Medical equipment makers are getting more interested in ditching the cords and wires that connect their products to electric power, and a Watertown company is seeing some benefits.
WiTricity, an MIT spinout that sells wireless electric charging systems, is announcing a new licensing deal with medical device and equipment supplier Greatbatch.
Greatbatch builds components for a wide range of electronics, from pacemakers and other implantable devices to the portable hospital carts that carry bedside equipment such as ultrasound scanners to a patient’s room.
The partnership involves more than simply buying access to WiTricity’s patents: The two companies have been working together closely for about three years to find ways to integrate wireless charging technology into Greatbatch’s products.
“They’re going to be very quick to market in portable power,” WiTricity sales engineer Colin McCarthy said. “They’ve been developing and proving the technology out and coming up with their own designs.”
WiTricity also has worked with medical device maker Thoratec to develop a system that can send wireless power to implantable heart pumps. Today, those pumps are powered by a wire that runs from a harness-worn battery pack into the skin.
Getting new kinds of wireless power technology in implantable medical devices “is in the very early stages” and still faces significant regulatory hurdles, said Maria Shepherd, president of healthcare consulting and research company Data Decision Group.
“It’s a new technology. It’s untried in the medical device space,” Shepherd said. “The FDA is going to want to absolutely put them through their paces.”
WiTricity said devices using its technology can be designed to meet any applicable safety standards, allowing them to avoid any interference with medical devices. Magnetic fields themselves “interact very weakly with biological organisms — people and animals — and are scientifically regarded to be safe,” the company said.
The idea of wireless charging for hospital equipment is also very promising, Shepherd said. Along with simply cutting down the amount of time equipment spends plugged into a wall, wireless power systems could reduce the number of cords and plugs that can be tripped over and dragged from room to room, which makes them a possible path for infection.
“There are too many wires in the hospital, especially in the ICU and other high acuity treatment areas,” Shepherd said. “Of course, there must be back-up, and the wireless devices must be low risk – you can’t lose power to a lifesaving, mission critical device.”
The wireless charging technology commonly seen today is often based on magnetic induction systems, which require the user to set their device — think an electric toothbrush — on a power station.
WiTricity’s technology takes that a significant step further by sending electric power through the air, and even through tables, walls, and living tissue. It does so by using an approach called magnetic resonance, which converts standard electricity into a magnetic field. That field travels safely through the air until it hits a converter, which turns the signal back into electricity.
WiTricity has previously licensed its technology to automakers and consumer electronics companies, including Intel and Toyota, both of which are investors in the company.
Updated 11:25 a.m. with additional comment.
