Design of Resonant Converter of Trans cutaneous Energy Transfer System to Power Artificial Heart

Abstract

Wireless technologies have matured to recharge the batteries of consumer devices efficiently. The benefit of the technology is being used by mobile communication devices, personal computation devices, and wearable entertainment devices. The wireless energy transfer techniques employ the transfer of electrical energy between two-tesla coils in surface contact and not by electrical contact through the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. Many international consortiums have made guidelines for designing and manufacturing these devices. However, for active implantable medical devices such as artificial hearts, a large amount of electrical energy usually in the range of 15W to 30W needs to be transferred across the skin at a depth of 10mm to 30mm. The design needs to be optimized for maximum power transfer with the highest possible efficiency. Any loss in power will be reflected as heat energy and cause burns and tissue death. A transcutaneous energy transfer system is such type of wireless energy transfer mechanism across the skin to power implanted life-saving devices. In this paper, the design of a resonant converter and its performance is investigated to wirelessly transfer electrical power up to a tissue thickness of about 25mm.