A Touch Probe Passively Powered Wireless Stent Antenna for Implanted Sensor Powering and Interrogation

Smart stents are capable of wirelessly reporting the degree of restenosis, alerting the patient to the need for a hospital visit before damage due to heart attack, blood clot, or aneurysm can occur. Powering and communicating with novel implanted smart stents remain a challenge.

Description

A skin-contact touch probe antenna can be used to both power and interrogate implanted stents when the stents are configured as antennas. The touch probe confines power within a small area around the implant, reducing the risk of interference with nearby electronics, such as those in an operating room, and other implanted electronics, such as pacemakers. The touch probe method also increases security, reducing the hance of information being mistakenly read from a device without deliberate physical access.

Applications

· Powering and communicating with smart stents

Advantages

· Operate in the near- and mid-field
· No other touch probe powering or communication mechanism for smart stents exist

Invention Readiness

Prototype

IP Status

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20220151493A1