Rechargeable Implantable Thin-Film Lithium Battery

描述(申请人提供)：电池供电的植入性系统现在被用于广泛的治疗和假肢应用，例如心脏起搏器/除颤器、药物泵，以及最近用于帕金森氏症、止痛和人工耳蜗植入的神经刺激器。对于这些应用中的大多数，目前可用的电池的能量密度和寿命不足以实现完全可植入的系统，并且电池电源必须保持在外部。在拟议计划的第一阶段，我们打算展示一种新的电池技术，即薄膜可充电锂，通过展示一种特定应用的可行性，使完全可植入的系统成为可能：人工耳蜗。这将需要我们证明实现500mWh/cc(3X到4X电流植入式可充电电池)、20年寿命(5X到10X电流电池)、5分钟或10分钟充电能力(现有电池不具备)以及提高安全性(通过使用全固态电池材料，从而消除当前电池中的有毒液体电解液)的可行性。在第一阶段，我们将制造单独的电池单元，并进行测试以展示这些性能能力。在第二阶段，我们将通过将电池堆叠在密封的外壳中来完成电池，并生产足够数量的电池，供一家主要的人工耳蜗制造商进行广泛的内部测试和评估。拟议的商业应用：我们的初始电池将用于人工耳蜗植入物，目前的年销售额约为4.25亿美元，预计将以每年约20%的速度增长。在完成耳蜗示范电池后，我们将继续开发其他植入式神经调节应用，目前的年销售额为16亿美元，预计在10至15年内增长到100亿美元。除了神经调节应用，我们的电池技术将适用于助听器的充电电池，目前估计是一个价值50亿美元的行业。词库术语：植入式医用电源、薄膜电池、锂电池、人工耳蜗体、神经刺激器电源、神经调节性植入体电池、助听器电池。植入式电池供电系统越来越多地被用于治疗一系列神经调节应用，包括人工耳蜗植入、治疗帕金森氏病的神经刺激、震颤、癫痫、慢性抑郁症、慢性疼痛、肥胖症、心绞痛、强迫症，以及植入式药物泵，这些泵将小剂量精确控制的药物直接输送到体内的目标部位。对于许多应用，目前可用的电池的能量密度和寿命不足以实现完全可植入的神经调节系统。FrontEdge Technology(FET)的新型可充电薄膜锂电池NanoEnergy(R)使完全植入式神经调节设备的成功引入成为可能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Battery-powered implantable systems are now being used in a wide array of therapeutic and prosthetic applications such as cardiac pacemakers/defibrillators, drug pumps, and more recently, neurostimulators for Parkinson's, pain relief, and cochlear implants. For most of these applications, the energy-density and life of currently-available batteries is insufficient to enable fully-implantable systems, and the battery power supply must remain external. In Phase I of the proposed program, we intend to demonstrate that a new battery technology, thin-film rechargeable lithium, will enable fully-implantable systems, by demonstrating the feasibility for one particular application: a cochlear implant. This will require that we demonstrate the feasibility of achieving an energy-density of 500mWh/cc (3X to 4X current implantable rechargeable batteries), a 20-year life (5X to 10X current batteries), a 5- or 10-minute recharge capability (not available in current batteries), and improved safety (by using all solid-state battery materials, thereby eliminating the toxic liquid electrolyte in current batteries). In Phase I, we will fabricate individual battery cells and conduct tests to demonstrate these performance capabilities. In Phase II, we will complete the battery by stacking cells within a hermetically- sealed case, and produce a sufficient quantity of batteries for extensive in-house testing and evaluation by a major cochlear-implant manufacturer. Proposed Commercial Applications: Our initial battery will be designed for cochlear implants, which have current annual sales of approximately $ 425 million and expected to grow by approximately 20% annually. Upon completion of the cochlear demonstration battery, we will pursue the 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 rechargeable batteries for hearing aids, currently estimated to be a $5 billion dollar industry. Thesaurus Terms: Implantable medical power source, thin-film battery, lithium battery, cochlear implant, neurostimulator power source, neuromodulation implant battery, hearing aid battery. Implantable battery-powered systems are increasingly being used for treating a wide array of neuromodulation applications including cochlear implants, neurostimulation for treating Parkinson's disease, tremors, epilepsy, chronic depression, chronic pain, obesity, angina, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and implantable drug pumps which deliver small precisely controlled doses of drugs directly to targeted sites in the body. For many applications, the energy-density and life of currently-available batteries is inadequate to enable fully-implantable neuromodulation systems. NanoEnergy(r), Front Edge Technology's (FET) novel, rechargeable, thin-film, lithium battery is enabling technology for the successful introduction of fully implantable neuromodulation devices.