Sign up for the QMED & MD+DI Daily newsletter.
Medical Devices: Powered by the Human Body
An engineering team at Princeton has created an energy-generating device that can be powered by movements of the human body. The team used rubber films made of silicone and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) to harness mechanical energy from body movements and then convert the energy to an electric current. The films were developed by creating PZT nanoribbons (small enough to fit 100 of them side-by-side within the space of a millimeter) and then printing them onto the silicone rubber.
February 3, 2010
1 Min Read
.svg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "MDDI")
By using small, implantable chips, the team believes the rubber could be used to power pacemakers and hearing aids, among other devices. What lured team member Yi Qi to the project was the devices’ potential to cut costs. “Think about how much it costs for surgery to replace the battery for a pacemaker,” she says.
You May Also Like
.png?width=300&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
.png?width=300&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
.png?width=300&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)