Assessment of MEMS energy harvester for medical applications

This paper assesses the feasibility of the energy harvesting principle for the development of an autonomous power supply unit for a new generation of biomedical devices, e.g. artificial cochlear implants. Requirements for the harvester are set based on a research of power demands of state-of-the-art medical devices. Feasible methods of the energy conversion are then reviewed, and a simulation model of the generic energy harvester is developed. Acceleration in the head area of the user is measured and used as an input excitation for the model. Possible course of the follow-up research is outlined based on simulation and measurement results.

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