Leadless Pacemaker Betavoltaic Power Source

Leadless cardiac pacemakersLCPsrepresent a revolutionary leap forward in cardiac pacing technology via its circumvention of transvenous leadsCurrent LCP lithium CFX batteries arecc resulting in an overallcc LCP deviceThis Phase I effort will demonstrate the feasibility of acc betavoltaic battery for LCPs with ayear lifetimex lifetime of current LCP batteriesenabling LCPs with a volumetric size ofccThis size reduction and increased longevity will allow forimplants over a patient s lifetime with minimal invasive overheadFurthermoreLCPs are currently limited to single chamber pacingrepresenting onlyof the current transvenous implant marketDual chamber and multi chamber leadless pacing also require a size reduction of the LCP to meet the smaller volume space associated with the atriaA betavoltaic battery with acc form factor and a reliableyear life will facilitate mainstream use of LCPs while challenging traditional pacemakersPhase I will demonstrate feasibility via the construction of stackablemicron thick III V betavoltaic cells that utilize a new high beta fluxtritium metal hydride filmPreliminary data shows thatmicrowatts per cctarget power density for acc LCP batterymay be reached if the betavoltaic celli etritium film coupled to the semiconductor cellis thinned down to stackablemicron layersThe work in Phase I will lay the foundation for the design of the stackable cell unit to be developed in Phase IIwhich will result in a battery prototype for testing and integration by a pacemaker corporate partnerThe design will account for electrical parallel stacking of n p and p n cellsI V characteristic behavior from Phasecellspackaging considerationsLCP manufacturer inputand guidelines from regulatory agenciesTritium betavoltaic technology is a solid state power source that does not lose its energy density with volumetric reduction as in the case of lithium batteriesIts principles of operation are similar to a solar cellbut in lieu of photons impinging on the semiconductor cellthe electrons from the radioisotope s beta decay are utilizedSpecific AimDevelop n p and p n wide bandgap diode junctions that are thin and stackableTaskMetalOrganic Chemical Vapour DepositionMOCVDgrowth of n p and p n junctionsTaskThin down substrate and deposit back metalMilestonesCells withmicrons of thicknessDark I V measurements yieldingnanoamps cmatVolts in TasksandVolts in TaskSpecific AimDeposit metal hydride on cell surface to demonstrate thin and stackable betavoltaic cellsTaskDeposit metal hydride junction active area and investigate dark I V properties and loading capacityThe metal hydride will be loaded with a tritium surrogate of protium or deuteriumMilestonesDark I V criteria ofnanoamps cmatVolts and a loading capacity ofor higher by weight of hydrogen to metalThese two specific aims will demonstrate the feasibility of the betavoltaic layers to be stacked in Phase IIresulting in a betavoltaic battery for testing and integration into a revolutionary ultra small LCP with approximately double the lifetime of current batteries The demonstration of high power densityultra small betavoltaic batteries for leadless cardiac pacemakers will enable a new class of medical implants that will demonstrate a paradigm shift in cardiac rhythm managementThis size reduction and increased longevity will extend the benefits of LCPs to a younger patient populationFurthermoreit opens up potential use of LCPs for dual and multi chamber pacing due to the dramatic reduction in battery size