Pacemaker can be powered by body movement alone
1 min read
The number of pacemakers implanted into patients each year has reached into the millions, but improving the lifespan of the batteries that power them has remained a great concern for developers and manufacturers.
Now, a team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a self-powered artificial cardiac pacemaker operated by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator.
This means that instead of having to undergo further surgery to replace tired batteries, patients could soon be able to power their pacemamer simply by harnessing energy from their own body's movements.
The piezoelectric nanogenerator was fabricated using a bulk, single crystal lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) thin film.
In tests, the harvested energy reached up to 8.2V and 0.22mA by bending and pushing motions, which were high enough values to directly stimulate a rat's heart.
Professor Keon Jae Lee, who led the research, said: "For clinical purposes, the current achievement will benefit the development of self-powered cardiac pacemakers as well as prevent heart attacks via the real time diagnosis of heart arrhythmia.
"In addition, the flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator could also be utilised as an electrical source for various implantable medical devices."
