Rotation insensitive implantable wireless power transfer system for medical devices using metamaterial-polarization converter

TL;DR

This paper introduces a wireless power transfer system for medical implants that works efficiently even when rotated, using a special antenna and a metamaterial-polarization converter.

Contribution

The novel use of a metamaterial-polarization converter to improve rotation insensitivity and power transfer efficiency in implantable medical devices.

Findings

The proposed system achieves a 6.94 dB improvement in transmission coefficient in simulations with the metamaterial-polarization converter.

Experimental results show 7.04 dB and 6.76 dB enhancements in transmission coefficient due to the converter integration.

The system maintains compliance with safety regulations regarding electromagnetic exposure.

Abstract

This article introduces an innovative approach for creating a circular polarization (CP) antenna-based rotation-insensitive implantable wireless power transfer (WPT) system for medical devices. The system is constructed to work in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency band of 902–928 MHz. Initially, a flexible, wide-band, and bio-compatible open-ended CP slot antenna is designed within a single-layer human skin tissue model to serve as the receiving (Rx) element. To form the implantable WPT link, a circular patch antenna is also constructed in the free-space to use as a transmitting (Tx) source. Further, a new metamaterial-polarization converter (MTM-PC) structure is developed and incorporated into the proposed system to enhance the power transfer efficiency (PTE). Furthermore, the rotational phenomenon of the Rx implant has been studied to show how the rotation affects the system’s performance. Moreover, a numerical analysis of the specific absorption rate (SAR) is conducted to confirm compliance with safety regulations and prioritize human safety from electromagnetic exposure. Finally, to validate the introduced concept, prototypes of the different elements of the proposed WPT system were fabricated and tested using skin-mimicking gel and porcine tissue. The measured results confirm the feasibility of the introduced approach, exhibiting improved efficiency due to use of the MTM-PC. The amplitude of the transmission coefficient (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$|S_{21}|$$\end{document}|S21|) has improved by 6.94 dB in the simulation, whereas the enhancement of 7.04 dB and 6.76 dB is obtained from the experimental study due to the integration of MTM-PC. As a result, the PTE of the proposed MTM-PC integrated implantable WPT system is increased significantly compared to the system without MTM-PC.

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