A high-efficiency ultrasonic power link for implantable medical devices

我们建议开发一种高效的经皮超声链路，为植入式助听器提供动力。这需要结合工程专业知识来开发新技术，以及临床/生理专业知识来实现其在新手术选择方面的潜力，并测试其功能交付能力。目前，植入式听力设备是由一组射频感应线圈供电，通过磁场传输能量。这样的系统有一些严重和基本的限制：感应线圈权衡尺寸和效率，较小的设备效率较低，并且对校准和定位误差相当敏感。对校准误差的高灵敏度迫使使用校准磁铁，这使得不可能对植入的患者进行MRI扫描，而不移除磁铁或接受图像中的大阴影区域。核磁共振扫描是许多疾病的决定性测试，而且很多

We propose to develop a high-efficiency transcutaneous ultrasound link to provide power to implanted hearing devices. This requires a cohesive combination of engineering expertise to develop new technology, and clinical/physiological expertise to realise its potential in terms of new surgical options and to test its ability to deliver functionally. At present, implanted hearing devices are powered with a set of radiofrequency induction coils that transfer power through the magnetic field. Such systems have some serious and fundamental limitations: Induction coils trade off size and efficiency, with smaller devices being less efficient, and are quite sensitive to alignment and positioning errors. The high sensitivity to alignment error forces the use of alignment magnets which make it impossible to perform MRI scans on the implanted patient without either removing the magnet, or accepting large shadow areas in the images. MRI scanning is the definitive test for many disorders, and many