An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1999.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl)
Other Authors: David J. Edell.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16716
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author Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl)
author2 David J. Edell.
author_facet David J. Edell.
Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl)
author_sort Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl)
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1999.
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spelling mit-1721.1/167162019-04-12T07:43:20Z An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl) David J. Edell. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1999. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 236-239). This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. A technology base for optically-coupled systems was developed that permits in-vivo transmission of biomedical signals across the skin. By complete implantation of sensors and instrumentation electronics, problems with percutaneous connectors were eliminated. Optical power and signal transmission was accomplished with smaller and lighter implant structures than previously achieved with radio frequency (RF) coupling techniques. This is particularly valuable in the field of neuroprosthetics, because it may be possible to implant an optical telemeter directly on the surface of the brain to make mechanically stable connections to microelectrode arrays for neuroelectric recordings. Miniature optical power panels (2.5 mm x 2.5 mm) were developed from arrays of photodiodes. Infrared light of 880 nm wavelength was effective for delivering power across the skin. Panels composed of silicon photodiodes were 14% efficient at converting this light to electrical power, and GaAlAs panels were 41% efficient. Tissue heating experiments demonstrated the safety of optical power transmission. An LED was identified that was both electrically efficient (16%) and of appropriate wavelength (660 nm) for transmitting optical signals from the implant. Pulse period encoding was used for transmission of signals because it was robust and required less power than schemes with higher LED duty cycles. Specialized photodetector circuits were developed to receive pulse encoded data, and decoder circuits were built to reconstruct the transmitted signals. Two prototype single-channel neural waveform telemeters (approx. 10 Hz to 7 kHz bandwidth) were constructed and implanted in the visual cortex of rabbits. Both implants successfully transmitted neuroelectric signals. The first implant survived for four weeks before failing due to a flaw in the encapsulation, and the improved second prototype continues to function properly 28 months after implantation. Integrated circuits (ICs) were designed to record and transmit eight channels of neural waveforms. The first IC telemeter functioned properly, although the sensitivity was not as great as needed for the recording of neural waveforms. It required less than 50 mW of electrical power to operate. Efforts to improve this design introduced flaws in the next set of IC designs, so these problems were addressed, and a final set of designs was submitted for fabrication at the conclusion of this research project. by Bruce C. Larson. Ph.D. 2005-05-19T14:19:43Z 2005-05-19T14:19:43Z 1999 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16716 42648143 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 241 p. 2960986 bytes 2960745 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Larson, Bruce C. (Bruce Carl)
An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title_full An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title_fullStr An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title_full_unstemmed An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title_short An optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
title_sort optical telemetry system for wireless transmission of biomedical signals across the skin
topic Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16716
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