Bioelectronic systems enabled by wireless electromagnetic power transfer

Wireless biomedical electronic implants are rapidly being developed to treat a variety of medical conditions. Current technologies include the pacemaker to treat arrhythmias, the cochlear implant to overcome hearing impairment and the deep brain stimulator to treat Parkinson’s disease. Researchers are aiming to create implants that are miniaturised, battery-free, and minimally invasive. This is to ensure that devices are simpler to implant, to avoid surgical battery replacement and to minimise the risk of infection. To meet these demands, future biomedical electronic implants need to be miniaturised and capable of wireless power and data transfer. This thesis explores and extends the capabilities of three different wireless power transfer technologies for biomedical electronic implants: inductive, capacitive and radiative power transfer. This thesis adopts a systems approach to extend the capabilities of wireless power transfer systems.