Self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation and use method

Abstract

The invention discloses a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation and a use method. The device comprises an intelligent terminal and a flexible electrical stimulation patch, and the flexible electrical stimulation patch is in Bluetooth connection with the intelligent terminal. The flexible electrical stimulation patch sequentially comprises an electrical stimulation electrode, a control module, a top package and a self-driving assembly from bottom to top. The control module is connected with the self-driving assembly and the electrical stimulation electrode through a connector. And the top packaging adopts a flexible material to carry out waterproof packaging on the control module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of transcutaneous electrical stimulation, and in particular to a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation and a method of use. Background Art

[0002] Electrical stimulation therapy is a modern medical physical therapy based on electronic power engineering and human biology. It has been widely used in sports rehabilitation, tissue regeneration engineering, and the treatment of nervous system injuries. However, traditional electrical stimulation devices are bulky and fixed in position, making continuous electrical stimulation therapy impossible. At the same time, the sensing or stimulation electrodes are often rigid and difficult to deform, resulting in severe mechanical mismatch at the bioelectronic interface. In recent years, continuous advances in engineering design, materials science, and manufacturing technology have greatly promoted the rapid development of wearable medical electronic technology. Among them, wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation devices have received widespread attention due to their advantages such as being non-invasive, simple, and convenient.

[0003] At the same time, with the development of new materials and nanotechnology, the power generation efficiency and stability of flexible self-driving technology based on moisture power generation are constantly improving, providing a new power supply solution for portable devices and injecting new driving force into the portability, environmental protection and flexibility of wearable devices. Flexible self-driving devices based on moisture power generation have many advantages. They can avoid the use of risky materials such as heavy metals in conventional batteries and show broad application potential in safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable energy utilization. Integrating technologies such as wireless communication, self-driving and flexible circuit design, the self-driven flexible wireless transcutaneous electrical stimulation device has ideal bending and stretching properties, and has the advantages of no external power supply, wireless communication, flexible adhesion, and easy operation. With a low-power design, it can achieve long-term, uninterrupted continuous electrical stimulation treatment. Help users get rid of the trouble of needing to connect to a power source or frequently charge the device during use. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation and a method of use, wherein the device comprises: a smart terminal and a flexible electrical stimulation patch;

[0005] The flexible electrical stimulation patch is connected to the smart terminal via Bluetooth;

[0006] The flexible electrical stimulation patch comprises, from bottom to top, an electrical stimulation electrode, a control module, a top package and a self-driving component; the control module is connected to the self-driving component and the electrical stimulation electrode respectively through a connector; the top package uses flexible materials to waterproof the control module.

[0007] Optionally, the control module is installed below the top package, and the control module includes a base layer, a Bluetooth module, a microcontroller, an energy management module and a waveform generating circuit; the Bluetooth module, microcontroller, energy management module and waveform generating circuit are arranged on the control module.

[0008] Optionally, the waveform generating circuit includes a voltage boosting and stabilizing module and a waveform output module;

[0009] The boost and voltage stabilization module includes a low-power boost chip and a peripheral circuit of the low-power boost chip, which is used to raise the power supply voltage to 5V and supply power to the stimulation output;

[0010] The waveform output module includes a low-power H-bridge rectifier chip and a peripheral circuit of the low-power H-bridge rectifier chip, which is used to receive microcontroller signals and adjust the electrical stimulation frequency and pulse width.

[0011] Optionally, the self-driving component is installed on the upper layer of the top package, including an adhesive layer, an active metal foil layer, an inert metal foil layer and a power generation film.

[0012] Optionally, the power generation film is a double-layer heterogeneous structure, the polyanion membrane is formed on the active metal foil layer, and the active metal foil layer is sequentially composed of a polyanion membrane, a polycation membrane and an inert metal foil layer from bottom to top;

[0013] The thickness of the polycationic membrane is 0.5 mm, the thickness of the polyanionic membrane is 0.5 mm, the inert metal foil is copper foil, and the thickness of the copper foil layer is 100 μm; the active metal foil is zinc foil, and the thickness of the zinc foil layer is 200 μm.

