Powering Pacemakers from Heart Pressure Variation with Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

Authors: A. Mathieu, B. Aubry, E. Chhim, M. Jobe, M. Arnaud

Abstract:

Present project consists in a study and a development of piezoelectric devices for supplying power to new generation pacemakers. They are miniaturized leadless implants without battery placed directly in right ventricle. Amongst different acceptable energy sources in cardiac environment, we choose the solution of a device based on conversion of the energy produced by pressure variation inside the heart into electrical energy. The proposed energy harvesters can meet the power requirements of pacemakers, and can be a good solution to solve the problem of regular surgical operation. With further development, proposed device should provide enough energy to allow pacemakers autonomy, and could be good candidate for next pacemaker generation.

Keywords: Energy harvester, heart, leadless pacemaker, piezoelectric cells, pressure variation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1112274

References:

[1] T Gopinathan, K P Arul Shri: Simulation of Recharging Battery of the Pacemaker using Piezoelectric Crystal from the Pulse in Aorta, Thesis, Dec 2011.
[2] H.W. Ko: US Patent 3456134A: Piezoelectric Energy Converter for Electronic Implants, 1969.
[3] A. Badel: Récupération d’Energie et Contrôle Vibratoire par Eléments Piézoélectriques Suivant une Approche Non Linéaire, Ph.D. Thesis, Université de Savoie, 2008.
[4] M. Deterre: Toward an Energy Harvester for Leadless Pacemakers, Ph.D. Thesis, Paris-Sud Univ. 2013.
[5] N. Andrew: Redington,CardiacDept, Brompton Hospital, Fulham Road, London SW3 6HP, in press.
[6] R. White, G. Savage, M. Zdeblick: US Patent 7729768 B2: Implantable Cardiac Motion Powered Piezoelectric Energy Source.
[7] S. Priya, D.J. Inman: Energy Harvesting Technologies.
[8] N. Bassiri-Gharb : Piezoelectric Mems: Materials and Devices, Piezoelectric and Acoustic Materials for Transducer Applications, A. Safari, E.K. Akdogan, eds., Springer US, 2008, pp. 413–430.
[9] W. Clark, C. Mo : Energy Harvesting Technologies, Ch.16, pp.405-430, S. Priya, D.J. Inman eds., Springer, 2009.
[10] M. Deterre, E. Lefeuvre, E. Dufour-Gergam : An Active Piezoelectric Energy Extraction Method for Pressure Energy Harvesting, Smart Materials and Structures, Vol.21(8), 085004, 2012.
[11] M.A. Karami, D.J. Inman: Powering Pacemakers from Heartbeat Vibrations Using Linear and Nonlinear Energy Harvesters, Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 042901 (2012), in press.
[12] S.R Anton, H.A Sodano : A Review of Power Harvesting Using Piezoelectric Materials (2003–2006), Smart Materials and Structures, Vol.16(3), R1, 2007.