Systems and methods for wirelessly powering or communicating with aseptically packaged devices

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods that may allow wireless powering and / or communication with a sterile packaged electronic device without removing the electronic device from its sterile enclosure, while maintaining the electronic device's sterility. In some implementations, a base station with a power transmitter wirelessly transfers power to a power receiver of an electronic device, eg, using inductive, capacitive, or ultrasonic coupling. A base station or another external device can also be used to wirelessly program or interrogate the electronics. The present invention also discloses a battery charging circuit and a switching circuit for use with the system and method.

Description

technical field [0001] Disclosed herein are systems and methods for wirelessly powering or communicating with aseptically packaged devices. Background technique [0002] The use of electronic devices in surgical or other medical procedures is becoming more and more common. Electronic devices can provide several benefits in this context, but can also present certain challenges. [0003] For example, electronic devices powered by internal batteries often require the battery to be charged before use. However, the battery may be partially or fully drained while the device is sitting on the shelf waiting to be used during surgery. Charging the battery during a medical procedure can undesirably introduce delays and disrupt the flow of the procedure. It is also difficult to charge the battery of the electronic device while maintaining the sterility of the electronic device. Attempts to minimize this problem by equipping electronic devices with higher capacity batteries have res...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The programming step can further drain the battery, exacerbating the above problems

Additionally, in the case of sterile electronic devices, it is difficult to program the device while maintaining its sterility

[0005] As another example, once an electronic device is sterilized and / or packaged in a sterile container, it generally cannot be tested, calibrated, identified, etc. without opening the sterile package

Images