Innovations
The Holy Grail of every mechatronics architect is probably making a system fully autonomous. For years numerous ideas were born out of the imagination of inventors. As of today, unfortunately, none of them are ideal and few are well suited for medical devices. Which is why Vitruvens aims to be a pioneer in the development of application specific autonomous energy solutions which combines patient comfort, miniaturization and reliability.
Smart-UTET:
Ultrasonic Transcutaneous Energy Transfer
The limits of TET in view of the new stakes
Nowadays, miniaturized active implantable medical devices are implanted deeply in the body; some will even be in motion (Intracardiac implant, endoscopy pills, etc.).
Traditional wireless Transcutaneous Energy Transmission commonly called TET is no longer adapted for these new usages.
Meet the new challenges of medical implants
Vitruvens is developing an innovative UTET, a wireless ultrasound power transmission device capable of transmitting an ultrasound signal from outside to inside the body and converting it into electrical power locally inside the implant with several breakthrough features and benefits like:
- Deep power transmission up to 10 cm
- Tolerant to static and dynamic (implant motion) misalignment +/- 20 mm
- High miniaturization
- Communication through the ultrasonic career up to 10 Kbit/s
- Light and user-friendly wearable external energy transmission device
- Power transmission through metallic surfaces like titanium without heating up
- The FDA allows higher power density for ultrasound waves of up to 720 mW/cm2 versus 10 mW/cm2 for RF energy transmission
- Higher efficiency: the ability to focus the energy beam on the target, enabling higher miniaturization versus RF technics
- Naturally compliant with a magnetic resonant medical instrument (IRM)
BattHealth
Better and deeper insight into battery health
Managing the batteries’ State of Health (SoH) is becoming highly strategic for all the stakeholders of the emerging electrification sector.
A battery involves complex chemical reactions which make its state of health inspection and diagnosis extremely difficult. Recent discoveries demonstrate a relationship between the State of Charge (SoC), the State of Health (SoH), and the signature of an ultrasonic signal propagating through the battery cell.
Giving a second life to batteries and improving their efficiency
Vitruvens is developing an innovative acoustic battery monitoring technology that can be used at a different level of the value chain: inspection and sorting during battery manufacturing, aging monitoring for onboard applications, or even diagnosis for potential reuse in a second life.