Conformal Antenna for Implantable Medical Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional implantable medical devices face limitations in minimizing volume due to non-conformal telemetry coils, which are typically circular and inflexible in shape, restricting the device's overall shape and size, and thus impacting implantation sites and patient comfort.
Innovation Solution
Development of non-circular, irregularly shaped conformal telemetry coils that can be custom-designed to fit available space within the device, allowing for more efficient use of volume and enabling the device to take on shapes conducive to implantation, such as elongate capsule forms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional circular telemetry coils are used, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the device volume cannot be minimized and implantation flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The coil is divided into multiple discrete windings or segments that can be independently positioned and shaped. This segmentation allows the coil to be constructed in a non-circular, conformal pattern that adapts to available device space while maintaining manufacturability through modular assembly techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The coil design transitions from a traditional two-dimensional circular planar structure to a three-dimensional conformal structure that utilizes the full volumetric space within the device housing. This dimensional transformation allows the coil to wrap around internal components and conform to the device's internal geometry, minimizing overall device volume.
2Adaptability or versatility
If non-circular conformal coils are used, then the device can be minimized and implanted in more locations, but the coil design and manufacturing becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The coil employs asymmetric, non-circular geometries that are specifically tailored to match the available space within the device housing and the desired implantation orientation. This asymmetric design allows the device to be implanted in diverse anatomical locations while the modular construction methods keep manufacturing complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the coil are designed with locally optimized properties, where the coil windings are denser or more sparse in different areas to conform to the specific geometric constraints of the device housing. This local customization enables versatile implantation while using standardized manufacturing processes for each local section.
3Reliability
If regular circular coils with even cross-section are used, then the coil transmits and receives efficiently, but the device shape is limited and tissue displacement is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The coil maintains smooth curved transitions and continuous winding patterns that preserve electromagnetic field continuity, ensuring efficient telemetry performance. The curved conformal geometry allows the device to have a more ergonomic, tissue-friendly shape that reduces displacement during implantation while maintaining signal transmission efficiency.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3
AI summary
System and method for making an antenna. An implantable medical device has a housing, a bobbin and a coil. The housing has an interior generally tubular cross- section with a longitudinal axis, the housing having a lateral portion of a segment of the tubular cross-section along the longitudinal axis. The bobbin has a first side nearest to the interior of the housing and a second side opposite the first side. The coil, wound around the bobbin on a winding axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular cross-section, has a greater number of complete turns proximate the second side of the bobbin than proximate the first side of the bobbin, with the coil having a cross-sectional shape selected for a space between the bobbin and the interior of the housing in the lateral portion of the segment of the tubular cross-section along the longitudinal axis of the housing.