In vivo powering of pacemaker by breathing-driven implanted triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

The first application of an implanted triboelectric nanogenerator (iTENG) that enables harvesting energy from in vivo mechanical movement in breathing to directly drive a pacemaker is reported. The energy harvested by iTENG from animal breathing is stored in a capacitor and successfully drives a pacemaker prototype to regulate the heart rate of a rat. This research shows a feasible approach to scavenge biomechanical energy, and presents a crucial step forward for lifetime-implantable self-powered medical devices.

Keywords: implantable devices; pacemakers; self-powered devices; triboelectric nanogenerators.