Implantable medical devices powered by batteries only exist in a few spheres of clinical practice. It is partly because most batteries are made of nasty things that have to be safely contained inside a strong metal case, making impractical a lot of what is actually possible. Researchers at the Fudan University in Shanghai, China have just reported on a new type of battery that relies on electrolytes that are commonly used in medicine and research, including saline solution and cell-culture medium. Being sodium-ion batteries, since they’re not relying on toxic or corrosive substances to operate, makes them fundamentally safe and compatible with the body.
The batteries are also flexible and can be made in different shapes and sizes, and the researchers report “excellent electrochemical performance” in their published research in journal Chem. Apparently they’re able to hold more charge than wearable lithium-ion batteries and they maintained their charging abilities even after repeat bending, though batteries running on a low salt diet, such as cell-culture, did succumb to being bent too much.
One interesting aspects of the battery is that on one of the electrodes oxygen is converted into hydroxide ions, changing the local pH and therefore potentially aiding in attacking tumors or helping to locally deliver a medicine.
Study in journal Chem: Multi-functional Flexible Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries with High Safety…
Via: Cell Press…
Image credit: Guo et al