Piezo Energy Technologies has developed an ultrasound technique to wirelessly transmit power into the human body to recharge batteries or provide direct power to active implanted medical devices.
Current methods have limitations that restrict them from use in many situations. Our ultrasound power technology overcomes these limitations and offers new possibilities that can improve patient health and quality of life.
Increasing power needs for implanted devices that support new therapies, combined with advanced rechargeable battery chemistries, drive the interest in rechargeable (secondary) batteries in implanted medical devices.
The electromagnetic inductive coupling method for recharging of batteries has been under investigation and development for over 60 years . While the inductive coupling technique remains useful, it has its limitations; this is where UltraSound Electrical Recharging (USer) comes into play.
The first application of our technology has been to power implanted medical devices and charging protocols that require only a few Watts of power. (US 8,082,041).
This application provides ten to fifteen watts of power to heart assist devices, again using ultrasound to carry it wirelessly across the skin (US 8,974,366 ). The larger amounts of power require accurate alignment and management of heating using active or passive methods.