Injected conductive tattoos for powering implants

• US 9,827,430 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2017
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2017
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Von Novak, III, William Henry, Keating, Virginia Walker, Carobolante, Francesco
• Primary Examiner(s): Cavallari, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/423,171
• Time in Patent Office: 299 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0219 of externally powered implanted units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/686 Permanently implanted devices, e.g. pacemakers, other stimulators, biochips A61B5/6861 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/04 implanted
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3523 using telemetric means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8206 battery-operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8243 by induction
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2210/04 Skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/0076 Tattooing apparatus apparatus for marking animals A01K11/00; vaccine applicators having needles or other puncturing means A61B17/205
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/23 The load being a medical device, a medical implant, or a life supporting device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge

Abstract

The present disclosure describes aspects of injected conductive tattoos for powering implants. In some aspects, a system comprises a conductive tattoo used to efficiently transfer power wirelessly received from a transmitter outside a body to an electronic device in the body. The conductive tattoo is formed from a conductive material injected into an outermost permanent layer of the body. The conductive tattoo is configured to wirelessly receive and relay the power from the transmitter to the electronic device. In particular, the conductive tattoo may transfer the power to the electronic device over a coupling between the conductive tattoo and the electronic device.

Claims

1. A system for transferring power wirelessly received from a transmitter located outside a body to an electronic device in the body, the system comprising:

a conductive tattoo formed from a conductive material injected into an outermost permanent layer of the body and configured to wirelessly receive the power from the transmitter and transmit the power via a coupling to the electronic device.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material is injected in a pattern to form the conductive tattoo, the pattern comprising a resonant loop with an inductor and capacitor.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the resonant loop is configured to resonate at a frequency of a field generated by the transmitter.

4. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the resonant loop is configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a transmitter-generated magnetic field and inductively couple with the electronic device using the magnetic field to transmit the power.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material is injected in a pattern to form the conductive tattoo, the pattern comprising a gamma loop resonant structure.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the gamma loop resonant structure comprises a smaller resonant loop with a capacitor, the gamma loop resonant structure further comprising a larger resonant loop formed with a portion of the smaller resonant loop, and the larger resonant loop configured to tune the gamma loop resonant structure to a different impedance for transferring the power.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the smaller resonant loop is configured to match a lower impedance than the larger resonant loop.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material is injected in a loop to form the conductive tattoo, the loop configured to allow current to flow around the loop.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the outermost permanent layer of the body is dermis of the body'"'"'s skin.

10. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an insulating loop formed from insulating ink injected into the body around the conductive tattoo to prevent the conductive material from migrating through the body.

11. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material comprises particles having a size of 13-14 microns.

12. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material is an inorganic conductive material comprising at least one of copper, gold, silver, carbon, or titanium oxide.

13. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive material is injected into the outermost permanent layer of the body using a tattoo machine capable of applying ink tattoos.

14. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the coupling is a wired coupling between the conductive tattoo and the electronic device.

15. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the coupling is a wireless coupling between the conductive tattoo and the electronic device.

16. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive tattoo is visible to a human eye on the body'"'"'s skin.

17. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive tattoo is not visible to a human eye on the body'"'"'s skin.

18. A method for transferring power wirelessly received from a transmitter located outside a body to an electronic device in the body, the method comprising:

receiving, by a conductive tattoo applied within the body'"'"'s skin, the power wirelessly from the transmitter; and

transferring the power from the conductive tattoo to the electronic device.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising operating the electronic device using the transferred power.

20. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising transferring the power via a wireless coupling between the conductive tattoo and the electronic device.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the wireless coupling is formed by generating a magnetic field through which the power is inductively transferred from the conductive tattoo to the electronic device.

22. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising transferring the power via a wired coupling between the conductive tattoo and the electronic device.

23. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising preventing, by an insulating loop applied within the body'"'"'s skin around the conductive tattoo, conductive particles of the conductive tattoo from migrating out of a pattern in which the conductive tattoo is applied.

24. A method for applying a conductive tattoo that transfers power wirelessly received from a transmitter located outside a body to an electronic device in the body, the method comprising:

forming conductive particles from a conductive material;

suspending the conductive particles in a solution to produce a conductive solution;

transferring the conductive solution to a tattoo machine; and

applying the conductive solution into the skin of the body with the tattoo machine in a pattern to form the conductive tattoo, the conductive particles disposed in the pattern enabling the conductive tattoo to receive power transmitted wirelessly from the transmitter and transfer the power to the electronic device.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein:

the conductive solution is transferred to needles of the tattoo machine via capillary action; and

applying the conductive solution with the tattoo machine includes injecting the conductive solution into the skin via the needles.

26. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the conductive solution is injected into at least a dermis of the skin effective to cause one or more biological processes of the body to encase the conductive particles in at least one of fibroblasts or macrophages.

27. The method as recited in claim 24, further comprising applying insulating ink to the skin around the conductive tattoo to form an insulating loop that prevents the conductive particles from migrating out of the pattern, the insulating ink being applied with the tattoo machine or at least one other tattoo machine.

28. A system for transferring power wirelessly transmitted from outside a body to power an implant in the body, the system comprising:

a power-transferring means for transferring the power wirelessly transmitted by a transmitter means outside the body to a power-receiving means in the body, the power-transferring means embedded in a permanent layer of the body; and

one or more implant-function means for carrying out corresponding functionality of the implant in the body using the power transferred to the power-receiving means.

29. The system as recited in claim 28, further comprising a power conversion means for converting the power received from the power-transferring means for use by the one or more implant-function means.

30. The system as recited in claim 28, wherein the power-receiving means is configured to receive the power from the power transferring means over at least one of a wireless coupling or a wired coupling.