Release date: 2014-05-26
Signal reading sensors and electronic devices are implanted in the human body. This scene was previously only seen in science fiction films. However, with the two major technical barriers in the field of human-computer interaction – critical breakthroughs in battery and charging – this scenario is a step closer to our real life.
The Stanford Research Institute has developed a new technology that can wirelessly charge medical devices implanted in the human body. This technology enables the charging of medical electronic devices that are only grain-sized, allowing them to be implanted more deeply into the body, providing long-lasting access to electrical energy and even “working†without the need for batteries. Just charge the device with the power supply close to the skin. The research results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A new generation of smartphones and wearable technologies, despite continuous innovation and development, medical devices implanted in the human body (such as pacemakers and embedded neurotransmitters) have long encountered the same "difficulties": not only bulky The cumbersome battery, and the charging method is also an insurmountable threshold.
In the case of medical devices, charging by means of a power cord is not desirable. This means that larger, less powerful medical devices need to maintain a close connection with the skin to charge. In addition, if the battery in the medical device suddenly fails for several years, the patient also needs to replace the battery with a surgical procedure that is traumatic and at risk.
Ana Poon, a researcher at Stanford University, said their research team used an innovative approach that combines near-field and far-field electromagnetic wave functions to make electromagnetic waves It spreads through the skin to a deeper part of the body and is not absorbed, destroyed and reflected by human tissue during this process.
Near-field electromagnetic waves have been used in some medical devices (such as hearing aids) to play the role of energy supply, while far-field electromagnetic waves are mainly used for long-distance propagation, such as wireless broadcasting.
On the basis of years of painstaking research, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Anda Pan, developed a technology called “mid-field†wireless transmission by expanding the range of medical devices and use cases implanted in the human body. . The equipment used by Anda Pan can produce a unique near-field wave that changes its "characteristics" as it enters the skin through the air. She experimented with the device on animals. During the experiment, this device provides energy for medical devices implanted in animals.
Anda Pan said in a statement: "We need to make the equipment implanted in the human body as small as possible so that they can be implanted more easily, providing patients with a new way to treat diseases and relieve pain. ."
During the Anda Pan experiment, the power consumption is small, and only the heart pacemaker can directly charge wirelessly through the skin through a credit card-sized power supply. However, as technology advances, these tiny devices will be implanted together with micro-power supplies and recharged via "mid-field" wireless transmission.
Of course, consumers will not use this device now, and this technology is still used in research. However, the breakthrough research results of Anda Pan will have a profound impact on the key technologies of human medical device transplantation.
"In order to make electromagnetic waves more practical, the equipment must be extremely small, and wireless charging method can be used to implant deep in the brain, which is far away from the surface of human skin." William Newt, Dean of the Institute of Neuroscience, Stanford University William Newsome said. Newham did not participate in the project research of Anda Pan, but he is familiar with the latter's work.
Newsom expects that the use of such devices in certain areas will be more useful than drugs in the future, especially in brain implants, where stimulation in certain areas is certainly preferable to stimulation of the entire brain.
He said: "Anda Pan Lab has solved the key issues in the safe charging of portable micro-devices and laid the foundation for future innovation in this field."
However, beyond the medical equipment, applying this technology to other aspects is not a daydream. For example, by implanting such devices "comfortably" into the human body, it is possible to collect biological data from the human body and even visually perceive our feelings. Anda Pan's breakthrough results in the battery field will lay an important foundation for the future application of such technologies.
Anda Panhe and her research team are preparing to test a less-powered pacemaker on the body. However, if we want to see commercial equipment that uses "midfield" wireless transmission technology, we may have to wait a few more years.
Source: Tencent Digital
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