Nano-ribbon implant produces enough electricity to power internal devices. Jan 23, 2014 nano-ribbon implant produces enough electricity to power internal devices nano-ribbon implant produces enough energy to power internal devicesthin, flexible mechanical energy harvester, with rectifier and microbattery, mounted on the bovine heartimage courtesy university of illinois and university of arizona according to phys.org, researchers from several institutions and universities from around the world have worked together to develop a piezoelectric device that when implanted into the body onto a constantly moving organ, is able to produce enough electricity to run a pacemaker or other implantable device. in a paper published by the national academy of sciences, the team describes the nature of their device and how it might be used in the future: to read more on the study, see here. rodrigo caula I designboom.
Self-charging battery gets boost from nanocomposite film. (TechXplore) —In 2012, a research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology led by Professor Zhong Lin Wang fabricated the first self-charging power pack, or battery, that can be charged without being plugged into a wall socket or other source of electricity. Instead, the battery is charged by applying a mechanical stress, which causes lithium ions to migrate from the cathode to the anode due to the piezoelectric effect. Now the researchers have improved the battery by adding nanoparticles to the battery's piezoelectric material, resulting in a higher charging efficiency and storage capacity.
Along with Wang, Yan Zhang and their other coauthors from Lanzhou University, Northeastern University in Shenyang, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing (all in China), and the Georgia Institute of Technology, have published a paper on the improved self-charging battery in a recent issue of Nanotechnology. More information: Yan Zhang, et al.
Journal reference: Nanotechnology. Ultrasound Waves Power Piezoelectric Implant Device Wirelessly. By Will Soutter Arbabian Lab / Stanford School of Engineering Tiny electronic devices implanted in the body can help monitor the processes happening in the body, and also deliver therapy to specific locations for targeted treatment with minimal side effects. However, the devices developed previously are not small enough to be fully implanted, and also require batteries or wires for delivering power. The researchers are developing safe, wireless methods to send power to smart chips on the device that have been programmed to carry out medical tasks and then send back the results. Ultrasound waves are beamed at a device implanted in the body, which transforms these waves into electricity, which then provides power for the device to perform medical tasks.
Ultrasound is already being used for many medical applications, including fetal imaging. The implant is designed to be powered by piezoelectricity - where vibrations are converted into a small electrical current. Perpetual motion: A piezoelectric pacemaker that is powered by your heartbeat. It sounds like the theoretical impossibility of perpetual motion, but engineers at the University of Michigan have created a pacemaker that is powered by the beating of your heart — no batteries required. The technology behind this new infinite-duration pacemaker is one that we’ve discussed before at length on ExtremeTech: piezoelectricity.
Piezoelectricity is literally “pressure electricity,” and it relates to certain materials that generate tiny amounts of electricity when deformed by an external force. Piezoelectricity is exciting because it can harvest energy from kinetic energy that is currently wasted — the vibration of machines, the straining of floorboards in public/commercial spaces, the wobbling of bridges, the soles of your feet as you walk. A conventional pacemaker. The long electrode is embedded in the heart. The main unit must be replaced when the battery runs out. But why stop there? Nanoribbon Piezoelectric Device. Federation of British Aquatic Societies. There are many other fish that can produce very strong electricity, enough to shock even larger fish. But as well as this, there are tropical freshwater fishes that use electricity for reasons other than self defence.
It can also be used for navigation and communication. They can use electricity to 'feel' the environment, and they can 'talk' to each other using electrical signals. All of these electric fishes produce electricity from an organ in the tail called an 'electric organ'. The Elephant Nose fish, or more properly, Gnathonemus petersii, a member of the Mormyrid family, is an example of an electric fish. In strongly electric fishes, such as the Electric Eel, Electric Catfish and Electric Rays, where the electric organ is used for navigation and communication, the discharge voltage is much smaller; often less than a volt.
A pulse-type electric fish is the Elephant Nose Catfish. Electroreceptors are used to detect a slight change of electric field caused by nearby objects. Berkeley Trains "Harmless" Viruses to Harvest Human Kinetic Energy. M13 viruses emerging from an E. Coli bacteria. (Source: Profimedia) Viruses act as tiny piezoelectric generators Viruses, tiny chunks of protein and nucleic acid, have long plagued mankind and its evolutionary ancestors before it.
