Battery-Powered Bionic Device for Incontinence

A micro-sized implantable neuro-muscular stimulator, called bion, is now in European clinical trials for the treatment of incontinence.

Bion is implanted using minimally invasive techniques and is controlled by radio waves. It is powered by a single hermetically sealed high-energy density lithium-ion battery about the size of a long grain of rice. The miniature battery provides thousands of charge and discharge cycles, and is remotely recharged using magnetic inductive coupling, eliminating the need for any percutaneous wires. The battery was developed by Quallion LLC (Sylmar, CA, USA), which has also incorporated its Zero-Volt technology into Bion. This allows the battery to be kept in a deep-discharged state for long periods without negative effects on the battery life. Bion was developed by Advanced Bionics (also in Sylmar).

"This is truly the dawn of a new era in biomedical capability,” said Hisashi Tsukamoto, CEO of Quallion. "As advances in electronics make medical devices smaller and more portable, the battery technology to power them must adapt to meet those needs.”





Related Links:
Quallion
Advanced Bionics