[0014] The present invention also discloses a method for using a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation, the method comprising:

[0015] The smart terminal is connected to the flexible electrical stimulation patch via Bluetooth and sends control instructions to the electrical stimulation patch;

[0016] The electrical stimulation patch receives a control command signal from a smart terminal, and the self-driving component continuously generates electrical energy by collecting water molecules in the environment. The energy management module receives the electrical energy and stores it in eight 470 μF capacitors to power the flexible electrical stimulation patch.

[0017] After receiving the control instruction, the microcontroller sends a control signal which is converted into an electrical stimulation signal by the waveform generating circuit. The electrical stimulation signal is applied to the surface of the human skin via the electrical stimulation electrodes.

[0018] After the electrical stimulation treatment is completed, the end signal is sent to the smart terminal via the Bluetooth module.

[0019] Optionally, the method for preparing the self-driving component specifically includes:

[0020] b1. Prepare solution A and solution B, wherein solution A is a polyelectrolyte solution providing anions;

[0021] The preparation method of the solution A is as follows: 15 wt% polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride and 1 wt% sodium alginate aqueous solution are prepared and stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes to obtain the solution A;

[0022] The B solution is a polyelectrolyte solution providing cations. The B solution is prepared as follows: 30 wt% polystyrene sulfonic acid and 7.5 wt% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution are prepared, and the mixture is heated at 80° C. with stirring for 2 hours to obtain the B solution;

[0023] b2. The B solution was sprayed onto an active metal foil and dried in an oven at 80°C to obtain a formed film;

[0024] b3. The solution A is cast onto a formed film and further dried in a 70°C oven to form a film as a single unit; the single unit is then cut to obtain a plurality of power generation films;

[0025] b4. Each power generation film obtained in b3 is covered with a layer of inert metal foil to obtain a unit module;

[0026] Each unit module is aligned in series and parallel with adjacent unit modules and laid flat on the adhesion layer to obtain a self-driving component.

[0027] Optionally, the operating logic of the flexible electrical stimulation patch is specifically as follows:

[0028] After powering on, the flexible electrical stimulation patch will first turn off the watchdog and perform initialization, respectively initializing the GPIO, clock, UART, and RTC timer. After the initialization is completed, it will enter the low power mode LPM3, turn off the CPU and peripherals except the RTC timer and UART, and wait for receiving instructions;

[0029] After the UART receives the instruction, it enters the UART receive interrupt program, exits the low-power mode, and determines whether the instruction is valid. If it is an invalid instruction, it reminds the user to reset the stimulation parameters. If the instruction is valid, it sets the stimulation time, frequency, and pulse width according to the instruction and notifies the user that the setting is successful.

[0030] After the stimulation signal is successfully set, the time of each RTC interrupt is judged. When the treatment time does not reach the preset time, a pulse signal is output in each set cycle, and then the system enters low power mode LPM4, completely stops the CPU operation, and only retains the RTC interrupt. The cycle repeats until the treatment is completed, and then enters low power mode LPM3 again to wait for instructions.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] The present invention provides a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device and method based on moisture power generation, which innovates the energy supply method of flexible electrical stimulation patches and adopts moisture-activated self-driven components to provide energy for the electrical stimulation patches. Compared with traditional electrical stimulation devices, the present invention abandons traditional battery power supply and simplifies the structural design of the hardware, making the system more flexible, integrated, and lightweight. And through customized design, the customization of energy and electrical stimulation electrodes is achieved, supporting targeted use in a variety of usage scenarios, and both the self-driven components and electrical stimulation electrodes can be used and discarded, without environmental pollution. Used together with smart terminal devices such as mobile phones, it has the advantages of simple operation and convenient use. Based on the above advantages, the device and method of the present invention can be widely used in related fields of skin electrical stimulation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0034] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 The hardware design block diagram of the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 A software flow chart of a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the self-driving assembly preparation process provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a self-driving unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 6 A comparison diagram of the output voltage of the self-driving unit provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the output waveform of the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an electrical stimulation electrode provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an implementation method of a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Description of reference numerals:

