Inductive Coil Anchoring for Implantable Medical Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Implantable medical devices face challenges in power delivery and data communication due to the complexity and accessibility issues posed by wires, which hinder their deployment and operation in hard-to-reach body locations.
Innovation Solution
An inductive coil system that generates an oscillating electromagnetic field for energy delivery and data communication with implantable medical devices, allowing for wireless power transfer and data transmission, while also anchoring the device within a bodily vessel using its expansion against vessel walls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wires are used for power delivery and data communication, then reliable power and communication can be achieved, but device complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical wire connections with an inductive coupling system using electromagnetic fields for wireless power transfer and data communication. The inductive coil generates oscillating electromagnetic fields that induce electromotive force in the implantable device, eliminating the need for physical wire connections while maintaining reliable power delivery and communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The inductive coil acts as an intermediary between the external power source and the implantable medical device. It transfers energy and data through electromagnetic induction without direct physical contact, serving as a mediator that resolves the contradiction between reliable power delivery and device complexity.
2Reliability
If wires are used for connection, then power and communication can be established, but deployment accessibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical wire-based communication with wireless electromagnetic communication. The inductive coil transmits data bidirectionally through electromagnetic fields, enabling reliable communication while allowing deployment in hard-to-reach body locations without the constraint of wire manipulation.
3Reliability
If inductive coil expands against vessel walls, then mechanical anchoring is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inductive coil is designed to perform multiple functions: wireless power transfer, data communication, and mechanical anchoring. By making the coil multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate anchoring mechanisms, thereby achieving reliable anchoring without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the anchoring function with the inductive coil structure itself. The coil's ability to expand and frictionally engage with vessel walls is integrated into its design, combining mechanical anchoring with electromagnetic functionality in a single component rather than adding separate systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient wireless energy delivery and data communication with implantable medical devices, simplifying their deployment and anchoring within the body, thereby improving their operational efficiency and accessibility.
Implementation Method 1
An inductive coil may be configured for mechanically fixing the implantable medical device at a location in a bodily vessel by expanding against walls of the bodily vessel. An embodiment of a system for anchoring an implantable medical device (IMD) at a location within a vessel of a human body includes an inductive coil having a first electrode coupled to a high voltage node in the implantable medical device, and a second electrode connected to a low voltage node in the IMD, wherein an electromagnetic field induced near the inductive coil generates EMF in the inductive coil
Implementation Method 2
Another device can communicate with the IMD by generating an oscillating electromagnetic field that induces electromotive force (EMF) in the coil when the electromagnetic field crosses the inductive coil
Implementation Method 3
the inductive coil expands against opposing walls of the vessel to frictionally anchor the IMD at the location
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a system for gathering physiologic data related to a human body includes a sensor device implanted in the human body, an inductive coil communicably coupled to the implanted sensor device; and a manager device in communication with the implanted sensor device via the inductive coil. The coil may be wrapped around the sensor device or attached to the sensor device fixation. An embodiment of a method for gathering physiologic data related to a physiologic parameter in a human body includes communicably coupling an inductive coil to communication circuitry of an implantable medical device (IMD), deploying the inductive coil and the IMD into a vessel of the human body, and inducing current in the inductive coil via the communication circuitry, the current representative of data associated with the IMD.