Energy transfer and harvesting for RF-Bio applications — Invited

Biomedical systems using microwave technology consume electric energy depending upon their applications. Those systems are deployed inside or outside living bodies. Energy can be supplied through wireless power transfer to the injected biomedical devices from outside, or can be harvested using various technologies such as RF, heat and vibration. For bio-systems or devices deployed outside living bodies such as WBAN apparatus that people wear, energy is provided using energy harvesting technology. Wireless energy transfer has been up to now used for other applications such as wireless charging, which can also be applied for transmitting energy through living body, but this should guarantee no harm to human body. In this work, possible wireless energy transfer through living body and energy harvesting using RF, heat and vibration are investigated and effective energy transfer and harvesting methods are presented. Overall system architecture as well as circuit implementation is described for this purpose.