Mauro Serpelloni

Kinetic and thermal energy harvesters for implantable medical devices and biomedical autonomous sensors

Implantable medical devices usually require a battery to operate and this can represent a severe restriction. In most cases, the implantable medical devices must be surgically replaced because of the dead batteries; therefore, the longevity of the whole implantable medical device is determined by the battery lifespan. For this reason, researchers have been studying energy harvesting techniques from the human body in order to obtain batteryless implantable medical devices. The human body is a rich source of energy and this energy can be harvested from body heat, breathing, arm motion, leg motion or the motion of other body parts produced during walking or any other activity. In particular, the main human-body energy sources are kinetic energy and thermal energy. This paper reviews the state-of-art in kinetic and thermoelectric energy harvesters for powering implantable medical devices. Kinetic energy harvesters are based on electromagnetic, electrostatic and piezoelectric conversion. The different energy harvesters are analyzed highlighting their sizes, energy or power they produce and their relative applications. As they must be implanted, energy harvesting devices must be limited in size, typically about 1 cm 3 . The available energy depends on human-body positions; therefore, some positions are more advantageous than others. For example, favorable positions for piezoelectric harvesters are hip, knee and ankle where forces are significant. The energy harvesters here reported produce a power between 6 nW and 7.2 mW; these values are comparable with the supply requirements of the most common implantable medical devices; this demonstrates that energy harvesting techniques is a valid solution to design batteryless implantable medical devices.

Self-Powered Wireless Sensor for Air Temperature and Velocity Measurements With Energy Harvesting Capability

Air temperature and velocity measurements are important parameters in many applications. A self-powered sensor placed in a duct and powered by an electromechanical generator scavenging energy from the airflow has been designed and tested. It periodically transmits the measured air temperature and velocity to a receiving unit. The system basically consists of two macroblocks, respectively: the self-power wireless sensor and the receiving unit. The self-powered sensor has a section devoted to the energy harvesting, exploiting the movement of an airscrew shaft keyed to a dc motor. The self-powered sensor adopts integrated devices in low-power technology, including a microcontroller, an integrated temperature sensor, and a radio-frequency transmitter at 433 MHz. The data transmission is realized in Manchester encoding, with amplitude-shift-keying modulation at 433 MHz, allowing covering a distance between the sensor and the reader on the order of 4-5 m, depending on the power supplied in transmission. The air velocity is measured through the rotor frequency of the electromechanical generator, whereas, for the temperature, a commercial low-power sensor is used. An experimental system has been designed and fabricated, demonstrating that the airflow harvester can power the self-powered wireless sensor permitting air temperature and velocity measurements. The system can be used for real-time monitoring of temperature and velocity. The sensor module placed into the duct does not require any batteries.

Sensorized Glove for Measuring Hand Finger Flexion for Rehabilitation Purposes

Over the last 30 years, scientific and technological progress has boosted the development of medical devices that can assist patients and support medical staff. With regard to the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered from traumas, robotic systems can be an aid for rapid patient recovery. This paper focuses on studying and implementing a system for measuring the finger position of one hand with the aim of giving feedback to the rehabilitation system. It consists of a glove where sensors are mounted suitably configured and connected to an electronic conditioning and acquisition unit. The information regarding the position is then sent to a remote system. The objective of this paper is to provide a sensorized glove for monitoring the rehabilitation activities of the hand. The glove can have several other applications such as: 1) the recognition of sign language; 2) the diagnostic measurement of the finger movement at a distance; and 3) the interaction with virtual reality.

Autonomous Sensor System With Power Harvesting for Telemetric Temperature Measurements of Pipes

In this paper, an autonomous sensor system, with low-power electronics for radio-frequency (RF) communication, incorporating a thermoelectric energy-harvesting module for unattended operation is presented. A target application is proposed for temperature measurement of walled-in pipes. When the autonomous sensor is placed on the heat source, a thermoelectric module harvests energy, powering the autonomous sensor. In this condition, no external power source is necessary, the temperature measurement is performed, and the data are saved into a nonvolatile memory. When the external readout unit is active, the electromagnetic field is used to power the autonomous sensor system and to communicate the data. An experimental setup has been arranged and characterized by measuring the temperature along the pipe, the voltage that can be generated by thermoelectric generators, and the influence of different materials on RF communication. The temperature data of the heat source, which are collected by the autonomous sensor, are compared with that of a reference thermistor. The measurement results show good agreement between the two measured temperature data sets. The experimental data demonstrate that the autonomous system works correctly for a temperature gradient that is higher than 9degC, within a readout distance of a few centimeters. The presented autonomous sensor system can be effectively used for measurements into a close environment in which a temperature difference is present.

Passive and Self-Powered Autonomous Sensors for Remote Measurements

Autonomous sensors play a very important role in the environmental, structural, and medical fields. The use of this kind of systems can be expanded for several applications, for example in implantable devices inside the human body where it is impossible to use wires. Furthermore, they enable measurements in harsh or hermetic environments, such as under extreme heat, cold, humidity or corrosive conditions. The use of batteries as a power supply for these devices represents one solution, but the size, and sometimes the cost and unwanted maintenance burdens of replacement are important drawbacks. In this paper passive and self-powered autonomous sensors for harsh or hermetical environments without batteries are discussed. Their general architectures are presented. Sensing strategies, communication techniques and power management are analyzed. Then, general building blocks of an autonomous sensor are presented and the design guidelines that such a system must follow are given. Furthermore, this paper reports different proposed applications of autonomous sensors applied in harsh or hermetic environments: two examples of passive autonomous sensors that use telemetric communication are proposed, the first one for humidity measurements and the second for high temperatures. Other examples of self-powered autonomous sensors that use a power harvesting system from electromagnetic fields are proposed for temperature measurements and for airflow speeds.

