Ultrasound Energy and Data Transfer for Medical Implants

172 Pages·2020·10.7 MB·English

by  Francesco Mazzilli, Catherine Dehollain

ACSP · Analog Circuits And Signal Processing
Francesco Mazzilli
Catherine Dehollain
Ultrasound
Energy and
Data Transfer
for Medical
Implants
Analog Circuits and Signal Processing
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MohammedIsmail,Dublin,USA
MohamadSawan,Montreal,Canada
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Francesco Mazzilli (cid:129) Catherine Dehollain
Ultrasound Energy and Data
Transfer for Medical
Implants
FrancescoMazzilli CatherineDehollain
MelexisTechnologiesSA ELB231BatimentELB
Bevaix,Switzerland EPFLSCISTICD
Lausanne,Vaud,Switzerland
ISSN1872-082X ISSN2197-1854 (electronic)
AnalogCircuitsandSignalProcessing
ISBN978-3-030-49003-4 ISBN978-3-030-49004-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49004-1
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Ifweknewwhatitwaswewersedoing,it
wouldnotbecalledresearch,wouldit?
—AlbertEinstein
Idedicatethisbooktomyparents,sisterand
mygirlfriendChloéwithloveandgratitude.
Preface
Thetechnologyevolutioninthelastdecadehaspromotedthedevelopmentofnew
sensing and monitoring devices for healthcare. The upcoming great challenge for
diagnosis devices lies in their ability to continuously monitor a patient’s physical
and biochemical parameters, under the natural physiological status of the patient,
and in any environment. Human body monitoring using a network of wireless
sensors may be achieved either by attaching these sensors to the body surface
(wearablemedicaldevices)orbyimplantingthemintotissues(implantablemedical
devices),dependingontheirfunctionality.
This book proposes systems and methods, not using RF or magnetic telemetry
withtheircripplinglimitations,butacousticwaves(ultrasonic),forcommunicating
with and energizing efficiently a network of transponders that are placed deep
within a human body. Therefore, the primary key objective is to develop a novel
telemetry technology that will enable any kind of device implanted deep inside
the body to communicate wirelessly with an external system, providing patients
andphysicianswithvaluabletools,respectively,tocontinuouslymonitorandtreat
severalpotentiallylife-threateningconditionsinaminimallyinvasivemanner.
The implantable transponder contains an energy exchanger which converts
acoustic energy into electrical energy, a small local energy storage (rechargeable
microbattery), a control and processing chip (low-power microcontroller), and a
simpletransceiver.Thisbookalsoincorporatesadedicatedsectionontheexternal
control unit, capable of powering and receiving information directly from the
implanteddeviceviaultrasound.
A discrete version of the implanted device is realized to test energy power
transmission and characterize the uplink communication while changing the dis-
tance between the control unit and the implant. The microcontroller ATMEGA
48Ahandlesthedifferentoperationsasthebatteryreachesenoughcharge.Forthe
uplink,thebackscatteringcommunicationprincipleisappliedtoultrasoundwaves
to remove the use of a local oscillator in the implanted device, thus minimizing
powerconsumption.
ix
x Preface
A second version of the implanted device is realized using a standard CMOS
process.Hence,anovelactiverectifierisdesignedin0.18μmHVCMOSprocess
which presents 80% power conversion efficiency and a chip area of 0.114 mm2.
Tosuppressvoltagenoiseonthesupplyrail,atwo-stagelow-drop-outregulatoris
designed with the same CMOS process aimed to recharge a Lithium Phosphorus
Oxynitride (LiPON) microbattery. The downlink communication is studied and
a non-coherent demodulation scheme is adopted, thus a variable gain amplifier
is designed in 0.18 μm low-power CMOS process, which shows a maximum of
58.8dBdifferentialgainat1MHzandabandwidthof2.5MHz.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European
Community’sSeventhFrameworkProgramme(FP7/2007-2013)undergrantagree-
mentn.224009.
Bevaix,Switzerland FrancescoMazzilli
Lausanne,Switzerland CatherineDehollain
Acknowledgements
IthankDr.CatherineDehollainforthesupport,confidence,andacademicfreedom
shehasprovidedtocarryoutthiswork.
I thank all my friends and former colleagues who contributed to make pleasant
the several years I spent at EPFL while I was working on ultrasound. For many
years after my graduation as PhD student from EPFL, we stayed in touch. I greet
myvaluablefriends:Charly,ourdiscussionswereendlesslookingforthemeaning
of life, who is now living in Israel with his wife and son. Enver and Oguz, for
introducingmetotheTurkishculture;theyleftSwitzerlandtopursuetheircareerin
Canada and in the USA. Arnab, an explosive source of energy, who is working in
GermanyandLuca,thebreakoffouro’clock,whobecameamanager.Anenormous
thanksgoestomyflatmates,MassimoandAndrea,ourweeklyhomemadepizzaand
parties will be unforgettable. A special thanks goes to Vincent Praplan, a brilliant
engineerwhohelpedmeinthedesignofthehardwarefortheexternalbasestation.
Iwishtothankmyparents,mysister,mybrother-in-law,andmygirlfriendChloé
fortheirsupportandlove.
Lausanne,Switzerland FrancescoMazzilli
February2020
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