Artificial cardiac pacemaker in the context of Wireless power

An atomic battery, nuclear battery, radioisotope battery or radioisotope generator uses energy from the decay of a radioactive isotope to generate electricity. Like a nuclear reactor, it generates electricity from nuclear energy, but it differs by not using a chain reaction. Although commonly called batteries, atomic batteries are technically not electrochemical and cannot be charged or recharged. Although they are very costly, they have extremely long lives and high energy density, so they are typically used as power sources for equipment that must operate unattended for long periods, such as spacecraft, pacemakers, medical devices, underwater systems, and automated scientific stations in remote parts of the world.

Nuclear batteries began in 1913, when Henry Moseley first demonstrated a current generated by charged-particle radiation. Since RCA's initial nuclear research and development in the early 1950s, many types and methods have been designed to extract electrical energy from nuclear sources.

Wireless power transfer (WPT; also wireless energy transmission or WET) is the transmission of electrical energy without wires as a physical link. In a wireless power transmission system, an electrically powered transmitter device generates a time-varying electromagnetic field that transmits power across space to a receiver device; the receiver device extracts power from the field and supplies it to an electrical load. The technology of wireless power transmission can eliminate the use of the wires and batteries, thereby increasing the mobility, convenience, and safety of an electronic device for all users. Wireless power transfer is useful to power electrical devices where interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or are not possible.

Wireless power techniques mainly fall into two categories: Near and far field. In near field or non-radiative techniques, power is transferred over short distances by magnetic fields using inductive coupling between coils of wire, or by electric fields using capacitive coupling between metal electrodes. Inductive coupling is the most widely used wireless technology; its applications include charging handheld devices like phones and electric toothbrushes, RFID tags, induction cooking, and wirelessly charging or continuous wireless power transfer in implantable medical devices like artificial cardiac pacemakers, or electric vehicles. In far-field or radiative techniques, also called power beaming, power is transferred by beams of electromagnetic radiation, like microwaves or laser beams. These techniques can transport energy longer distances but must be aimed at the receiver. Proposed applications for this type include solar power satellites and wireless powered drone aircraft.

Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (i.e., cSLE), also termed juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus, and pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus, is a form of the chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), that develops in individuals up to 18 years old. Early-onset systemic lupus erythematosus is often used to designate a subset of cSLE patients who are up to 5 years old. Children with early-onset SLE tend to have a more severe form of cSLE than children who develop cSLE after 5 years of age.

cSLE does not include neonatal lupus erythematosus (nSLE). nSLE is a SLE-like disease that is present in infants at birth. It is caused by certain antinuclear antibodies, e.g., the immunoglobulin G types of the anti-SSA/Ro autoantibodies (e.g., anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B) and anti-nRNP (also termed anti-U1RNP). These antibodies form in the mother and pass from her circulation through the placenta to the fetus where they cause an often severe form of SLE that is evident in the fetus and newborn child. Most of the disorders in the infants disappear within months as these antibodies are naturally cleared from the infant. However, one disorder occurring in nSLE, congenital heart block, usually does not reverse and is potentially lethal. Fetuses and neonates with this heart block are implanted with an artificial cardiac pacemaker. However, recent studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine given to the mother in her 6th and 10th gestational weeks or intravenous immunoglobulin therapy given to the mother in her 14 and 18 gestational weeks reduces the incidence of developing this heart block (Intravenous immunoglobulins given to the mother suppress her production of antibodies including those that cause nSLE.).