[0044] 1-smart terminal, 2-flexible electrical stimulation patch, 3-self-driving component, 4-adhesion layer, 5-top package, 6-base layer, 7-Bluetooth module, 8-microcontroller, 9-energy management module, 10-boost voltage regulator module, 11-waveform output module, 12-electrical stimulation electrode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0046] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] A self-powered wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation, such as Figure 1 As shown, the device includes:

[0049] A smart terminal 1 and a flexible electrical stimulation patch 2; the smart terminal 1 is internally provided with Bluetooth, and wireless communication with the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 is achieved via Bluetooth.

[0050] The smart terminal 1 includes: one or more of a smart phone, a smart watch, a tablet computer, and a personal computer with Bluetooth function.

[0051] The flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 is a flexible device mainly based on a flexible circuit board, which includes, from bottom to top, an electrical stimulation electrode 12, a control module, a top package 5 and a self-driving component 3; the control module is connected to the self-driving component 3 and the electrical stimulation electrode 12 through connectors; the top package 5 uses flexible materials to waterproof the control module.

[0052] The top package 5 is waterproofed using a flexible material such as eco-flex 0030, polyurethane (PU), epoxy resin, and UV light-curing resin. In this embodiment, eco-flex 0030 is preferred.

[0053] The self-propelled assembly 3 is positioned above the top package 5 and comprises an adhesive layer 4, an active metal foil layer, an inert metal foil layer, and a power generation film. The power generation film is a double-layer heterogeneous structure composed of a polycationic membrane and a polyanionic membrane. The film is 1 mm thick and is covered with an inert foil layer on the surface of the polycationic membrane and an active foil layer on the surface of the polyanionic membrane. The inert metal foil layer is 100 μm thick, and the active metal layer is 200 μm thick.

[0054] The adhesive layer 4 is made of medical ring-shaped adhesive tape, which is used to fix the electrical stimulation patch to the human skin.

[0055] The control module is disposed below the top package 5 and includes a base layer 6 and a Bluetooth module 7, a microcontroller 8, an energy management module 9, and a waveform generation circuit disposed on the base layer 6. The Bluetooth module 7, microcontroller 8, energy management module 9, and waveform generation circuit are disposed on the control module.

[0056] The base layer 6 uses a flexible base material such as one of polyimide (PI), polyester (PET), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyvinyl fluoride (FEP) as a substrate. In this embodiment, polyimide (PI) is preferred.

[0057] The Bluetooth module 7 includes a master-slave integrated, ultra-low power consumption Bluetooth chip and peripheral circuits of the ultra-low power consumption Bluetooth chip. In this embodiment, the DX-BT24-T Bluetooth chip is preferably used.

[0058] The microcontroller 8 includes an ultra-low power single-chip microcomputer and its peripheral circuits, has a wide power supply voltage range, and a serial communication interface. In this embodiment, the MSP430FR2433 single-chip microcomputer is preferably used.

[0059] The energy management module 9 includes an ultra-low power consumption energy collection chip and peripheral circuits of the ultra-low power consumption energy collection chip. In this embodiment, the BQ25570 chip is preferably used.

[0060] The waveform generation circuit includes a boost and voltage regulator module 10 and a waveform output module 11. The boost and voltage regulator module 10 should include a low-power boost chip and its peripheral circuitry, raising the power supply voltage to 5V for power stimulation output. In this embodiment, the MAX17220ELT chip is preferred. The waveform output module 11 should include a low-power H-bridge rectifier chip and its peripheral circuitry, receiving signals from the microcontroller 8 to adjust the stimulation frequency and pulse width. In this embodiment, the BDR6122T chip is preferred.

