Design and Simulation of an Electrostatic Energy Harvester for Biomedical Implants

This paper presents the design of an electrostatic MEMS energy harvester for medical implant application. It examines solutions for constraining the motion of the mobile part in one direction and proposes an innovative spring architecture. Indeed, constraining the mobile part motion is essential to avoid undesired contact between comb electrodes. It is particularly important in environments in which mechanical vibrations result from complex combination of rotations and translations. The objective of the considered device is to power the next generation of leadless pacemakers using mechanical energy generated by heartbeat motion. Such solution would dramatically increase the lifetime of implants and would be very beneficial for the patients by reducing the number of replacement surgical operations. Numerical simulations based on analytical modelling and acceleration signal mimicking heartbeat motion enabled to analyze the system response in various condition, showing the interest and benefits of the proposed approach.