阅读说明：本技术 用于植入式vad泵的rf功率传递线圈 (RF power transfer coil for implanted VAD pump ) 是由 G·马丁内兹 D·J·佩歇尔 于 2019-03-07 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种配置成与射频源线圈电耦合用于经皮能量传递的植入式射频接收线圈。该接收线圈包括至少一个铜导体,该至少一个铜导体定义线圈并配置成对植入式血泵供电。该至少一个铜导体被包覆有钽。(An implantable radio frequency receive coil configured to be electrically coupled with a radio frequency source coil for transcutaneous energy transfer. The receive coil includes at least one copper conductor defining a coil and configured to power an implantable blood pump. The at least one copper conductor is coated with tantalum.)

1. A transcutaneous energy transfer system for powering an implantable medical device, comprising:

a source coil positionable on the skin of a patient;

a battery electrically coupled to the source coil, the source coil configured to deliver electrical energy through the patient's skin;

a receive coil implantable in a patient, the receive coil configured to receive the energy delivered by the source coil, the receive coil comprising at least one copper conductor defining a coil and configured to power the implantable medical device, the at least one copper conductor coated with one from the group consisting of graphene and tantalum; and

The implantable medical device is electrically coupled to the receive coil.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one copper conductor comprises a plurality of copper conductors, each of the plurality of conductors being coated with tantalum and insulated from an adjacent one of the plurality of conductors.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the receive coils define litz wire.

4. The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein each of the plurality of conductors is coated with tantalum, and wherein the tantalum completely surrounds the at least one copper conductor.

5. The system of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one copper conductor is comprised entirely of copper.

6. The system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the tantalum comprises tantalum pentoxide.

7. The system of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the implantable medical device is an implantable blood pump.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the implantable blood pump is electrically coupled to a controller implanted within the body, the controller configured to control operation of the implantable blood pump.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller is electrically coupled to the receive coil.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is powered by the receive coil.

11. The system of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the receive coil is disposed in a non-hermetic package.

12. The system of any one of claims 1-11, wherein each of the plurality of conductors is coated with graphene.

13. The system of any of claims 1-12, wherein the receive coil does not include welds and joints.

Technical Field

The present technology relates generally to implantable radio frequency receive coils for Transcutaneous Energy Transfer Systems (TETS).

Technical Field

Transcutaneous Energy Transfer (TET) systems are used to power devices such as heart pumps implanted within the body. An electromagnetic field generated by a transmit coil outside the body may transfer power across a cutaneous (skin) barrier to a magnetic receive coil implanted within the body. The receive coil may then deliver the received power to an implanted heart pump or other internal device and to one or more batteries implanted within the body.

One of the challenges of TET systems is the material properties of the receive coil and the resulting side effects on the patient. Currently, leads implanted in a patient for receiving energy are constructed of silver or silver alloy materials to conduct the energy. Such wires, while highly conductive, have a relatively high resistance at higher frequencies due to skin effect, and are corrosive. High electrical resistance, especially at the radio frequencies necessary for high power levels, can increase the prevalence of patient burns and/or discomfort. The high corrosivity means that any silver-based implanted coil will generally require hermetic packaging to reduce corrosivity, but reduce conductivity and increase cost.

Disclosure of Invention

The technology of the present disclosure generally relates to implantable radio frequency receive coils for Transcutaneous Energy Transfer Systems (TETS).

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the techniques described in the disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

The present invention advantageously provides an implantable radio frequency receive coil configured to be electrically coupled with a radio frequency source coil for transcutaneous energy transfer. The receive coil includes at least one copper conductor defining a coil and configured to power an implantable blood pump. The at least one copper conductor is clad within tantalum.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the at least one copper conductor comprises a plurality of copper conductors, each of the plurality of copper conductors being clad within tantalum and insulated from an adjacent one of the plurality of conductors.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the receive coils define litz wires.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the tantalum completely surrounds the at least one copper conductor.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the at least one copper conductor is comprised entirely of copper.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the tantalum comprises tantalum pentoxide.

In another embodiment, a transcutaneous energy transfer system for powering an implantable medical device includes a source coil positionable on the skin of a patient. A battery is electrically coupled to the source coil. The source coil is configured to deliver electrical energy through the patient's skin. The receive coil is implantable in the patient. The receive coil is configured to receive the energy delivered by the source coil, the receive coil comprising at least one copper conductor defining a coil and configured to power the implantable medical device, the at least one copper conductor being encased within one from the group consisting of graphene and tantalum. The implantable medical device is electrically coupled to the receive coil.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the at least one copper conductor comprises a plurality of copper conductors, each of the plurality of copper conductors being clad with tantalum and insulated from an adjacent one of the plurality of conductors.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the receive coils define litz wires.

