Wireless Power in Medical Implants

presented by Bill von Novak, Wireless Power Group Lead, Qualcomm

Medical implants require power to operate – from microwatts to watts, in some cases. This power once came from primary batteries, but as power draws have increased and technology has improved, this power comes more often from secondary batteries and wireless charging. Wireless charging adds another challenge for implant designers – varying voltages, thermal concerns due to inefficiencies, and requirements for startup at zero state of charge – which can all add complexity to an implant power design. This session reviews wireless power implementations in medical implants and showcases design examples.