A team of researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed a new type of cardiac pacemaker that is powered by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. The piezoelectric nanogenerator converts body movements into electrical energy to power a pacemaker.
The researchers tested the technology on a rat to see the levels of energy that could be harvested through the nanogenerator. The amount of energy harvested through bending and pushing movements, reached up to 8.2 volts and 0.22mA, and was high enough to simulate the rat’s heart. This technology could replace batteries in pacemakers and other medical devices to help prolong the life of the device, and could also monitor the heart in real-time.
Read more about the technology created at KAIST used power a cardiac pacemaker.