In another aspect of this embodiment, each of the plurality of conductors is clad with tantalum, and wherein the tantalum completely surrounds the at least one copper conductor.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the at least one copper conductor is comprised entirely of copper.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the tantalum comprises tantalum pentoxide.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the implantable medical device is an implantable blood pump.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the implantable blood pump is electrically coupled to a controller implanted within the body, the controller configured to control operation of the implantable blood pump.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the controller is electrically coupled to the receive coil.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the controller is powered by the receive coil.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the receive coil is disposed in a non-hermetic package.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the receive coil does not include solder joints and tabs.

In yet another embodiment, a transcutaneous energy transfer system for powering an implantable blood pump includes a substantially planar source coil positionable on the skin of a patient. A battery is electrically coupled to the source coil. The source is configured to deliver electrical energy into a patient through the patient's skin. The receive coil is implantable in the patient. The receive coil is configured to receive the energy delivered by the source coil. The receive coil includes a plurality of copper conductors defining a substantially planar coil and configured to power and electrically couple to an implantable blood pump, each of the plurality of copper conductors encased within tantalum pentoxide and defining a litz configuration devoid of solder joints and connectors. A controller is implantable within the patient and electrically coupled to the battery and to the receive coil, the controller configured to control operation of the implantable blood pump.

Drawings

A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an antero-medial body view of a patient with a left ventricular assist device, a receive coil and a controller fully implanted in the patient;

FIG. 2 is an anterolateral body view of the patient shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a battery and transmission coil coupled to the patient;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the receive coil and controller shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of an embodiment of a first end of the receive coil shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of another embodiment of the first end of the receive coil shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the receive coil shown in FIG. 3; and

fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a receive coil of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference designators refer to like elements, there is shown in fig. 1 and 2 an exemplary Transcutaneous Energy Transfer (TET) system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present application and designated generally as "10". The system 10 is fully implantable in a patient (whether human or animal), that is, there is no transcutaneous connection between the implanted components of the system 10 and components external to the patient's body. In the configuration shown in fig. 1, the system 10 includes a controller 12 implanted in the patient. The controller 12 may include a battery (not shown) configured to power the components of the controller and to provide power to one or more implantable medical devices, such as a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)14 implanted in the left ventricle of a patient's heart. VAD 14 may include a centrifugal pump, an axial flow pump, or other type of electromagnetic pump configured to pump blood from the heart to the blood vessels to circulate around the body. One such centrifugal pump is the HVAD sold by HeartWare corporation and is shown and described in U.S. patent No. 7,997,854, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One such axial flow pump is the MVAD sold by HeartWare corporation and shown and described in U.S. patent No. 8,419,609, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In an exemplary configuration, VAD 14 is electrically coupled to controller 12 by one or more implanted conductors 16, which one or more implanted conductors 16 are configured to provide power to VAD 14, to relay one or more measured feedback signals from VAD 14, and/or to provide operating instructions to VAD 14.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the receive coil 18 may also be coupled to the controller 12 by, for example, one or more implanted conductors 20. In an exemplary configuration, the receive coil 18 may be implanted subcutaneously near the chest cavity, although any subcutaneous location may be used to implant the receive coil 18. The receive coil 18 is configured to be inductively powered through the patient's skin by a transmit coil 22 (see fig. 2) disposed on the exterior of the patient's body opposite the receive coil 18. For example, as shown in fig. 2, the transmission coil 22 may be coupled to a power source 24 (e.g., a portable battery carried by the patient). In one configuration, the battery is configured to generate a radio frequency signal for transmission of energy from the transmission coil 22 to the receive coil 18. In the configuration shown in fig. 2, the transmission coil 22 is optionally housed within a sealed package 26 to protect the transmission coil 22, and the transmission coil 22 is optionally attached to a sling 28 around the torso of the patient to hold the transmission coil 22 in a fixed position for transmitting power to the receive coil 18. Although fig. 2 shows a sling 28, any fixation device may be used to adhere or otherwise secure the transmission coil 22 to the skin of the patient. The transmission coil 22 may be constructed of an electrically conductive alloy (e.g., copper with sufficient turns and conductivity to emit sufficient power (e.g., 2-10W) to power the VAD 14). In other configurations, the conductive alloy may be gold, palladium, silver, or other metals.

