Speaker
Description
Battery-free wireless neuroelectronic interfaces are emerging as a transformative technology in bioelectronic medicine, enabling long-term, minimally invasive solutions for neural stimulation, monitoring, and therapeutic applications. Conventional battery-powered implants face significant limitations, including bulky form factors, surgical replacement needs, and constrained longevity. Wireless power transfer (WPT) offers a promising alternative; however, its efficiency and safety remain key challenges, particularly for deep-body implants. The strong attenuation, reflection, and scattering of electromagnetic (EM) waves in biological tissues limit power delivery efficiency, while compliance with exposure regulations imposes additional constraints on transmission power levels.
Our research focuses on a novel bio-adaptive WPT approach that leverages wavefront shaping, conformal phased arrays, impedance-matching structures, and ultra-miniaturized implantable receivers to optimize energy transfer while minimizing user EM exposure. Numerical simulations and experimental validations in tissue phantoms and ex vivo models demonstrate significant improvements over conventional single-antenna WPT methods, achieving orders-of-magnitude enhancements in power transfer efficiency and safety compliance. The proposed adaptive control mechanisms dynamically regulate power transmission based on implant positioning, reducing tissue heating and improving energy localization. Our findings establish the foundation for the next generation of safe, efficient, and autonomous battery-free neuroelectronic interfaces, with applications in brain-computer interfaces, neural stimulation, and bioelectronic medicine.
