Development of Rechargeable Batteries for BTE Cochlear Devices

描述（由申请人提供）：多年来，耳蜗设备主要由锌空气助听器电池供电。然而，考虑到更换和处理不可充电的锌空气电池带来的不便、成本和环境影响，耳蜗行业最近推出了可充电锂离子电池供电的耳蜗设备。虽然锂离子电池比不可充电的锌空气电池有优势，但它不能满足最新和下一代耳后（BTE）人工耳蜗的苛刻要求。当使用锂离子供电时，这些设备需要经常充电（通常每天不止一次），并且电池需要每年更换一次（平均电池寿命只有一年）。目前，人工耳蜗行业正在寻求一种能量密度更高的电池（约300 Wh/L），其充电能力足以为下一代人工耳蜗供电1-3天，无需充电，充电时间为5 - 10分钟，使用寿命至少为5年。FET向NIH提交此申请，以开发满足这些要求的120毫安时可充电BTE耳蜗电池。它将基于FET的高能量密度纳米能量(R)薄膜电池技术。在第一阶段，我们将制造单个电池和模块（5个电池堆叠），并进行测试以展示其性能。在第二阶段，我们将通过堆叠模块来完成电池，并将生产足够数量的电池，供我们的合作伙伴——一家主要的耳蜗设备制造商——进行广泛的内部测试和评估。拟议的商业应用：我们最初的电池将设计用于BTE耳蜗设备，该设备目前的年销售额约为4.25亿美元，预计每年将增长约20%。在完成人工耳蜗示范电池后，我们将继续研究其他植入式神经调节应用，这些应用目前的年销售额为16亿美元，预计在10到15年内将增长到100亿美元。除了神经调节应用，我们的电池技术将适用于开发助听器的可充电电池，目前估计这是一个价值50亿美元的产业。医疗器械电源，薄膜电池，锂电池，人工耳蜗，神经刺激器电源，神经调节电池，助听器电池。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): For many years cochlear devices were primarily powered by zinc-air hearing-aid batteries. However, given the inconvenience, cost and environmental impact due to the replacement and disposal of non-rechargeable zinc-air batteries, the cochlear industry recently introduced rechargeable Li-ion battery powered cochlear devices. While Li-ion battery provides advantages over non-rechargeable zinc-air battery, it is not capable of meeting the demanding requirements of the newest and next generation Behind-the-Ear (BTE) cochlear implants. When powered with Li-ion, these devices would need to be frequently recharged (often more than once a day) and the battery would need to be replaced every year (average battery life of only one year). The cochlear industry is seeking a higher energy density battery (>300 Wh/L) with sufficient charge to power the next generation cochlear device for 1-3 days without recharging, with recharge capability in 5 to 10 minutes and with at least a five year life. FET submits this application to NIH for to develop a 120-mAh rechargeable BTE cochlear battery that will meet these requirements. It will be based on FET's high energy density NanoEnergy(R) thin-film battery technology. In Phase I, we will fabricate individual battery cells and modules (stack of 5 cells) and conduct tests to demonstrate their performance. In Phase II, we will complete the battery by stacking modules and will produce a sufficient quantity of batteries for extensive in-house testing and evaluation by our partner in this effort - a major cochlear device manufacturer. Proposed Commercial Applications: Our initial battery will be designed for BTE cochlear devices, which generate current annual sales of approximately $ 425 million and expected to grow by approximately 20 percent annually. Upon completion of the cochlear demonstration battery, we will pursue other implantable neuromodulation applications, which have current annual sales of $1.6 billion and expected to grow to $10 billion in 10 to 15 years. In addition to neuromodulation applications, our battery technology will be suitable for developing rechargeable batteries for hearing aids, currently estimated to be a $5 billion dollar industry. Thesaurus Terms: Medical device power source, thin-film battery, lithium battery, cochlear implant, neurostimulator power source, neuromodulation battery, hearing aid battery. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The energy-density and life of currently-available rechargeable batteries are inadequate to meet the challenging power requirements of next generation cochlear implants, hearing aids and neuromodulation systems. NanoEnergy(R), Front Edge Technology's (FET) rechargeable, thin-film, lithium battery technology is enabling technology for meeting these demanding power requirement.