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A study of kinetic energy harvesting for biomedical application in the head area

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Abstract

This paper is focused on determining a suitability of using a kinetic energy harvester placed in the area of the human head for supplying power to a new generation of cochlear implants. Placement-dependant volumetric and mass constraints of the harvester are discussed, and the requirements for its power output are set based on the power demands on the state-of-the-art cochlear implants. Measured acceleration data for different activities are presented together with a statistics of a random user behaviour during the course of 10 months. Nonlinear simulation model based on CAD geometry and FEM analyses is developed and its parameters are optimized using the sensitivity analysis in order to generate the maximum power. Real life acceleration data are then employed to feed the input of the simulation model of energy harvester to predict the obtainable power output. The feasibility of employing the energy harvesting to power the selected biomedical application is discussed based on simulation results.

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Acknowledgments

This work is an output of research and scientific activities of NETME Centre, supported through project NETME CENTRE PLUS (LO1202) by financial means from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in Czech Republic under the “National Sustainability Programme I”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technicka 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic

    Jan Smilek & Zdenek Hadas

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  1. Jan Smilek
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  2. Zdenek Hadas
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Correspondence to Jan Smilek.

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Smilek, J., Hadas, Z. A study of kinetic energy harvesting for biomedical application in the head area. Microsyst Technol 22, 1535–1547 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-015-2766-2

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