Heart's kinetic energy could power implantable medical devices

These devices are powered by batteries that need to be replaced every five to 10 years in surgical procedures that can be costly and create the possibility of complications and infections.

Now, in a study funded by the US National Institutes of Health, engineers at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, have developed a dime-sized device that combines thin-film energy conversion materials with a minimally-invasive mechanical design to enable self-charging batteries. The results of the three-year study are published in Advanced Materials Technologies.

"We're trying to solve the ultimate problem for any implantable biomedical device," said Dartmouth engineering professor John X.J. Zhang, a lead researcher on the study his team completed alongside clinicians at the University of Texas in San Antonio. "How do you create an effective energy source so the device will do its job during the entire life span of the patient, without the need for surgery to replace the battery?"