Multi-resonator Wireless Inductive Power Link for Wearables on the 2D Surface and Implants in 3D Space of the Human Body

Abstract

This paper presents a novel resonance-based, adaptable, and flexible inductive wireless power transmission (WPT) link for powering implantable and wearable devices throughout the human body. The proposed design provides a comprehensive solution for wirelessly delivering power, sub-micro to hundreds of milliwatts, to deep-tissue implantable devices (3D space of human body) and surface-level wearable devices (2D surface of human skin) safely and seamlessly. The link comprises a belt-fitted transmitter (Belt-Tx) coil equipped with a power amplifier (PA) and a data demodulator unit, two resonator clusters (to cover upper-body and lower-body), and a receiver (Rx) unit that consists of Rx load and resonator coils, rectifier, microcontroller, and data modulator units for implementing a closed-loop power control (CLPC) mechanism. All coils are tuned at 13.56 MHz, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-approved industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. Novel customizable configurations of resonators in the clusters, parallel for implantable devices and cross-parallel for wearable devices and vertically oriented implants, ensure uniform power delivered to the load, PDL, enabling natural Tx power localization toward the Rx unit. The proposed design is modeled, simulated, and optimized using ANSYS HFSS software. The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is calculated under 1.5 W/kg, indicating the design’s safety for the human body. The proposed link is implemented, and its performance is characterized. For both the parallel cluster (implant) and cross-parallel cluster (wearable) scenarios, the measured results indicate: 1) an upper-body PDL exceeding 350 mW with a Power Transfer Efficiency (PTE) reaching 25%, and 2) a lower-body PDL surpassing 360 mW with a PTE of up to 20%, while covering up to 92% of the human body.