If you have a pacemaker, you won’t be done after one operation. You regularly have to go under the knife again, namely to replace the battery of the essential device. This may change in the future, because a battery has now been developed that generates stable current in your own body.
Researchers from China developed a battery that runs on oxygen from the body. On Scientias says lead researcher Xizheng Liu that if we can harness that continuous flow of oxygen in the body, the battery will no longer be dependent on materials that are finite. At least: not until we end ourselves. That battery could last you your entire life.
Stable voltage
In addition to a stable voltage of 1.3 to 1.4 Volts (approximately an AAA battery), the battery also appears to not work immediately after implementation. That has been tested on rats. Sounds negative, but the battery could only provide stable electricity once the blood vessels and wound had healed properly. It therefore helps monitor whether the body is healing properly.
There is a disadvantage: the voltages that the battery can now handle are not yet as good as the voltages needed to properly supply medical devices. A positive point is that despite the chemical reaction, the battery is accepted by the body and no inflammation or foreign tissue occurred.
Pacemaker battery
It is now up to the researchers to experiment with materials and improve the design so that the batteries can handle more. They are also already dreaming of the future, because they also see a role in tumor cells: if the oxygen around a tumor is removed, cancer cells may be weakened.
The battery of a pacemaker lasts five to ten years, but there could be a solution for this. This reduces crowds in the operating room and, above all, it is a lot safer and more pleasant for the patient.
