High Energy Density, Long Life, Betavoltaic Power Cells for Pacemakers and other Implantable Devices

起搏器是一种小型设备，可以帮助控制异常的心律，称为心律失常，这可能导致 严重的危及生命的情况，包括器官损伤、心脏骤停和死亡。事实上，起搏器 一种非常重要的心律失常治疗选择，2009年植入了1，002，664例，包括225，567例 在美国，年增长率为55.6%。考虑到人口老龄化和心律失常的可能性增加 随着年龄的增长，植入物的数量预计在未来会增加。有两个主要的限制 与目前市售的大多数起搏器相关，两者均与电池相连：可用 寿命和设备体积。典型的起搏器需要每5至7年更换一次， 他们的电化学电池的寿命，这意味着20%的起搏器起搏器是更换设备 其中76%的更换与电池有关。这一限制导致了巨大的成本，高达80，000美元/台 在美国植入以及对患者的健康风险和不便。起搏器体积也是 这对患者和医生来说是一个重要问题。目前的电池构成了传统电池体积的50%以上。 模型虽然起搏器的尺寸随着时间的推移而减小，但目前的足迹在皮肤下仍然可见， 因此，从生活质量的角度来看，不太理想。这个研究项目的目标是开发下一个 通过开发新型织构化硅，用于起搏器和其他医疗植入物的发电电池 碳化物（SiC）β相陶瓷，将为下一代提供更紧凑和更长寿命的电源 植入物.β-淀粉酶是一种微型电源，通过收集β-淀粉酶产生连续的电压和电流， 同位素衰变产生的电子，用半导体将其能量转化为电能 设备. Widetronix的创新是在宽带隙的纹理特征周围嵌入同位素层 半导体由于同位素燃料的极高能量密度，该技术具有 有可能实现比现有起搏器电池高十倍的功率密度， 寿命超过15年。这些特点将导致明确改善病人护理的质量 并且从长远来看，降低了可植入装置在其使用寿命内的成本。过程中 美国国立卫生研究院第一阶段SBIR，Widetronix能够开发出一种方法，用于在 我们的纹理SiC器件的表面，从而实现了一致的β通量的有源区。过程 使我们的β-兴奋剂的能量密度提高了3倍。第二期的发展将集中于 在将SiC器件的纹理化推向其材料极限时， 这些特征，从而允许betavoltaic充分利用通过 变形工艺目标是将有源区密度增加6倍（从2.43 cm 2/cm 2增加到14.58 cm 2/cm 2）， 其能量密度超过了现有的起搏器电池（5.8 kJ/cc）， 我们的医疗植入合作伙伴期望的目标。第二阶段的目标将涉及调查和发展 最大化暴露的β伏打表面积同时最小化器件覆盖区的工艺条件; 有效地增加了器件的纹理化面积

Pacemakers are small devices that help control abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmia, which can lead to serious, life-threatening conditions, including organ damage, cardiac arrest, and death. Indeed, pacemakers are a highly important treatment option for cardiac arrhythmia with 1,002,664 implanted in 2009, including 225,567 in the U.S, growing at an annual rate of 55.6%. Given the aging population and increased likelihood of arrhythmia as a person ages, the number of implants is expected to increase in the future. There are two main limitations associated with the majority of currently marketed pacemakers, both of which are tied to the battery: usable lifetime and device volume. Typical pacemakers need to be replaced every 5 to 7 years due to the specified lifetime of their electro-chemical batteries, meaning 20% of pacemaker implantations are replacement devices and 76% of those replacements are battery related. This constraint results in significant cost, up to $80,000/per implant in the U.S., as well as health risks and inconvenience for the patient. Pacemaker volume is also an important issue for patients and physicians. Current batteries constitute over 50% of the volume of a conventional model. While pacemaker size has reduced over time, the current footprint remains visible under the skin, and hence, less than ideal from a quality of life perspective. The goal of this research project is to develop a next generation battery for pacemakers and other medical implants through the development of novel textured silicon carbide (SiC) betavoltaics that will provide a more compact and long-lived power source for next-generation implants. Betavoltaics are micro power sources that produce continuous voltage and current by harvesting betas, electrons produced from isotope decay, and converting their energy to electrical power with a semiconductor device. Widetronix's innovation is embedding an isotope layer around the textured features of a wide bandgap semiconductor. Because of the extremely high energy density of the isotope fuel, this technology has the potential to achieve power densities ten-fold greater than existing pacemaker batteries with projected operational lifetimes exceeding 15 years. These features will result in definite improvements to the quality of patient care and, in the long term, reduce the cost of the implantable device over its useful lifetime. Over the course of the NIH Phase I SBIR, Widetronix was able to develop a process for securing an isotope layer (metal tritide) on the surface of our textured SiC device, thereby achieving a consistent beta flux over the active area. The process led to a 3x improvement in the energy density of our betavoltaics. The development under the Phase II will focus on pushing the texturing of the SiC device toward its material limit, etching deeper into the SiC while narrowing the features, thereby allowing the betavoltaic to take full advantage of the extra surface area gained through the texturing process. The goal is to increase the active area density by 6x (from 2.43 cm2/cm2 to 14.58 cm2/cm2), resulting in an energy density that surpasses existing pacemaker batteries (5.8 kJ/cc) and moves us closer to our medical implant partners desired goal. The Phase II aims will involve the investigation and development of process conditions that maximize the exposed betavoltaic surface area while minimizing the device footprint; effectively increasing the devices textured area and thereby maximizing energy density