Detecting heating of implanted coil hermetic package when misaligned
A method of monitoring heating of a hermetic package of an implanted transcutaneous energy transfer system (TETS) coil, the method includes monitoring a power transfer between the implanted TETS coil and an external TETS coil; detecting an amount of power lost during the power transfer; determining if the amount of power lost during the power transfer is above a first predetermined threshold; if the power lost is above the first predetermined threshold, determining if a misalignment between the implanted TETS coil and the external TETS coil is greater than a predetermined distance; and if the misalignment is greater than the predetermined distance, generating an alert to align the external TETS coil with the implanted TETS coil.
1 . A method of monitoring heating of a hermetic package of an implanted transcutaneous energy transfer system (TETS) coil, comprising:
monitoring a power transfer between the implanted TETS coil and an external TETS coil;
detecting an amount of power lost during the power transfer that is above a first predetermined threshold;
generating an alert and initiating a first predetermined period of time in response to detecting that the amount of power lost is above the first predetermined threshold;
monitoring the power transfer during the first predetermined period of time,
determining that the power transfer has not improved during the first predetermined period of time;
reducing a charging rate of a battery of an internal controller of an implanted blood pump in communication with the implanted TETS coil and initiating a second predetermined period of time in response to determining that the power transfer has not improved during the first predetermined period of time;
monitoring the power transfer during the second predetermined period of time;
determining that the power transfer has not improved during the second predetermined period of time; and
suspending the power transfer between the external TETS coil and the implanted TETS coil based on determining that the power transfer has not improved during the second predetermined period of time.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined threshold is 100 mW to 500 mW.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined period of time is 1 minute to 5 minutes.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second predetermined period of time is 2 minutes to 10 minutes.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the power lost is a function of the implanted TETS coil and the external TETS coil being misaligned.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the power lost is a function of a presence of foreign metallic object between the implanted TETS coil and the external TEST coil.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the power lost exceeding the first determined threshold occurs when a misalignment between the implanted TETS coil and the TETS coil is a distance of 3 centimeters or greater.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the power lost exceeding the first determined threshold occurs when a misalignment between the implanted TETS coil and the TETS coil is a distance of 1 centimeters or greater.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined period of time is 5 minutes, and the second predetermined period of time is 10 minutes.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predetermined threshold is 200-300 mW.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the alert comprises generating a visual, audio, or tactile alert.
12 . A controller for an implantable blood pump, comprising: processing circuitry configured to:
monitor a power transfer between the implanted TETS coil and an external TETS coil;
detect an amount of power lost during the power transfer that is above a first predetermined threshold;
generate an alert and initiate a first predetermined period of time in response to detection that the amount of power lost is above the first predetermined threshold;
monitor the power transfer during the first predetermined period of time;
determine that the power transfer has not improved during the first predetermined period of time;
reduce a charging rate of a battery of an internal controller of the implantable blood pump in communication with the implanted TETS coil and initiating a second predetermined period of time in response to the determination that the power transfer has not improved during the first predetermined period of time:
monitor the power transfer during the second predetermined period of time;
determine that the power transfer has not improved during the second predetermined period of time; and
suspend the power transfer between the external TETS coil and the implanted TETS coil based on the determination that the power transfer has not improved during the second predetermined period of time.
13 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the power lost is a function of the implanted TETS coil and the external TETS coil being misaligned while the power transfer is occurring.
14 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the power lost is a function of a presence of foreign metallic object between the implanted TETS coil and the external TEST coil while the power transfer is occurring.
15 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the power lost exceeding the first determined threshold occurs when a misalignment between the implanted TETS coil and the TETS coil is a distance of 3 centimeters or greater.
16 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the power lost exceeding the first determined threshold occurs when a misalignment between the implanted TETS coil and the TETS coil is a distance of 1 centimeters or greater.
17 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the first predetermined period of time is 5 minutes, and the second predetermined period of time is 10 minutes.
18 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the first predetermined threshold is 200-300 mW.
19 . The controller of claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the alert as a visual, audio, or tactile alert.