Inductive-based wireless power recharging system for an innovative endoscopic capsule

Abstract

Wireless capsule endoscopic devices are adopted for painless diagnosis of cancer and other diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract as an alternative to traditional endoscopy. Although much work has been done to improve capsule performance in terms of active navigation, a major drawback is the limited available energy on board the capsule, usually provided by a battery. Another key shortcoming of active capsules is their limitation in terms of active functionalities and related costs. An inductive-based wireless recharging system for the development of an innovative capsule for colonoscopy is proposed in this paper; the aim is to provide fast off-line battery recovery for improving capsule lifecycle and thus reducing the cost of a single endoscopic procedure. The wireless recharging system has been properly designed to fit the dimensions of a capsule for colonoscopy but it can be applied to any biomedical devices to increase the number of times it can be used after proper sterilization. The current system is able to provide about 1 W power and is able to recharge the battery capsule in 20 min which is a reasonable time considering capsule operation time (10-15 min).