Flexible Wirelessly Powered Implantable Device

Brain implantable devices have various limitations in terms of size, power, biocompatibility and mechanical properties that need to be addressed. This paper presents a neural implant that is powered wirelessly using a flexible biocompatible antenna. This delivers power to an LED at the end of the shaft to provide a highly efficient demonstration. The proposed design in this study combines mechanical properties and practicality given the numerous constraints of this implant typology. We have applied a modular structure approach to the design of this device considering three modules of antenna, conditioner circuit and shank. The implant was fabricated using a flexible substrate of Polyimide and encapsulated by PDMS for chronic implantation. In addition, finite element method COMSOL Multiphysics simulation of mechanical forces acting on the implant and shank was carried out to validate a viable shank conformation-encapsulation combination that will safely work under operational stress with a satisfactory margin of safety.