{"title":"Powering Smart Wireless Implantable Medical Devices: Toward an internet of self-powered intra-body things","authors":"Raffaele Guida , Tommaso Melodia","doi":"10.1016/j.adhoc.2024.103748","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A new generation of miniaturized, less invasive, and Smart Wireless Implantable Medical Devices (SW-IMDs), designed for real-time monitoring of biomarkers and with real-time system reconfiguration can now be realized thanks to advances in low-power electronics, sensing, wireless communications, and materials. However, the need for long-term and reliable power supply, together with the need to support innovative functions, impose new powering requirements that cannot be satisfied by traditional batteries. Batteries have in fact a major impact on the size and lifetime of the implant, and often need to be replaced every 5–10 years through a surgical procedure, causing discomfort and risks for the patient.</div><div>This article provides a broad overview of the two main approaches to powering for future medical implants, namely <em>remote energy transfer</em> and <em>energy harvesting</em>. We describe the underlying physical principles that regulate the energy transfer processes and the energy conversion mechanisms used to transform the energy produced by human or environmental sources into electrical energy. We also offer an extended overview of state-of-the-art technologies, leading remote powering methods, harvesters and scavengers. Some of the most recent prototypes and clinically available devices are briefly described as well. For each technology, we discuss advantages and drawbacks; as well as safety exposure limits to the radiating sources. Finally, we outline a number of open research challenges that need to be overcome to enable a new generation of self-powered implantable medical devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55555,"journal":{"name":"Ad Hoc Networks","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 103748"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ad Hoc Networks","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570870524003597","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A new generation of miniaturized, less invasive, and Smart Wireless Implantable Medical Devices (SW-IMDs), designed for real-time monitoring of biomarkers and with real-time system reconfiguration can now be realized thanks to advances in low-power electronics, sensing, wireless communications, and materials. However, the need for long-term and reliable power supply, together with the need to support innovative functions, impose new powering requirements that cannot be satisfied by traditional batteries. Batteries have in fact a major impact on the size and lifetime of the implant, and often need to be replaced every 5–10 years through a surgical procedure, causing discomfort and risks for the patient.
This article provides a broad overview of the two main approaches to powering for future medical implants, namely remote energy transfer and energy harvesting. We describe the underlying physical principles that regulate the energy transfer processes and the energy conversion mechanisms used to transform the energy produced by human or environmental sources into electrical energy. We also offer an extended overview of state-of-the-art technologies, leading remote powering methods, harvesters and scavengers. Some of the most recent prototypes and clinically available devices are briefly described as well. For each technology, we discuss advantages and drawbacks; as well as safety exposure limits to the radiating sources. Finally, we outline a number of open research challenges that need to be overcome to enable a new generation of self-powered implantable medical devices.
期刊介绍:
The Ad Hoc Networks is an international and archival journal providing a publication vehicle for complete coverage of all topics of interest to those involved in ad hoc and sensor networking areas. The Ad Hoc Networks considers original, high quality and unpublished contributions addressing all aspects of ad hoc and sensor networks. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
Mobile and Wireless Ad Hoc Networks
Sensor Networks
Wireless Local and Personal Area Networks
Home Networks
Ad Hoc Networks of Autonomous Intelligent Systems
Novel Architectures for Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks
Self-organizing Network Architectures and Protocols
Transport Layer Protocols
Routing protocols (unicast, multicast, geocast, etc.)
Media Access Control Techniques
Error Control Schemes
Power-Aware, Low-Power and Energy-Efficient Designs
Synchronization and Scheduling Issues
Mobility Management
Mobility-Tolerant Communication Protocols
Location Tracking and Location-based Services
Resource and Information Management
Security and Fault-Tolerance Issues
Hardware and Software Platforms, Systems, and Testbeds
Experimental and Prototype Results
Quality-of-Service Issues
Cross-Layer Interactions
Scalability Issues
Performance Analysis and Simulation of Protocols.