A new measurement method for capacitance transducers in a distance compensated telemetric sensor system

A measurement method for an inductive telemetric system useful for capacitance transducers is described. It is based on a physical model that also considers the leakage and coupled magnetic fluxes and the possible presence of parasitic elements. The model behaviour explains well the measured impedance diagram. Moreover it compensates the change of distance between the read-out and sensing inductors. The method has been experimentally tested showing good agreement with the reference quantities (about 0.6% of the reading value) and compared with a different one. A comparison with a measurement method usually proposed in the literature highlights the distance compensation and the possibility of a more general application. Theoretical explanations, experimental results and discussion are reported.

Wireless Wearable T-Shirt for Posture Monitoring During Rehabilitation Exercises

The monitoring of any human physiological parameters during rehabilitation exercises requires noninvasive sensors for the patient. This paper describes a wireless wearable T-shirt for posture monitoring during rehabilitation or reinforcement exercises. The subject posture is measured through a sensorized T-shirt using an inductive sensor sewn directly on the fabric. The wireless wearable T-shirt design specifications are the following: independence from the remote unit, easy to use, lightweight and comfort of wearing. This paper reports the conceptual framework, the fabricated device description, and the adopted experimental setup. The instrumented T-shirts output data are compared with the data obtained via an optical system, as a gold standard, that measures the marker positions over the patients back and chest. The trials performed on four subjects obtained on different days demonstrate that the wireless wearable sensor described in this paper is capable of producing reliable data compared with the data obtained with the optical system. The constitutive sensor simplicity that includes only a copper wire and a separable circuit board allows achieving the objectives of simplicity, ease of use, and noninvasiveness. The sensorized T-shirt, integrated with designed conditioning and transmission electronics for remote communication, could be used as a support tool for postural monitoring during rehabilitation exercises.

Passive Hybrid MEMS for High-Temperature Telemetric Measurements

A contactless sensor represents an attractive solution for high-temperature measurements in harsh environments, where the use of cables is not suitable, and where the temperature values are beyond those permitted by active electronic circuits. Temperature sensors have a wide variety of applications in automated processes for temperature control and regulation. This paper describes a passive sensing device suitable for high-temperature measurements consisting of a microfabricated temperature-sensitive variable capacitor and a planar inductor designed for high-temperature environments. Another readout inductor constitutes, together with the planar inductor, a telemetric system, which is a coupled transformer with the readout connected to the measurement electronics. The proposed passive hybrid microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) consists of an interdigitated capacitor bonded to the planar inductor. The hybrid sensor behaves as an LC resonant circuit in which the interdigitated capacitor represents the capacitance and the planar inductor is the inductance. The temperature induces a displacement of the conductive electrodes of the interdigitated capacitor toward the fixed electrodes realizing a temperature-sensitive variable capacitor. An equivalent circuit scheme of the variable capacitor and the planar inductor has been analyzed. Two telemetric measurement methods, relying on a frequency variation output, have been tested. The whole system has been tested in the laboratory, and several results are reported. Finally, the sensor prototype was fabricated and successfully characterized up to 330?C as a proof of concept of temperature sensing through passive wireless communication. The proposed telemetric temperature system can be a solution for efficiency monitoring and predictive maintenance for harsh and complex environments, thereby eliminating the need for physical contacts, active elements, or power supplies, which cannot withstand harsh environments.

Wireless Measurement Electronics for Passive Temperature Sensor

High-temperature measurement systems do not allow the use of traditional measurement techniques. In the presence of high temperatures, the proper functioning of electronics is compromised. Furthermore, if the measurement environment is also hermetic, the traditional cabled measurement technique cannot be adopted. In this paper, a system composed by a passive sensor placed in the harsh environment and a dedicated readout electronics placed outside in a safe zone is designed and proposed for measuring the temperature up to 330°C. The sensing element is based on a hybrid sensor constituted solely by passive components (an inductor connected to a planar micromachined variable capacitor). The hybrid sensor can be placed inside high-temperature and hermetic measuring environment, while the temperature data can be measured telemetrically by an external reading unit, located in the safe environment. In this paper, the system is presented using novel electronic circuits of the readout unit, which permit to avoid the need of an expensive commercial impedance analyzer. The wireless measurement electronics was designed and characterized; the results obtained and reported in this paper are quite in good agreement with those measured by a reference commercial impedance analyzer. The complete measurement system is presented as a viable solution to the measurement of high temperatures in harsh or enclosed industrial environments.

An inductive telemetric measurement system for humidity sensing

In some specific applications, the measuring environment can have unsuitable characteristics for a correct electronic functioning; it is not possible to connect a sensitive element to the conditioning electronics by standard cables or by a radiofrequency link. A possible solution could be a contactless link with a passive sensor inside the measuring environment and a readout outside. This paper discusses the telemetric system consisting of two contactless coupled planar inductors. The two inductors form a coupled transformer in air, with the primary one connected to the measurement electronics and the secondary one working as the sensitive element. A polymer deposited on the secondary one is sensible to the humidity, and changes its dielectric permittivity causing a variation of the inductor parasitic capacitance. A conditioning electronics measures frequency resonances, while the system extracts the corresponding capacitance values, compensating the distance variation as well. The whole system has been tested in the laboratory, and several results have been reported. These show about 200 fF variation over 1.7 pF for a change of the RH between 60% and 90% at a constant temperature of 22 °C. Moreover, the measured data are compensated on distance variation changing from 15 mm up to 30 mm. The complete explanation of the whole measurement system is described here. The low cost of the sensors and conditioning electronics implies a high diffusion in many application fields, from food packages to automotive.