CN116943030B - Device based on ultrasonic signal and implantable medical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an ultrasonic signal-based device and an implantable medical device, the device comprising an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit, the ultrasonic transceiver unit being configured to transmit ultrasonic signals to the piezoelectric unit and receive echo signals; the piezoelectric unit is used for converting the received ultrasonic signals into first electric signals so as to supply power to a device to be powered in the medical equipment by using the first electric signals, reflecting the ultrasonic signals to form echo signals, and sending the echo signals to the ultrasonic transceiver unit; the sensor unit is used for sending a detection signal to the passive feedback circuit; the passive feedback circuit is used for changing the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal. The device based on the ultrasonic signal and the implantable medical device provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can supply energy for the medical device implanted in the deep part of the organism, and simultaneously feed back the treatment effect of the implantable medical device.

Description

Ultrasonic signal-based device and implantable medical device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of medical devices, and in particular to an ultrasonic signal-based device and an implantable medical device.

Background Art

Implantable medical devices refer to medical devices that are fully or partially implanted in a living organism, such as a patient, to treat diseases of internal organs or assist internal devices in achieving their functions, such as pacemakers, artificial joints, and neural stimulators. Since implantable medical devices are usually implanted inside the human body, there are great challenges in the energy issues of implantable medical devices.

Implantable devices in related technologies are usually powered by built-in lithium-ion batteries. When the battery energy is exhausted, surgery is required to replace the battery, which causes great pain to the patient. At the same time, the electrolyte of lithium-ion batteries also contains a variety of toxic substances, posing a huge hidden danger to human health.

In addition, implantable medical devices in related technologies, such as brain pacemakers and cardiac pacemakers, can only achieve one-way stimulation therapy, and cannot provide real-time feedback on the treatment effect. However, judging whether the stimulation therapy is effective and further determining the appropriate treatment dosage are inseparable from feedback information, so the role of feedback is very important. The lack of feedback will reduce the accuracy of stimulation therapy and may even cause the harm of overtreatment.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, the present disclosure proposes an ultrasonic signal-based device and an implantable medical device, which can supply energy to a medical device implanted deep in a biological body and provide feedback on the therapeutic effect of the implantable medical device.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device based on ultrasonic signals, which is applied to an implantable medical device. The device comprises: an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit. The ultrasonic transceiver unit is arranged outside the body, and the piezoelectric unit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit are implanted at a target position inside the body.

The ultrasonic transceiver unit is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit;

The piezoelectric unit is used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so as to use the first electrical signal to power the device to be powered inside the medical device;

The sensor unit is used to send the detected detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism to the passive feedback circuit;

The passive feedback circuit is used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal;

The piezoelectric unit is further used to reflect the ultrasonic signal to form an echo signal, and send the echo signal to the ultrasonic transceiver unit, and the echo signal can represent the physiological information;

The ultrasonic transceiver unit is also used to receive the echo signal.

In a possible implementation, the sensor unit includes one or more of a flexible strain sensor, a flexible pressure sensor, a flexible temperature sensor, and a flexible chemical sensor; the detection signal includes one or more of a bioelectric signal, a force signal, a temperature signal, and a chemical signal.

In a possible implementation, the device further includes an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, wherein the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered.

The energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device, and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.

In a possible implementation, the piezoelectric unit and the passive feedback circuit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit, the piezoelectric unit and the energy supply circuit, and the energy supply circuit and the output electrode are electrically connected via a flexible extension wire.

In a possible implementation manner, the device further includes a flexible packaging layer, and the flexible packaging layer is used to package the device.

In a possible implementation, the structural shape of the flexible extension wire includes a fractal structure based on a preset shape, and the preset shape includes at least one of a serpentine shape and an S-shape.

In a possible implementation manner, the device further includes a flexible adhesive layer, and the flexible adhesive layer is used to attach the device to the target position.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an implantable medical device, comprising: an ultrasonic signal-based device and a device to be powered,

The device comprises: an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit, wherein the ultrasonic transceiver unit is arranged outside the body, and the piezoelectric unit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit are implanted at a target position inside the body.

