Assessment of miniaturized ultrasound-powered implants: an in vivo study
Abstract
Objective. Therapeutic applications of implantable active medical devices have improved the quality of patient life. Numerous on-going research in the field of neuromodulation and bioelectronic medicine are exploring the use of these implants for treating diseases and conditions. Miniaturized implantable medical devices that are wirelessly powered by ultrasound (US) can be placed close to the target sites deep inside the body for effective therapy with less invasiveness. In this study, we assessed the long-term in vivo performance of miniaturized US powered implants (UPI) using a rodent model. Approach. Prototype UPI devices were implanted in rodents and powered wirelessly using an unfocused US transmitter over 12 weeks, and the corresponding device output was recorded. Structural integrity of UPI before and after implantation was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also conducted qualitative histological assessment of skin and muscle surrounding the UPI and compared it to naïve control and US exposed tissues. Main results. We found that it is feasible to power UPI devices wirelessly with US over long-term. The encapsulation of UPIs did not degrade over time and the tissues surrounding the UPI were comparable to both naïve control and US exposed tissues. Significance. This study is the first to assess the long-term performance of miniaturized UPI devices using a rodent model over 12-weeks. The set of tests used in this study can be extended to assess other US-powered miniaturized implants.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1088/1741-2552/ab6fc2
Entities
People
- Amin Arbabian
- Jesse Vo
- Katherine I Shea
- Matthew Myers
- Srikanth Vasudevan
- Ting Chia Chang
Organizations
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- National Science Foundation