Today’s implantable cardiac devices rely on internal batteries for their power. Once the batteries run dry they have to be replaced, typically somewhere between every 5 and 12 years. This necessitates a surgical procedure to explant the old device and implant a new one, a potentially risky and expensive operation. Harnessing the energy that the body generates to power implants can go a long way for patient health and satisfaction, provide substantial cost savings, and reduce the size of the implants themselves.
Researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Yonsei University College of Medicine, and iBULe Photonics Co. have developed a flexible piezoelectric device that can generate up to .223 mA of current at 8.2 Volts when flexed. They were able to hook it up to a cardiac pacemaker and in turn power the heart of the very rat whose muscles energized the flexible generator. We envision that in the long run, the beating heart itself can serve as a continuous power source for the piezoelectric generator.
Here’s a quick video showing off the system in action (not for the squeamish):
Study in Advanced Materials: Self-Powered Cardiac Pacemaker Enabled by Flexible Single Crystalline PMN-PT Piezoelectric Energy Harvester…
Press release: The first demonstration of a self-powered cardiac pacemaker…