Referring now to fig. 1 and 3, the receive coil 18 includes at least one copper conductor 30, the at least one copper conductor 30 defining a coil 32 and configured to power the VAD 12. In one configuration, the at least one copper conductor 30 is encased within a corrosion resistant material 34 (fig. 4), such as tantalum or graphene. Other corrosion resistant materials may include, but are not limited to, niobium, titanium, platinum, gold, and other highly corrosion resistant metals, metal alloys, ceramics, and composites, such as sputtered metals, graphene, or other coatings. In one configuration, an electrically insulating material (e.g., ETFE) may be further coated over the corrosion resistant material 34, partially or completely surrounding the coil 32 and the corrosion resistant material 34. In one configuration, the receive coil 18 defines a substantially planar coil defining a diameter of 4-10cm such that the receive coil 18 is substantially coplanar with the inner surface of the dermis. The at least one copper conductor 30 may be solid, composed entirely of copper, and corrosion resistant, thus reducing or eliminating the need for packaging the receive coil 18 within a hermetic sealing material. In other configurations, the at least one copper conductor may consist essentially of copper, but may include other metals or metal alloys (such as silver). In one configuration, the at least one copper conductor 30 is between 10-24AGW and defines between 6-14 turns to define a coil 32. In an exemplary configuration, the at least one copper conductor 30 is 14AWG or less and defines 10 turns without any solder joints or splices. The at least one copper conductor 30 may also be stranded or braided. For example, the at least one copper conductor 30 may be a 14AWG and include a plurality of copper wires defining the same cross-sectional area. The first end 36 of the coil 18 may be electrically connected to a first coupler 38 of the controller 12 and the second end 40 of the coil 18 may be coupled to a second coupler 42 of the controller 12 so that a voltage may be applied to the coil 18. In such a configuration, the coil 18 does not include any joints, but rather smooth turns.

Referring now to fig. 3A, to isolate the copper first and second ends 36, 40 of the coil 18 from the patient's body, the first and second ends 36, 40 may be etched using an etching material (e.g., ferric chloride, HNO3), and biocompatible wires or pins are inserted within the coil 18. For example, the pins 43 are constructed of a biocompatible conductive material (e.g., niobium or titanium), may extend distally away from the ends 36 and 40, and the ends 36 and 40 may be seam welded to isolate the copper of the coil 18 from the patient. The pins 43 may be further enclosed or otherwise encased with sapphire or ceramic for coupling with the first or second couplers 38 and 42, respectively. The distal ends of the pins 43 may optionally be sputtered with gold so that the distal ends of the pins 43 may be soldered to the first or second couplers 38 and 42.

Referring now to fig. 3B, in another configuration, the first end 36 and the second end 40 of the coil 18 may be compression welded without any etching of the ends 36 and 40. For example, each end 36 and 40 may be crimp welded and crimp welded within a biocompatible material crimp material 45 (e.g., platinum, iridium, gold, titanium, etc.). The pins 43 may extend distally from the crimp material 45 for soldering or otherwise joining to the first or second couplers 38 and 42, respectively.

Referring now to fig. 4, in an exemplary configuration, the at least one copper conductor 30 is fully encased and disposed within a corrosion resistant material 34, the corrosion resistant material 34 being tantalum pentoxide. The at least one copper conductor 30 has a cross-sectional area greater than the cross-sectional area of the corrosion resistant material 34, which increases electrical conductivity. For example, the thickness of the corrosion resistant material 34 may be in the range of 0.1mm thick to 2mm thick, and in some configurations, up to 5mm thick. In an exemplary configuration, tantalum pentoxide is extruded or otherwise deposited on the surface of the at least one copper conductor 30 and forms a substantially uniform layer around the at least one copper conductor 30. In such a configuration, the coil 18 is corrosion resistant and biocompatible without the need for a hermetically sealed package. That is, the coil 18 may be implanted under the skin without any packaging around the coil 18. The coil 18 may optionally define a Litz-type wire 44 configuration (shown in fig. 5) due to a thin oxide layer created around the at least one copper conductor 30 by a tantalum pentoxide layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of at least one copper conductor 30, each of which is covered in a corrosion resistant material 34, the corrosion resistant material 34 may be disposed within a larger outer corrosion resistant material 46, the corrosion resistant material 46 houses an assembly of litz wire 44, and each copper conductor 30 may be insulated from adjacent copper conductors 30. In such a configuration, the skin effect is reduced, reducing the overall series resistance, thereby reducing the amount of heat generated. Any litz configuration (e.g., type 1-8 litz wire configurations) may be used to form the coil 18 using stranded or solid copper conductors 30. In an exemplary configuration, the litz wire 46 may be a 14AWG and may be comprised of any number of conductors 30.

It should be understood that the various aspects disclosed herein may be combined in different combinations than those specifically presented in the description and drawings. It should also be understood that certain acts or events of any of the processes or methods described herein can be performed in a different order, and certain acts or events of any of the processes or methods described herein can be added, combined, or omitted altogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary to perform the techniques), according to examples. Further, while certain aspects of the disclosure are described for clarity as being performed by a single module or unit, it should be understood that the techniques of the disclosure may be performed by a combination of units or modules associated with, for example, a medical device.

In one or more examples, the techniques described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. The computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium corresponding to a tangible medium such as a data storage medium (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer).

The instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. Accordingly, the term "processor" as used herein may refer to any of the foregoing structure or any other physical structure suitable for implementing the described techniques. Furthermore, the techniques may be fully implemented in one or more circuits or logic elements.

Certain embodiments of the invention include: