Implantable Energy-Harvesting Devices

Abstract

The sustainable operation of implanted medical devices is essential for healthcare applications. However, limited battery capacity is a key challenge for most implantable medical electronics (IMEs). The human body abounds with mechanical and chemical energy, such as the heartbeat, breathing, blood circulation, and the oxidation-reduction of glucose. Harvesting energy from the human body is a possible approach for powering IMEs. Many new methods for developing in vivo energy harvesters (IVEHs) have been proposed for powering IMEs. In this context energy harvesters based on the piezoelectric effect, triboelectric effect, automatic wristwatch devices, biofuel cells, endocochlear potential, and light, with an emphasis on fabrication, energy output, power management, durability, animal experiments, evaluation criteria, and typical applications are discussed. Importantly, the IVEHs that are discussed, are actually implanted into living things. Future challenges and perspectives are also highlighted.

Keywords: energy harvesting; implantable medical electronics; in vivo; self-powered.