The ultrasonic transceiver unit is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit;

The piezoelectric unit is used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so as to use the first electrical signal to power the device to be powered;

The sensor unit is used to send the detected detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism to the passive feedback circuit;

The passive feedback circuit is used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal;

The piezoelectric unit is further used to reflect the ultrasonic signal to form an echo signal, and send the echo signal to the ultrasonic transceiver unit, and the echo signal can represent the physiological information;

The ultrasonic transceiver unit is also used to receive the echo signal.

In one possible implementation, the medical device also includes an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, and the energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.

In one possible implementation, the device also includes an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, and the energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.

The ultrasonic signal-based device and implantable medical device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can supply energy to the implantable medical device and feedback the physiological information of the organism to the outside through the cooperation of an ultrasonic transceiver unit arranged outside the body and three units (i.e., a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit, and a sensor unit) implanted at a target position inside the body, that is, the received ultrasonic signal is converted into a first electrical signal through the piezoelectric unit, so that the device can use the first electrical signal to power the powered device inside the medical device, and the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit is changed according to the detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism detected by the sensor unit through the passive feedback circuit, so that the ultrasonic signal is emitted at the piezoelectric material to form an echo signal, so that the ultrasonic transceiver unit can receive the echo signal representing the physiological information, so as to realize the feedback of the physiological information of the organism to the outside of the body, wherein the use of ultrasonic waves for energy transmission can effectively increase the depth of energy transmission while ensuring painlessness of the organism.

Further features and aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic signal-based device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a passive feedback circuit provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic signal-based device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structural shape of a flexible extended wire provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing an application scenario of a cardiac pacemaker provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings represent elements with the same or similar functions. Although various aspects of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise specified.

The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, example, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

In addition, in order to better illustrate the present disclosure, numerous specific details are given in the following specific embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure can also be implemented without certain specific details. In some examples, methods, means, components and circuits well known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail in order to highlight the main purpose of the present disclosure.

In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical environment in which the technical solution is implemented is described below.

Implantable medical devices refer to medical devices that are fully or partially implanted in a living organism, such as a patient, to treat diseases of internal organs or assist internal devices in achieving their functions, such as pacemakers, artificial joints, and neural stimulators. Since implantable medical devices are usually implanted inside the human body, the energy supply of implantable medical devices poses a great challenge.

Implantable medical devices are usually powered by built-in lithium-ion batteries. When the battery energy is exhausted, surgery is required to replace the battery, which will cause great pain to the patient. In addition, the electrolyte of the lithium-ion battery also contains a variety of toxic substances, which poses a huge hidden danger to human health. At the same time, existing implantable medical devices, such as brain pacemakers and cardiac pacemakers, can only achieve one-way stimulation therapy, and cannot provide real-time feedback on the treatment effect. However, judging whether the stimulation therapy is effective and further determining the appropriate treatment dosage are inseparable from feedback information, so the role of feedback is very important. The lack of feedback will reduce the accuracy of stimulation therapy and may even cause the harm of overtreatment.

In addition, the implantation space inside the human body is very limited and cannot accommodate large rigid processing circuits. In addition, the internal organs of the human body (such as the brain, heart, bladder, etc.) have complex surface shapes, and most of them will undergo periodic deformation according to physiological rhythms. This also places higher requirements on the preparation materials of implantable medical devices.

The disclosed embodiment provides an ultrasonic signal-based device for implantable medical devices. The ultrasonic transceiver unit disposed outside the body and three units (i.e., a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit, and a sensor unit) implanted at a target position inside the body can cooperate to supply energy to the implantable medical device and to feed back the physiological information of the organism. That is, the piezoelectric unit converts the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so that the device can use the first electrical signal to power the powered device inside the medical device. In addition, the passive feedback circuit changes the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism detected by the sensor unit, so that the ultrasonic signal is emitted at the piezoelectric material to form an echo signal, so that the ultrasonic transceiver unit can receive the echo signal representing the physiological information, so as to realize the feedback of the physiological information of the organism to the outside of the body. The use of ultrasonic waves for energy transmission can effectively increase the depth of energy transmission while ensuring painlessness for the organism.

