Design of piezoelectric energy harvesters for cardiac applications based on medical image processing

In this paper, we present designing vibration energy harvesters based on the heart motion data achieved through image processing. Energy harvesting is intended as a means to continuously produce energy by converting heart motion to electricity. This energy can be used to power pacemakers. Currently, pacemakers are powered by non-rechargeable batteries that run out in about 10 years. The pacemakers need to be surgically replaced when the batteries run out. Using energy harvesters could pave the way for permanent pacemakers that do not require periodic surgical replacement. We have developed low-frequency energy harvesting designs that have small size and at the same time can be tuned to the heart motion frequencies. One important aspect of the design process is having a reasonable estimate of the heart motion. We use image processing and specifically optical flow tracking techniques to track the motion of individual points in Echo, MRI, and ultrasonic images. We experimentally test the developed harvesters to examine their power generation.