Magnetoelectric Transducer Designs for Use as Wireless Power Receivers in Wearable and Implantable Applications

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Miniaturization of biomedical implants and wearable devices necessitates higher power delivery densities.
• Inductively coupled coils struggle with power density for very small receiving coils.
• Magnetoelectric (ME) and mechano-magnetoelectric (MME) transducers offer efficient wireless power transfer at smaller scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of ME and MME transducers as wireless power receivers for miniaturized biomedical implants (<2 mm³).
• To compare the power density generated by ME and MME architectures under established safety standards.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of analytical models for ME and MME transducers using centimeter-scale devices.
• Application of IEEE and ICNIRP safety standards to lumped element models.
• Optimization of device dimensions within a 2 mm³ volume.

Main Results:

• ME architecture demonstrated significantly higher power density compared to MME architecture under existing safety standards.
• Optimized ME devices achieved power densities of 21.3 mW/mm³ (IEEE) and 31.3 µW/mm³ (ICNIRP).
• These power densities are highly suitable for a broad spectrum of biomedical implants and wearable devices.

Conclusions:

• ME transducers are superior to MME transducers for wireless power delivery in sub-2 mm³ biomedical applications.
• Optimized ME devices meet stringent power requirements for advanced implantable and wearable technologies.
• The study provides a clear pathway for developing next-generation wireless power solutions for miniaturized medical devices.