The device based on ultrasonic signals provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to implantable medical devices to supply energy to the implantable medical devices and to feed back physiological information inside the organism to the outside of the organism. In other words, the device has a power supply mode and a feedback mode. The implantable medical device can be a pacemaker, an artificial joint, a nerve stimulator, etc. The implantable medical device may include a device based on ultrasonic signals and a device to be powered.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic signal-based device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the device 100 may include an ultrasonic transceiver unit 101, a piezoelectric unit 102, a sensor unit 103, and a passive feedback circuit 104, wherein the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 is disposed outside the body, and the piezoelectric unit 102, the sensor unit 103, and the passive feedback circuit 104 are implanted at a target position inside the body.

The ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 can be used not only to transmit ultrasonic signals to the piezoelectric unit 102, but also to receive echo signals from the piezoelectric unit 102. Among them, the echo signal can represent physiological information, especially in the biological body, and the echo signal is also an ultrasonic signal. In this way, the use of ultrasonic waves for energy transmission can effectively increase the depth of energy transmission while ensuring painlessness in the biological body, and can also be used when the implantable medical device does not have a built-in battery. During the use of the device, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 can continue to transmit ultrasonic signals to the piezoelectric unit 102.

In a possible implementation, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 may be a transducer. For example, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 may include a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer, wherein the transmitting transducer may be used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit 102, and the receiving transducer may be used to receive an echo signal from the piezoelectric unit 102.

In a possible implementation, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 may be an ultrasonic probe that can be used to both transmit and receive ultrasonic signals. Under the control of an external terminal such as a tablet, the ultrasonic probe can transmit ultrasonic signals to the piezoelectric unit 102 at the target position implanted in the biological body and detect the echo signal reflected by the piezoelectric unit 102 at the same time.

The piezoelectric unit 102 may include a piezoelectric element, which may be made of a piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric unit 102 may not only be used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so as to use the first electrical signal to power the powered device inside the medical device, but may also be used to reflect the ultrasonic signal to form an echo signal, and send the echo signal to the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101.

As shown in Figure 1, when the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 is used to supply energy to an implantable medical device (i.e., power supply mode), an ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 disposed outside the body can transmit an ultrasonic signal to a piezoelectric unit 102 located at a target position inside the body, and the piezoelectric unit 102 can convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so that the first electrical signal can be used to power a device to be powered inside the medical device.

The sensor unit 103 can be used to send the detected detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism to the passive feedback circuit 104. The sensor unit 103 can be arranged close to the implantable medical device to better monitor the treatment effect of the implantable medical device, that is, the target position can be close to or the same as the diseased position of the organism treated by the implantable medical device, so that the accuracy of the feedback information can be improved. The biological information can be determined according to the purpose of the implantable medical device. For example, when the implantable medical device is a pacemaker, the heart beat frequency, the force of the heart pacemaker, the heart temperature, etc. can be detected. For another example, when the implantable medical device is a neural stimulator, the electrical signals transmitted by the nerves can be detected.

In a possible implementation, the sensor unit 103 may include one or more of a flexible strain sensor, a flexible pressure sensor, a flexible temperature sensor, and a flexible chemical sensor. Correspondingly, the detection signal may include one or more of a bioelectric signal, a force signal, a temperature signal, and a chemical signal, so as to monitor physiological information such as strain, pressure, temperature, and chemistry of organs in the body. In this way, by using different types of sensors, it is possible to measure a variety of physiological information, and by using flexible sensors, the device can have a higher degree of comfort and improve the patient's experience. The type of sensor actually set can be determined according to medical needs, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

The passive feedback circuit 104 can be used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit 102 according to the detection signal. As a result, when the piezoelectric unit 102 reflects the ultrasonic signal to generate an echo signal, different echo signals will be generated due to different reflection coefficients. In this way, based on the analysis and processing of the echo signal, the reflection coefficient, the detection signal, and the physiological information can be gradually determined, and based on this information, the working process of the medical device can be further regulated and the treatment effect can be evaluated.

