Wireless power transmission for implantable medical devices

• US 8,634,928 B1
• Filed: 06/16/2009
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Poon, Ada Shuk Yan, Meng, Teresa H., O'Driscoll, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Manuel, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEVICKY, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US12/485,641
• Time in Patent Office: 1,680 Days
• Field of Search: 607/33, 607/61, 607/60
• US Class Current: 607/61
• 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

Abstract

Described is an apparatus and method for increasing a gain of a transmitted power signal in a wireless link when operating in a mid field wavelength that is within a range between wavelength/100 to 100*wavelength and within a medium having a complex impedance between a transmit antenna and a receive antenna. The apparatus and method maximize the gain in the wireless link using simultaneous conjugate matching, to increase power transfer within the transmitted power signal, wherein the simultaneous conjugate matching accounts for interaction between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna, including the complex impedance of the medium between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless power transmission within an environment of unknown transmission characteristics comprising:

a wireless power transmitter, the wireless power transmitter including;

an adaptive match transmit circuit with a tunable impedance, which supplies a tunable impedance to a power signal having a frequency of at least 0.5 GHZ; and

a wireless transmitter; and

a wireless power receiver, the wireless power receiver including;

multiple receive antennas configured to receive the transmitted power signal as a received power signal to maximize power transfer efficiency;

an adaptive match receive circuit, wherein the adaptive match receive circuit receives the received power signal, and is configured to match the tunable impedance, in dependence upon the environment of unknown transmission characteristics, to thereby increase a gain of the received power signal,

wherein the wireless power transmitter and the wireless power receiver are disposed a distance apart that ranges between wavelength/100 to wavelength*100.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the adaptive match receive circuit provides a feedback signal to the adaptive match transmit circuit, wherein the feedback signal provides an indication of a gain of the power signal as received at the wireless power transmitter for a particular tuned impedance.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the wireless power transmitter includes a beam forming mechanism.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 further including:

an implant, wherein the wireless power receiver is attached to the implant

a battery-less medical device attached to the implant; and

a rectifier attached to the implant and electrically coupled between the wireless power receiver and the battery-less medical device, the rectifier creating a direct current from the power signal, which direct current powers the battery-less medical device.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 further including a regulator disposed between the rectifier and the battery-less medical device, the regulator providing a regulated output power signal to the battery-less medical device.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4 further including an implicit feedback mechanism in which an external device senses presence of the implant to adapt to changing location of the implant, without requiring explicit feedback of information.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the implicit feedback mechanism is a transceiver locator.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the transceiver locator operates using a detected backscattered signal and provides a location estimate as an output.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4 further including a data link that remotely programs the medical device and which retrieves information from the medical device, the data link including an external transceiver and an internal transceiver.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the data link supports two-way encryption.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further including:

an implant, wherein the wireless power receiver is attached to the implant

a medical device attached to the implant; and

a rectifier attached to the implant and electrically coupled between the wireless power receiver and the battery-less medical device, the rectifier creating a direct current from the power signal, which direct current powers the medical device.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 further including a data link that remotely programs the medical device and which retrieves information from the medical device, the data link including an external transceiver and an internal transceiver.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the data link supports two-way encryption.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 further including a battery for operation of the medical device, and wherein the data link does not use any power from the battery, but only the direct current from the rectifier.