The worldwide thirst for portable consumer electronics in the 1990s had an enormous impact on portable power. Lithium ion batteries, in which lithium ions shuttle between an insertion cathode (e.g., LiCoO2) and an insertion anode (e.g., carbon), emerged as the power source of choice for the highperformance rechargeable-battery market. The performance advantages were so significant that lithium ion batteries not only replaced Ni-Cd batteries but left the purported successor technology, nickel-metal hydride, in its wake.1 The thick metal plates of * To whom correspondence should be addressed. J.W.L: e-mail, jwlong@ccs.nrl.navy.mil; telephone, (+1)202-404-8697. B.D.: e-mail, bdunn@ucla.edu; telephone, (+1)310-825-1519. D.R.R.: e-mail, rolison@nrl.navy.mil; telephone, (+1)202-767-3617. H.S.W.: e-mail, white@chem.utah.edu; telephone, (+1)810-585-6256. † Naval Research Laboratory. ‡ UCLA. § University of Utah. 4463 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 4463−4492

Three-dimensional battery architectures.

Implantable medical devices have been implemented to provide treatment and to assess in vivo physiological information in humans as well as animal models for medical diagnosis and prognosis, therapeutic applications and biological science studies. The advances of micro/nanotechnology dovetailed with novel biomaterials have further enhanced biocompatibility, sensitivity, longevity and reliability in newly-emerged low-cost and compact devices. Close-loop systems with both sensing and treatment functions have also been developed to provide point-of-care and personalized medicine. Nevertheless, one of the remaining challenges is whether power can be supplied sufficiently and continuously for the operation of the entire system. This issue is becoming more and more critical to the increasing need of power for wireless communication in implanted devices towards the future healthcare infrastructure, namely mobile health (m-Health). In this review paper, methodologies to transfer and harvest energy in implantable medical devices are introduced and discussed to highlight the uses and significances of various potential power sources.

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Power Approaches for Implantable Medical Devices

Batteries used to Power Implantable Biomedical Devices

A system is described. The system includes a lithium battery, a charge storage capacitor electrically connected to the lithium battery, a first device, and at least one second device. The first device is electrically connected to the lithium battery and is powered by the lithium battery. The at least one second device is attached to the charge storage capacitor and adapted to read a rate of charge storage in the charge storage capacitor or to calculate the rate of charge storage by measuring both a time of charging and a charge stored or added to the charge storage capacitor during the time of charging.

Method for monitoring end of life for battery

Transition metal vanadium oxides and vanadates have been widely investigated as possible active materials for primary and rechargeable lithium batteries. As compared to the classic lithium-insertion compounds such as LiCoO2, the composite vanadium oxides and vanadates have the prominent advantages of high theoretical capacities owing to multistep reductions and more electron transfer upon lithium intercalation. This short review presents a survey of recent advances made in the application of transition metal vanadium oxides and vanadates. Particularly, the structure, synthesis and electrochemical properties of silver vanadium oxides (e.g., AgVO3, Ag2V4O11 and Ag4V2O6F2) and copper vanadates (e.g., CuV2O6, Cu2.33V4O11 and Cu1.1V4O11) are discussed, with the illustration of the effect of crystal structure, composition, and morphology on the battery performance. Benefits gained from reducing the particle size have been particularly demonstrated.

Transition metal vanadium oxides and vanadate materials for lithium batteries

Primary batteries for implantable pacemakers and defibrillators

A battery-operated implantable medical device comprises a battery, a measuring device for determining the state of charge of the battery through measurement of the no-load voltage, and an electric load. The no-load voltage of the battery has an increased drop in a range in which a remaining residual energy suffices to keep the operation of the device going for a minimum period of time required to carry out a therapeutic process.

Implantable medical device with end-of-life battery detection circuit

High-rate lithium/manganese dioxide batteries; the double cell concept

Development of a hybrid battery system for an implantable biomedical device, especially a defibrillator/cardioverter (ICD)

The medical implant unit has several cells (1,2) connected in series. A first voltage tapping is provided, for the application of a first potential at the free anode of the battery and a second voltage tapping for the application of a second potential at the free cathode. The electrical user (6) for the supply with the entire voltage drop across the battery is connected respectively electrically conducting with the first and second voltage tappings. A third voltage tapping at the battery series circuit, is provided for the application of a reference potential and for supplying the measuring system (7) with a symmetrical voltage supply. A measurement circuit is provided at its measuring inputs connected with the first and the second voltage tappings, electrically conducting, for measuring the total battery voltage. It has a level converter and/or an adder. The measuring system (7) has a threshold value element (5) connected at the output of the measuring circuit (4), with at least one threshold value, for producing a battery condition signal. The circuit (4) and the threshold value element respectively have an input for a reference point, which is electrically connected with the third voltage tapping (3). The circuit (4) and the element (5), for the supply with a voltage symmetrical to the third voltage tapping are connected respectively with 1st and 2nd tappings.

Rudiger Wolf

Papers

Primary batteries for implantable pacemakers and defibrillators

Implantable medical device with end-of-life battery detection circuit

High-rate lithium/manganese dioxide batteries; the double cell concept

Development of a hybrid battery system for an implantable biomedical device, especially a defibrillator/cardioverter (ICD)

Implantable battery powered apparatus