In a possible implementation, the passive feedback circuit 104 may include a triode. FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of a passive feedback circuit provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Now, taking the detection signal as a bioelectric signal as an example and combining FIG2 to illustrate the process of the passive feedback circuit 104 changing the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit 102:

As shown in FIG2 , the passive feedback circuit 104 may include a triode 201, and the passive feedback circuit 104 may utilize the common source amplification mode of the triode 201. The sensor unit 103 may include a sensor element that can be used to detect bioelectric signals. The sensor element in this example uses two electrodes 202 to detect the potential difference. The sensor unit 103 may transmit the bioelectric signals obtained by the two electrodes 202 to the triode 201 through a wire. The piezoelectric unit 102 may include a piezoelectric element 203. The gate (i.e., the G pole in FIG2 ) and the source (i.e., the S pole in FIG2 ) of the triode 201 are respectively connected to the two electrodes 202 of the sensor unit 103, and the source and drain (i.e., the D pole in FIG2 ) of the triode 201 are respectively connected to the two sides of the piezoelectric element 203. According to the linear resistance effect of the transistor 201, the transistor 201 has different output resistances (i.e., the resistance between the drain and the source) under different physiological voltages (i.e., corresponding to the bioelectric signal). The magnitude of the output resistance can be used to modulate the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric element 203, so that the passive feedback circuit 104 can change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit 102 based on the bioelectric signal. In this example, the greater the physiological voltage, the greater the output resistance of the transistor 201, and the greater the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric element 203 after being changed.

As shown in Figure 1, when the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 is used to feed back the physiological information inside the organism to the outside of the organism (i.e., feedback mode), the sensor unit 103 can send the acquired detection signal to the passive feedback circuit 104. The passive feedback circuit 104 can change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit 102 according to the detection signal, so that the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 to the piezoelectric unit 102 is reflected at the piezoelectric material to form an echo signal. The ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 receives the echo signal, and the physiological information of the organism can be obtained through analysis by an external terminal such as a tablet.

The change of reflection coefficient will affect the power transmission function in the power supply mode, but the effect is very small. Take the above-mentioned ultrasound probe as an example: Usually, in the power supply mode, the ultrasound probe transmits a continuous sine wave, which can be processed by filtering, rectification, etc. to provide a suitable DC level to the implantable medical device; in the feedback mode, the ultrasound probe transmits a discrete pulse wave, and the reflection coefficient has a greater impact on the discrete pulse wave and almost no effect on the continuous sine wave. Therefore, although the device based on the ultrasonic signal will change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the feedback mode, the DC level provided by the device in the power supply mode remains almost unchanged, so the effect of the change of the reflection coefficient on the power supply function in the power supply mode can be ignored.

The change of the reflection coefficient changes in real time with the passive feedback circuit 104, and the whole process is passive and is determined by the detection signal detected by the sensor unit 103. In this way, the passive communication method based on ultrasound is used to feedback the treatment effect of the implantable medical device, which not only avoids the use of large hard circuits, but also adds real-time perception and feedback functions to the implantable medical device, which can help people judge the effectiveness of the treatment in time and implement more accurate treatment.

In a possible implementation, the device based on ultrasonic signals may start the power supply mode first and then the feedback mode. After the device based on ultrasonic signals is successfully installed, the power supply mode of the device is used to power the implantable medical device in the first period of time (e.g., the first minute), and the feedback mode of the device is used to feed back the treatment effect of the implantable medical device, i.e., the physiological information of the organism, to the outside of the body in the second period of time (e.g., the second minute). In this way, the physiological information of the treated organism can be obtained after the implantable medical device has been treated for a period of time.

Now, taking the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 including a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer as an example, the process of first starting the power supply mode and then starting the feedback mode is explained: after the device based on the ultrasonic signal is successfully installed, the transmitting transducer can be controlled by an external control device such as a tablet to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit 102 during 14:00:00 to 14:02:00, and the receiving transducer can be controlled by an external control device such as a tablet to not work during 14:00:00 to 14:01:00 but to work during 14:01:00 to 14:02:00, so that the ultrasonic signal emitted by the transmitting transducer during 14:00:00 to 14:01:00 can power the implantable medical device, so that the medical device can treat the target position of the biological body, and the receiving transducer can receive the echo signal that can characterize the physiological information of the biological body during 14:01:00 to 14:02:00, so that the external control device such as the tablet can obtain the physiological information of the biological body by analyzing the echo signal. In a possible implementation, the power supply mode and feedback mode of the ultrasonic signal-based device can be started at the same time. After the ultrasonic signal-based device is successfully installed, the power supply mode and feedback mode of the device can be used at the same time to realize real-time feedback of the physiological information of the organism while supplying power.

