Feasibility Study of a Wireless Power Transfer System Applied to a Left Ventricular Assist Device

Abstract

This study deals with the design of a wireless powering system for a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The proposed system uses the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology based on the magnetic resonant coupling. For this kind of application two main aspects must be taken into account. First, the LVAD is implanted in the heart, so the power must be wirelessly transferred at a significant depth inside the human body. Second, the LVAD requires a much higher power than other active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) and for 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. To this aim an adequate design of the electrogeometrical configuration of the WPT coils is proposed. A feasibility study is therefore carried out to define possible solutions for WPT application to an LVAD.