Miniaturized Piezo Elements for Implantable Medical Technology with the Highest Safety Standards

Providing mobile medical devices decisively improves patients’ quality of life: Implanted systems in the body are almost invisible to third parties. These implantable medical devices are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from micropumps for dosing medication, for example pain killers, to hearing aids. Piezo elements generate high-precision movements in these applications, e.g., for dosing liquids or to generate finest vibrations.

What all these medical implants have in common is that they require miniaturized piezo elements that use as little energy consumption as possible. PICMA^® multilayer piezo actuators, in particular bending elements, are very well suited for medical implantable devices: PI can manufacture these multilayer actuators specifically for customers, e.g., in a layer structure with particularly thin layers. Film thicknesses down to 20 µm require nominal voltages in the range of 10 to 40 V; plastics, which may outgas, are not used in the structure – the high safety standards for applications within the body are therefore met. The all-ceramic insulation of PICMA^® actuators gives them the highest reliability and lifetime.