The process of simultaneously starting the power supply mode and the feedback mode is now described by taking the ultrasonic transceiver unit 101 including an integrated ultrasonic probe as an example: after the ultrasonic signal-based device is successfully installed, the ultrasonic probe can be controlled by an external control device such as a tablet to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit 102 during the period from 14:00:00 to 14:02:00, so that the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the ultrasonic probe during the period from 14:00:00 to 14:02:00 can power the implantable medical device. Since the ultrasonic probe can be used to both transmit and receive ultrasonic signals, the ultrasonic probe can also receive echo signals that can characterize the physiological information of the organism in real time during the period from 14:00:00 to 14:02:00, so that the external control device such as a tablet can obtain the physiological information of the organism by real-time analysis of the echo signal.

FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic signal-based device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 may further include an energy supply circuit 105 and an output electrode 106, the output end of the piezoelectric unit 102 is electrically connected to the input end of the energy supply circuit 105, the output end of the energy supply circuit 105 is electrically connected to one end of the output electrode 106, and the other end of the output electrode 106 is connected to a device to be powered inside the medical device (not shown). For example, the energy supply circuit 105 may include a filter chip, a voltage stabilizing chip, and passive circuit elements such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

The energy supply circuit 105 can be used to convert the first electrical signal into the DC level required by the medical device, and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode 106. In this way, the energy supply circuit converts the first electrical signal into the required DC level, so that electrical energy can be stably and safely provided to the implantable medical device.

In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the piezoelectric unit 102 and the passive feedback circuit 104, the passive feedback circuit 104 and the sensor unit 103, the piezoelectric unit 102 and the energy supply circuit 105, and the energy supply circuit 105 and the output electrode 106 can be electrically connected via a flexible extension wire 107. In this way, the flexible extension wire provides electrical interconnection for various parts of the device, and gives the device flexibility and extensibility.

In a possible implementation, the structural shape of the flexible extension wire includes a fractal structure based on a preset shape, and the preset shape may include at least one of a serpentine shape and an S-shape. FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of the structural shape of the flexible extension wire provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4 , the flexible extension wire may adopt a fractal structure based on a serpentine wire, which can significantly enhance the extension ability of the wire layer and provide strain isolation for each functional element in the device. The serpentine structure can withstand most of the strain through in-plane bending and out-of-plane warping deformation. When deformed, the fractal wire will unfold step by step, and release the strain it has borne step by step, further enhancing the extension performance of the device.

In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 may further include a flexible packaging layer 108, which may be used to package the device 100, that is, the piezoelectric unit 102, the passive feedback circuit 104, the energy supply circuit 105, and the flexible extension wire 107 are all placed in the flexible packaging layer 108. The sensor unit 103 and the output electrode 106 may be selectively packaged in the flexible packaging layer 108 according to actual conditions. For example, the flexible packaging layer 108 may be made of an organic material with good biocompatibility, and the overall packaging thickness may be less than 2 mm, and its elastic modulus is similar to that of human soft tissue. In this way, the flexible packaging layer with extremely low bending stiffness may be conformally attached to the surface of human organs, and follow the dynamic deformation of the organs to avoid the device from causing damage to biological tissues, and at the same time provide support and protection for the device, isolate the device from the outside world, and avoid the device from being disturbed by the body fluid environment.

In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG3 , the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 may further include a flexible adhesive layer 109, which may be used to closely attach the device to the target location. The flexible adhesive layer 109 may be disposed on one side of the flexible encapsulation layer 108, so that when implanted in the target location of the organism, the flexible adhesive layer 109 may be located between the target location of the organism and the flexible encapsulation layer 108, thereby improving the adhesion between the device 100 and the target location.

FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing an application scenario of a cardiac pacemaker provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A cardiac pacemaker is an electronic therapeutic instrument implanted in the body, which generates electric pulses through a pulse generator, and stimulates the myocardium contacted by the electrodes through conduction through wire electrodes, causing the heart to be excited and contracted, thereby achieving the treatment of cardiac dysfunction caused by certain arrhythmias. In this example, the implantable medical device may be a cardiac pacemaker, which includes the above-mentioned device 100 based on ultrasonic signals and a main device 500 for realizing the cardiac pacing function, and the device 100 based on ultrasonic signals is used to power the internal devices to be powered of the cardiac pacemaker and to use echo signals to feed back the physiological information of the human body, especially the stimulation effect of the cardiac pacemaker, to the outside of the body in real time.

In this example, as shown in FIG5 , the main component 500 of the pacemaker is placed at the heart, and the flexible packaging layer 108 of the ultrasonic signal-based device 100 is attached to the heart with a flexible adhesive layer (not shown), and the sensor unit 103 of the device 100 (for example, a flexible strain sensor based on polyvinylidene fluoride) is also placed at the heart and is configured in conjunction with the main component 500 of the pacemaker, so that the device 100 can detect the required strain signal.

In this example, the transducer 101 located outside the body continuously emits ultrasonic waves to the area where the flexible packaging layer 108 is located inside the body. The device receives the acoustic energy (i.e., ultrasonic energy) emitted by the transducer 101 through the piezoelectric unit (not shown) in the flexible packaging layer 108, and converts the acoustic energy into electrical energy and transmits it to the energy supply circuit (not shown). The energy supply circuit drives the pacemaker 500 to work through the output electrode (not shown) to stimulate the heart to contract. The sensor unit 103 is used to sense the contraction state of the heart after receiving the stimulation, and the sensed strain signal is transmitted to the passive feedback circuit (not shown). The reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric unit is changed through the passive feedback circuit to reflect the echo signal to the transducer 101. The terminal located outside the body obtains the heart contraction information according to the echo signal received by the transducer 101, so that the stimulation intensity of the main device 500 of the pacemaker can be adjusted in real time. If the degree of heart contraction is lower than the standard value, the stimulation intensity is increased; if the degree of heart contraction is higher than the standard value, the stimulation intensity is weakened.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an implantable medical device, which may include an ultrasonic signal-based device and a device to be powered, wherein the device includes: an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit, the ultrasonic transceiver unit is arranged outside the body of the organism, the piezoelectric unit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit are implanted at a target position in the body of the organism, the ultrasonic transceiver unit is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit; the piezoelectric unit is used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal to power the device to be powered using the first electrical signal; the sensor unit is used to send a detection signal representing the physiological information of the organism to the passive feedback circuit; the passive feedback circuit is used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal; the piezoelectric unit is also used to reflect the ultrasonic signal to form an echo signal, and send the echo signal to the ultrasonic transceiver unit, the echo signal can represent the physiological information; the ultrasonic transceiver unit is also used to receive the echo signal.

In one possible implementation, the medical device may also include an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, the output electrode being connected to the device to be powered, and the energy supply circuit may be used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.

In a possible implementation, the device may also include an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, and the energy supply circuit can be used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.

In some embodiments, the functions or modules included in the device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to execute the method described in the above method embodiments. The specific implementation can refer to the description of the above method embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

The ultrasonic signal-based device and implantable medical device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to supply energy to implantable medical devices and provide feedback on the therapeutic effects of implantable medical devices through an ultrasonic-based energy supply and communication method. Ultrasonic waves are used for energy transmission to effectively increase the depth of energy transmission, and energy can be supplied to medical devices implanted deep in the human body. Secondly, information perception and feedback are performed by using passive electrical impedance to change the reflection coefficient, thereby avoiding the use of large rigid circuits. In addition, flexible sensors, flexible conductive layers, and flexible packaging layers can give the device flexibility and extensibility, which not only improves the comfort of use, but also can be closely attached to the complex surface of human organs to avoid organic damage to the human body and follow the dynamic deformation of human organs, thereby improving the accuracy of the device feedback information.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, and the above description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and changes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The selection of terms used herein is intended to best explain the principles of the embodiments, practical applications, or technical improvements in the market, or to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims (9)

