Medical Implants Can Wirelessly Connect To External Power Source

Medical implants that that rely on an external power source like batteries are likely to take a revolutionary leap forward. Engineers at Rice University have come up with a way to deliver a steady source of power to an implant without the need for wires.

A peer-reviewed paper about this topic was published by computer engineer Kaiyuan Yang and colleagues at Rice’ Brown School of Engineering. It won the best paper award at IEEE’s Custom integrated Circuit Conference.

This is especially useful for therapies that require multiple coordinated stimulated implants. A single bio transmitter can be used to to tell its implants located in the spinal cord, when to activate and for how long. It negates the need for wires to run from said transmitter to implant, especially if the transmitter is placed externally on a patient’s body.

Called MagNI or magnetoelectric neural implants, they were developed by Rice University engineers for electrical stimulation in patients with spinal cord injuries. In their lab experiments, they proved that an alternating magnetic field generated and controlled by a battery-powered transmitter could send power and information to implants.

The transmitter was able to do this from a distance of at least 60 millimeters (2.3 inches) away. These tiny implants, which are no bigger than the size and weight of a vitamin, were tested on tissue samples, live hydra vulgaris and in rodents.These devices were able to simulate two separate hydra to contract and activate fluorescent tag in response to electrical signals. They could also trigger a response at controlled amplitudes along a rodent’s sciatic nerve.

“We show it’s possible to program the implants to stimulate in a coordinated pattern,” said Yang. “We synchronize every device, like a symphony. That gives us a lot of degrees of freedom for stimulation treatments, whether it’s for cardiac pacing or for a spinal cord.”

This novel way of powering an implant would eventually render conventional battery powered implants obsolete. Instead of having to replace thier battereis via surgery every few years, Yang’s implants could be powered indefinitely via a transmitter placed on one’s person.

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Image Credit: SECURE AND INTELLIGENT MICRO-SYSTEMS LAB/RICE UNIVERSITY