Wireless Power Harvesting During MRI

Abstract

We present methods to harvest wireless power directly from the MRI RF field. The system includes a harvester coil to capture RF energy and an RF-DC converter for rectification. Energy harvesting by the harvester coil is modeled as a function of the MRI B₁ RF field. Rectification is modeled using power-dependent large signal S-parameter simulation. A novel reference impedance-based modeling approach is leveraged to cascade models for linear inductive coupling and nonlinear diode rectification, and validated. The method permits independent optimization of harvester coils and RF-DC converters to maximize harvesting efficiency. Feasibility of this technique is demonstrated by implementing concurrent in-bore wireless power harvesting and MRI scanning on a clinical system. The effect of artifacts on image quality is also investigated.Clinical Relevance- In-bore wireless harvesting can provide power for medical accessories during MRI, with minimal system modification and cost.