Piezoelectric drives for adjustment tasks (e.g. collimators) and user interaction (e.g. haptic systems) are to be developed and characterised. The technology is well suited for implantable systems due to the low power consumption for holding tasks, because only little heat is emitted to the environment and only little energy is consumed.
Piezoelectric drives are well suited for tasks in which a switching state must be maintained in a monostable manner, since only the outflow of charge in the piezo material must be compensated. Possible applications include shunt valves to control the flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain.
Cerebral shunt valve with piezoelectric actuation
Photo: Katja Landhäußer