[0061] The electrical stimulation electrodes 12 are provided on the lower surface of the control module and are used to apply electrical stimulation signals to the skin. The electrical stimulation electrodes 12 include concentric circle electrodes, interdigital electrodes, and multi-channel electrodes. In this embodiment, the electrical stimulation electrodes 12 are connected to the control module via a connector, wherein the concentric circle electrodes and interdigital electrodes can perform precise electrical stimulation, which is suitable for acupuncture points or skin electrical stimulation in a small range; the multi-channel electrodes are combined with a multi-channel interface design, which can be customized to meet the synchronous stimulation of multiple points or acupuncture points, and different types of electrical stimulation electrodes 12 can be selected according to the application scenario.

[0062] The self-driving component 3, the control module, and the electrical stimulation electrode 12 are connected by a connector, such as a snap-on connector or a magnetic connector. In this embodiment, a snap-on connector is preferred.

[0063] Example 2

[0064] A self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation and a method of use, the method comprising:

[0065] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, this figure shows the correlation and flow chart of all modules involved in the present invention. The present invention proposes a self-powered wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation, comprising an intelligent terminal 1 and a flexible electrical stimulation patch 2. This device enables wireless communication to control the electrical stimulation waveform, timing, frequency, and pulse width without the need for an additional battery. The self-powered component 3 continuously generates electricity by collecting water molecules from the environment and stores this energy in eight 470μF capacitors via an energy management module 9, powering the entire flexible electrical stimulation patch 2. The external intelligent terminal 1 uses its built-in Bluetooth function to send control instructions to the Bluetooth module 7 of the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 to modify the waveform, timing, frequency, and pulse width of the electrical stimulation signal. After receiving the Bluetooth instructions, the microcontroller 8 converts the control signal into an electrical stimulation signal through a waveform generation circuit and applies it to the human skin surface via the electrical stimulation electrodes 12. After the electrical stimulation treatment is completed, an end signal is sent to the external intelligent terminal 1 via the Bluetooth module 7.

[0066] like Figure 3 As shown in the figure, this is a flow chart of the low-power electrical stimulation output software designed by the present invention. In order to achieve the lowest possible power consumption of the system, based on the selection of low-power devices, the low-power operation process of the system in the software is as follows:

[0067] (a1) After the system is powered on, it will first disable the watchdog timer and initialize the GPIO, clock, UART, and RTC timer. Then it will enter low-power mode LPM3, shutting down the CPU and most peripherals, leaving only the RTC timer and UART reception, waiting to receive instructions;

[0068] (a2) After receiving the instruction via UART, the system enters the UART receive interrupt routine, exits the low-power mode, and determines whether the instruction is valid. If the instruction is invalid, the system prompts the user to reset the stimulation parameters. If the instruction is valid, the system sets the stimulation time, frequency, and pulse width according to the instruction and notifies the user that the setting is successful.

[0069] (a3) After the stimulation signal is successfully set, the system will determine the time of each RTC interrupt. If the treatment time does not reach the preset time, the system will output a pulse signal once in each set period, and then enter low power mode LPM4, completely stopping the CPU operation and only retaining the RTC interrupt. This cycle repeats until the treatment is completed, and the system will enter low power mode LPM3 again to wait for instructions.

[0070] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the self-driving component 3 is prepared into a membrane by a polyelectrolyte solution providing cations and a polyelectrolyte solution providing anions. The preparation process is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the self-driving component 3 is prepared by the following steps:

[0071] (b1) preparing solutions A and B. Solution A is a polyelectrolyte solution providing anions, and is prepared by preparing a 15 wt % aqueous solution of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride and 1 wt % sodium alginate, stirring at room temperature for 30 minutes to obtain solution A. Solution B is a polyelectrolyte solution providing cations, and is prepared by preparing a 30 wt % aqueous solution of polystyrene sulfonic acid and 7.5 wt % polyvinyl alcohol, stirring and heating at 80° C. for 2 hours to obtain solution B.

[0072] (b2) spraying solution B onto an active metal foil and drying it in an oven at 80°C to obtain a formed film;

[0073] (b3) Casting solution A onto a formed film and drying it in an oven at 70°C to form a single unit film. The single unit film was then cut to obtain multiple power generation films with a length of 5 mm and a width of 5 mm.

