Implantable medical devices have come a long way since doctors installed world’s first pacemaker in Arne Larsson’s chest in 1958 but they’ve always been hamstrung by a reliance external power sources. However, a new zinc-air battery chemistry developed by Institute of Physical Chemistry in Poland could eventually provide its host’s implants with an unlimited power supply. Let the cyborg revolution begin.
https://gizmodo.com/eagle-eyed-argus-ii-an-artificial-retina-that-reads-fo-5963359
“One of the most popular experiments in electrochemistry is to make a battery by sticking appropriately selected electrodes into a potato, explained Dr Jönsson-Niedziółka in a study published in the upcoming issue of Journal of Power Sources. “We are doing something similar, the difference is that […] we’d rather replace the potato with… a human being.”
The IPC team’s zinc-air battery operates much like other zinc-airs, such as those in hearing aides: the zinc anode oxidizes in atmospheric air, moving electrons across a circuit to the carbon cathode. For this battery, however, the Polish team ditched the conventional carbon cathode with a specially-designed electrode they’ve dubbed a “biocathode.” This is constructed from a core of biological enzyme (bilirubin oxidase) wrapped in carbon nanotubes, coated in silicate gel, and finally wrapped again in an oxygen-permeable membrane. The cathode is implanted in the patient and when paired with a traditional zinc-air fuel cell it can produce 1.75 V for up to 10 days and when multiple cells are connected, they can produce enough juice to (theoretically) power anything from pacemakers to artificial eyes.
https://gizmodo.com/researchers-will-restore-damaged-depth-perception-with-5978506
What’s more, the IPC team is already tinkering with the idea of a fully implantable battery that would draw oxygen from the bloodstream rather than the atomosphere, providing tomorrow’s man-machine hybrids with all the energy they need to mercilessly assimilate humanity. [Polish Academy of Sciences via Extreme Tech – Wikipedia Image: Polish Academy of Science]
