposing a transmitter inductive coil externally around a part of a body of a patient within which the implantable device is implanted; and

inductively transferring electromagnetic power from the transmitter inductive coil into that part of the body, a receiver inductive coil associated with the implantable device being implanted within that part of the patient'"'"'s body along with the implantable device to wirelessly receive the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power and provide that received power to the implanted implantable device.

44. A method of wirelessly powering an implantable device, comprising:

disposing a receiver inductive coil associated with the implantable device within a part of a body of a patient;

disposing a transmitter inductive coil externally around that part of the patient'"'"'s body; and

inductively transferring electromagnetic power from the transmitter inductive coil into that part of the body such that the receiver inductive coil wirelessly receives the inductively-transferred electromagnetic power and that received power to the implanted implantable device.