[0074] (b4) Covering each power generation film obtained in step (b3) with a layer of inert metal foil to obtain a unit module; then aligning each unit module with adjacent unit modules in series and parallel and laying them flat on the adhesion layer 4 to obtain a self-driving component 3.

[0075] Figure 5 This is the structure of the self-propelled assembly 3 provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The power-generating film is a double-layer heterogeneous structure, with a polyanion membrane formed on an active metal foil layer, a polycation membrane above, and an inert metal foil layer on top. Each self-propelled unit is cut into a uniform shape of 5 mm long and 5 mm wide using a CO2 laser cutter. After being assembled in series and parallel, it is glued to the adhesive layer 4 to form the self-propelled assembly 3.

[0076] Furthermore, the thickness of the polycationic membrane is 0.5 mm, the thickness of the polyanionic membrane is 0.5 mm, the inert metal foil is preferably copper foil, and the thickness of the copper foil layer is 100 μm; the active metal foil is preferably zinc foil, and the thickness of the zinc foil layer is 200 μm.

[0077] It should be noted that the inventors have discovered that introducing active metal elements or oxides into the negative electrode of the self-driving module with upper and lower double-layer heterogeneous structures can significantly improve the power generation capacity of the self-driving module. The principle should be that the polyanion membrane ionizes hydrogen ions after absorbing water molecules, and the hydrogen ions react with metals to introduce metal ions. The more active the metal, the faster the reaction rate, and the more metal ions are produced. Under the same concentration difference, the metal ions have more charge, which is manifested as a larger potential difference on a macroscopic scale. The generated hydrogen will also make the interior of the polyanion membrane loose and porous, promoting the absorption of water molecules. The inventors have added sodium alginate to the polyelectrolyte solution that provides anions. This measure can increase the polymer skeleton in the polycationic membrane, improve the water absorption performance of the polycationic membrane, and significantly increase the voltage of the self-driving component 3. The voltage optimization results of the present invention are as follows. Figure 6 As shown, it can be seen that adding sodium alginate to the polycationic membrane and changing the negative metal electrode to Zn can significantly increase the voltage of the self-driving component 3, which can meet the energy supply requirements of the present invention.

[0078] The present invention optimizes the formula of the existing self-driving component 3. Specifically, the optimization is performed by replacing the negative metal electrode with active metal Zn and adding sodium alginate to the polycationic membrane, which significantly improves the voltage of the self-driving component 3. The performance of the self-driving component 3 prepared by the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is compared with the self-driving component 3 prepared under other conditions to verify the voltage optimization effect of the self-driving component 3 of the present invention. The results are as follows: Figure 6 It can be seen that the voltage of the self-driving component 3 optimized by the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention is significantly improved, which proves that the method has a significant optimization effect.

[0079] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the electrical stimulation waveform generated by the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 provided by the present invention. The device can provide electrical stimulation with an amplitude of plus or minus 5V, and supports adjustment of stimulation time, pulse width, stimulation frequency and stimulation waveform, including bidirectional square wave pulse stimulation and triangle wave stimulation. In order to achieve electrical stimulation with the lowest possible power consumption, in the software design, the control module is awakened when a stimulation signal is generated in each stimulation cycle, and enters a low-power mode after the stimulation signal is sent. Each stimulation is manifested as a pulsed stimulation, that is, the duty cycle is less than 20%, thereby minimizing the power consumption of the system.

[0080] Figure 8A schematic diagram of the electrical stimulation electrodes 12 provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes concentric circle electrodes, interdigital electrodes, and multi-channel electrodes, which are connected to a control module via a connector to achieve stimulation for multiple scenarios. The concentric circle electrodes can provide precise stimulation at the center of the circle. Similarly, the interdigital electrodes can generate a greater electric field strength at the tip, enabling precise electrical stimulation. The multi-channel electrodes can be customized to meet the stimulation needs of multiple points.

