Transcutaneous Pulsed RF Energy Transfer Mitigates Tissue Heating in High Power Demand Implanted Device Applications:...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Thermal Management

Background:

• Transcutaneous energy transmission systems (TETS) are crucial for left ventricular assist devices (LVADs).
• Skin tissue heating is a significant concern for TETS safety and efficacy.
• Understanding thermal effects is vital for next-generation LVAD development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and utilize a power loss emulation (PLE) system to study skin tissue heating effects in TETS for LVADs.
• To investigate mitigation strategies for thermal issues associated with TETS.
• To analyze the role of blood perfusion in subcutaneous tissue cooling.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 2-channel PLE system prototype and a 2-channel TETS prototype.
• In vivo and ex vivo porcine models were used for skin thermal profile measurements.
• Comparison of continuous versus pulsed transmission modes for TETS.
• In silico modeling was employed to support experimental data interpretation.

Main Results:

• Blood perfusion plays a critical cooling role in reducing thermal tissue damage from TETS.
• Tissue heating effects were significantly lower in living porcine models compared to cadaver models.
• Pulsed transmission protocols demonstrated potential for mitigating heating effects.

Conclusions:

• The developed PLE system provides a reliable method for studying TETS-induced heating.
• Blood perfusion is a key factor in managing thermal loads in TETS applications.
• Optimized pulsed transmission strategies can enhance the safety of wireless power transfer for LVADs.