Surgical Energy: Connecting Power Electronics to Patients – Literally! - APEC 2024

Medical applications of power electronics may seem limited to AC/DC and housekeeping power supplies, but an entire class of medical devices exist where power converter outputs are directly connected to patients to achieve different therapeutic effects and improve lives. These include thermally-based therapies (such as ablation and electrosurgery) and electric field-based therapies (such as pulsed field ablation and electro-chemotherapy). Dr. Friedrichs will share examples of clinical therapies dependent on power conversion that include correcting heart arrythmias, ablating tumors, delivering vaccines, and treating genetic disorders. Additionally, this plenary will discuss the unique power electronics challenges that exist in this space, along with future opportunities for power electronics suppliers and designers to accelerate their impact on healthcare.

Daniel Friedrichs leads development of surgical energy systems for Minnetronix Medical, a development and manufacturing partner to the medical device industry. He has specialized in medical power electronics for 15 years and holds over 35 patents related to medical applications of power converters. Dr. Friedrichs has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, is a licensed Professional Engineer, and is a Senior Member of IEEE.