[0081] Figure 9 The present invention provides a self-driven wireless wearable electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation. The device uses a smart terminal 1 to communicate wirelessly with a flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 via Bluetooth. The smart terminal 1 can input the stimulation time, set the electrical stimulation waveform, adjust the output electrical stimulation frequency, and adjust the output electrical stimulation pulse width. The interface also has start and stop buttons. When using the device, the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 is first adhered to the human skin or the surface of the acupuncture point. After the self-driven component 3 powers the entire patch, the electrical stimulation pulse is applied to the skin surface to achieve a therapeutic effect. It should be noted that the customization of the device is reflected in that when electrical stimulation is required at a single point in a small area, such as Figure 9 As shown in the left figure, a small self-driven component 3 can be used, and a single-channel electrode can be used to perform precise electrical stimulation at a single point; when synchronous electrical stimulation is required at multiple points over a large area, such as Figure 9 As shown in the right figure, a large-volume self-driven component 3 can be used to provide more energy for the system, and a multi-channel electrical stimulation electrode 12 can be used to achieve simultaneous stimulation of multiple points and channels.

[0082] In combination with the above specific embodiments, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation. When using this device for transcutaneous electrical stimulation, the following steps should also be included:

[0083] (c1) The user uses the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation, selects the self-driven component 3 and electrical stimulation electrode 12 suitable for the usage scenario, assembles the self-driven component 3, the control module and the electrical stimulation electrode 12 into a flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 through a connector, and attaches the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 to the skin or acupuncture point surface;

[0084] (c2) The self-driving component 3 generates electrical energy by absorbing water molecules in the air during use, and the electrical energy is stored in the capacitor after passing through the energy management module 9;

[0085] (c3) checking whether a Bluetooth connection is established between the smart terminal 1 and the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2;

[0086] (c4) The intelligent terminal 1 sends a control instruction to the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 via Bluetooth, selects the waveform, time, frequency and pulse width of the electrical stimulation signal, and the microcontroller 8 outputs the electrical stimulation signal according to the instruction;

[0087] (c5) When it is necessary to stop early, use the smart terminal 1 to stop applying electrical stimulation.

[0088] Compared with the existing transcutaneous electrical stimulation devices, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the present invention proposes a new type of self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device and method based on moisture power generation, which uses the self-driven component 3 of moisture power generation to power the device, and innovatively designs the energy supply method of the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2. This invention abandons the traditional battery design and makes the flexible electrical stimulation patch 2 perfectly adapt to the self-driven component 3 through low-power software and hardware design methods. The device can also be customized to achieve personalized matching of energy and electrical stimulation electrodes 12, which is suitable for a variety of scenarios and meets specific needs. At the same time, the self-driven component 3 and the electrodes of the device can be used and discarded, and will not cause pollution to the environment. In conjunction with smart terminal 1 devices (such as mobile phones, etc.), the present invention shows the significant advantages of convenient operation and simple use. Based on these characteristics, the device and method of the present invention have broad application potential in the field of skin electrical stimulation.

[0089] The embodiments described above are merely descriptions of preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit of the present invention, various modifications and improvements made to the technical solutions of the present invention by persons skilled in the art should fall within the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-powered wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation, comprising: Smart terminals and flexible electrical stimulation patches; The flexible electrical stimulation patch is connected to the smart terminal via Bluetooth; The flexible electrical stimulation patch comprises, from bottom to top, an electrical stimulation electrode, a control module, a top package and a self-driving component; the control module is connected to the self-driving component and the electrical stimulation electrode respectively through a connector; the top package uses flexible materials to waterproof the control module.

2. The self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module is installed below the top package, and the control module includes a base layer, a Bluetooth module, a microcontroller, an energy management module and a waveform generating circuit; the Bluetooth module, the microcontroller, the energy management module and the waveform generating circuit are arranged on the control module.