1. A device based on ultrasonic signals, characterized in that it is applied to an implantable medical device, the device comprising: an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit, the ultrasonic transceiver unit is arranged outside the body, the piezoelectric unit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit are implanted at a target position in the body, The ultrasonic transceiver unit is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit; The piezoelectric unit is used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so as to use the first electrical signal to power the device to be powered inside the medical device, so that the medical device uses the electrical energy inside the device to be powered to treat the biological body; The sensor unit is used to send a detection signal representing physiological information of the organism after treatment to the passive feedback circuit, the sensor unit includes a flexible strain sensor, a flexible pressure sensor, a flexible temperature sensor, and a flexible chemical sensor, and the detection signal includes a bioelectric signal, a force signal, a temperature signal, and a chemical signal; The passive feedback circuit is used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal, and the change process of the reflection coefficient is passive and determined by the detection signal; The piezoelectric unit is further used to reflect the received ultrasonic signal according to different reflection coefficients to form different echo signals, and send the echo signals to the ultrasonic transceiver unit, wherein the echo signals can represent the physiological information of the organism after treatment; The ultrasonic transceiver unit is also used to receive the echo signal, so that the external terminal processes the echo signal to obtain the reflection coefficient, the detection signal, and the physiological information, so as to regulate the working process of the medical device and evaluate the treatment effect of the medical device. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device also includes an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, wherein the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, The energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device, and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode. 3. The device according to claim 2 is characterized in that the piezoelectric unit and the passive feedback circuit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit, the piezoelectric unit and the energy supply circuit, and the energy supply circuit and the output electrode are electrically connected through flexible extension wires. 4 . The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a flexible packaging layer, wherein the flexible packaging layer is used to package the device. 5. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the structural shape of the flexible extension wire includes a fractal structure based on a preset shape, and the preset shape includes at least one of a serpentine shape and an S-shape. 6 . The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a flexible adhesive layer, wherein the flexible adhesive layer is used to attach the device to the target location. 7. An implantable medical device, comprising: an ultrasonic signal-based device and a device to be powered, The device comprises: an ultrasonic transceiver unit, a piezoelectric unit, a passive feedback circuit and a sensor unit, wherein the ultrasonic transceiver unit is arranged outside the body, and the piezoelectric unit, the passive feedback circuit and the sensor unit are implanted at a target position inside the body. The ultrasonic transceiver unit is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the piezoelectric unit; The piezoelectric unit is used to convert the received ultrasonic signal into a first electrical signal, so as to use the first electrical signal to power the device to be powered, so that the medical device uses the electrical energy inside the device to be powered to treat the biological body; The sensor unit is used to send a detection signal representing physiological information of the organism after treatment to the passive feedback circuit, the sensor unit includes a flexible strain sensor, a flexible pressure sensor, a flexible temperature sensor, and a flexible chemical sensor, and the detection signal includes a bioelectric signal, a force signal, a temperature signal, and a chemical signal; The passive feedback circuit is used to receive the detection signal and change the reflection coefficient of the piezoelectric material in the piezoelectric unit according to the detection signal, and the change process of the reflection coefficient is passive and determined by the detection signal; The piezoelectric unit is further used to reflect the received ultrasonic signal according to different reflection coefficients to form different echo signals, and send the echo signals to the ultrasonic transceiver unit, wherein the echo signals can represent the physiological information of the organism after treatment; The ultrasonic transceiver unit is also used to receive the echo signal, so that the external terminal processes the echo signal to obtain the reflection coefficient, the detection signal, and the physiological information, so as to regulate the working process of the medical device and evaluate the treatment effect of the medical device. 8. The medical device according to claim 7, characterized in that the medical device further comprises an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, wherein the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, The energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device, and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode. 9. The medical device according to claim 7, characterized in that the device further comprises an energy supply circuit and an output electrode, wherein the output electrode is connected to the device to be powered, The energy supply circuit is used to convert the first electrical signal into a DC level required by the medical device, and then transmit the DC level to the device to be powered through the output electrode.