Medical implants are rapidly changing the practice of medicine. Implanted in various parts of the human body, they perform important diagnostic, therapeutic, and prosthetic functions. Although many technical barriers for designing and utilizing implantable devices have been surmounted, there still exist two significant problems: fully-functional medical implants require an electrical energy supply and a data communication link.
Description
A portable, low-cost energy pad has been developed with the purpose of delivering an electric current transcutaneously across the scalp or skin to implantable devices within the human body. A modification of this apparatus can also perform device control and data communication tasks. The energy pad consists of three simple components: a thin coin battery, a dual-use battery holder and circuit board, and a disposable foam pad for attachment to the skin. Included are descriptions of both a fundamental design for general applications and specific designs of two types of energy pads operating on volume conduction and magnetic inductive coupling mechanisms. These specific designs and their modifications can be readily used to send electrical energy to, and establish an information link with, prosthetic, diagnostic, or therapeutic implantable neural devices. This invention provides a simple, effective, and practical solution to power supply and communication barriers that prevent implanted medical devices from being utilized to their full potential.
Applications
· Treatment of neurological diseases such as epilepsy, movement disorders, paralysis, memory failure, spinal cord injuries, vision loss, and hearing loss
· Implants for cancer detection and monitoring
· Drug delivery
· Blood glucose monitoring
· Heart disease
Advantages
· Simpler design and lower cost than existing devices
· Convenient to use and more powerful than existing devices
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7672732B2