3. The self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 2, characterized in that: The waveform generating circuit includes a voltage boosting and stabilizing module and a waveform output module; The boost and voltage stabilization module includes a low-power boost chip and a peripheral circuit of the low-power boost chip, which is used to raise the power supply voltage to 5V and supply power to the stimulation output; The waveform output module includes a low-power H-bridge rectifier chip and a peripheral circuit of the low-power H-bridge rectifier chip, which is used to receive microcontroller signals and adjust the electrical stimulation frequency and pulse width.

4. The self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The self-driving component is installed on the upper layer of the top package and includes an adhesive layer, an active metal foil layer, an inert metal foil layer and a power generation film.

5. The self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that: The power generation film is a double-layer heterogeneous structure, with the polyanion membrane formed on the active metal foil layer. The active metal foil layer is composed of a polyanion membrane, a polycation membrane and an inert metal foil layer from bottom to top. The thickness of the polycationic membrane is 0.5 mm, the thickness of the polyanionic membrane is 0.5 mm, the inert metal foil is copper foil, and the thickness of the copper foil layer is 100 μm; the active metal foil is zinc foil, and the thickness of the zinc foil layer is 200 μm.

6. A method for using the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Methods include: The smart terminal is connected to the flexible electrical stimulation patch via Bluetooth and sends control instructions to the electrical stimulation patch; The electrical stimulation patch receives a control command signal from a smart terminal, and the self-driving component continuously generates electrical energy by collecting water molecules in the environment. The energy management module receives the electrical energy and stores it in eight 470 μF capacitors to power the flexible electrical stimulation patch. After receiving the control instruction, the microcontroller sends a control signal which is converted into an electrical stimulation signal by the waveform generating circuit. The electrical stimulation signal is applied to the surface of the human skin via the electrical stimulation electrodes. After the electrical stimulation treatment is completed, the end signal is sent to the smart terminal via the Bluetooth module.

7. The method for using the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 6, characterized in that: The self-driving component preparation method specifically includes: b1. Prepare solution A and solution B, wherein solution A is a polyelectrolyte solution providing anions; The preparation method of the solution A is as follows: 15 wt% polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride and 1 wt% sodium alginate aqueous solution are prepared and stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes to obtain the solution A; The B solution is a polyelectrolyte solution providing cations. The B solution is prepared as follows: 30 wt% polystyrene sulfonic acid and 7.5 wt% polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution are prepared, and the mixture is heated at 80° C. with stirring for 2 hours to obtain the B solution; b2. The B solution was sprayed onto an active metal foil and dried in an oven at 80°C to obtain a formed film; b3. The solution A is cast onto a formed film and further dried in a 70°C oven to form a film as a single unit; the single unit is then cut to obtain a plurality of power generation films; b4. Each power generation film obtained in b3 is covered with a layer of inert metal foil to obtain a unit module; Each unit module is aligned in series and parallel with adjacent unit modules and laid flat on the adhesion layer to obtain a self-driving component.

8. The method for using the self-driven wireless wearable transcutaneous electrical stimulation device based on moisture power generation according to claim 6, characterized in that: The operating logic of the flexible electrical stimulation patch is specifically as follows: After powering on, the flexible electrical stimulation patch will first turn off the watchdog and perform initialization, respectively initializing the GPIO, clock, UART, and RTC timer. After the initialization is completed, it will enter the low power mode LPM3, turn off the CPU and peripherals except the RTC timer and UART, and wait for receiving instructions; After the UART receives the instruction, it enters the UART receive interrupt program, exits the low-power mode, and determines whether the instruction is valid. If it is an invalid instruction, it reminds the user to reset the stimulation parameters. If the instruction is valid, it sets the stimulation time, frequency, and pulse width according to the instruction and notifies the user that the setting is successful. After the stimulation signal is successfully set, the time of each RTC interrupt is judged. When the treatment time does not reach the preset time, a pulse signal is output in each set cycle, and then the system enters low power mode LPM4, completely stops the CPU operation, and only retains the RTC interrupt. The cycle repeats until the treatment is completed, and then enters low power mode LPM3 again to wait for instructions.

Images