But thanks to the wonders of modern genetic engineering, researchers believe they have finally been able to instill a beneficial purpose in these deadly pests. I. A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory -- one of 16 U.S. The special "bug" is the M13 bacteriophage, a rod-shaped virus that only infects bacteria (such as E. coli bacteria) -- not humans. Faculty researchers Seung-Wuk Lee, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, and Byung Yang Lee selected the virus due to its tendency to self-assemble into nanofilms, given its rod-like shape. The team responsible for the virus generator includes Byung Yang Lee, Seung-Wuk Lee, and Ramamoorthy Ramesh (from left to right). II. But the effect was too weak to be of use. Pressing the virus multifilm powers an LCD. III. 3/1/12 - 4/1/12. Quantum plasmons demonstrated in atomic-scale nanoparticlesPositive identification of plasmons in nano particles could open new engineering possibilities at the nanoscale The physical phenomenon of plasmon resonances in small metal particles has been used for centuries.
They are visible in the vibrant hues of the great stained-glass windows of the world. More recently, plasmon resonances have been used by engineers to develop new, light-activated cancer treatments and to enhance light absorption in photovoltaics and photocatalysis. "The stained-glass windows of Notre Dame Cathedral and Stanford Chapel derive their color from metal nanoparticles embedded in the glass. When the windows are illuminated, the nanoparticles scatter specific colors depending on the particle's size and geometry " said Jennifer Dionne, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford and the senior author of a new paper on plasmon resonances to be published in the journal Nature.
Monitor: Let’s have a heart-to-heart. Power is just a heartbeat away. Turning the human body into a power station sounds like a zany plotline from the Matrix movies, but scientists are starting to take seriously the idea that one way to stem climate change might be to harvest tiny amounts of energy in the form of the body’s heat, movement, metabolism and vibrations.
In one form of the technology, experts are turning to piezoelectricity, which means “electricity resulting from pressure”. In a piezoelectric material, small amounts of power are generated when it is pushed out of shape. As an extraordinary example of what’s now possible with these materials, the heart itself could be used to power an artificial pacemaker. Though these devices require only tiny amounts of power – one millionth of a watt – their batteries typically run out after a few years. But as Dr Amin Karami at the University of Michigan says, a pacemaker that harvests the energy of the heartbeat itself might operate for a lifetime. Application of piezoelectric device in endo... [J Craniofac Surg. 2012. Top Nanotechnology Experts to Take Part in Nanomedicine for Imaging and Treatment Conference. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will commemorate Brain Awareness Week, March 11-17, with educational programs featuring: 1.
Brainworks (for 7th- and 8th-graders) - Robotic technology that enables doctors to check on their patients from home, 2. Introduction to the World of Stem Cells (for high school students) - Stem cell research that may revolutionize many medical therapies, and 3. Nanomedicine for Imaging and Treatment Conference - Some of the top experts in nanotechnology (medical professionals). Brainworks, 10 a.m. to 1:10 p.m., March 11, Harvey Morse Auditorium A robotic assistant will be a special guest at the Brainworks program for 130 seventh- and eighth-graders.
Dependable, focused and able to perform tasks at any time, 24 hours a day, “Robot-Doc” has become a key member of the Neuroscience Critical Care Unit. The InTouch Health RP-7i robot enables several doctors to teleconference, bringing them together by “remote presence” to collaborate in the Critical Care Unit. Patrick D. New device detects bacteria`s presence within minutes. London: Researchers at EPFL have built a matchbox-sized device that can test the presence of bacteria in a couple of minutes, instead of up to several weeks. A nano-lever vibrates in the presence of bacterial activity, while a laser reads the vibration and translates it into an electrical signal that can be easily read-the absence of a signal signifies the absence of bacteria. The method would make it quick and easy to determine if a bacteria has been effectively treated by an antibiotic, a crucial medical tool especially for resistant strains.
Easily used in clinics, it could also prove useful for testing chemotherapy treatment. "This method is fast and accurate. It currently takes a long time to measure a bacterial infection's response to antibiotic treatment. These vital signs are almost unperceivable. To measure these vibrations, the researchers project a laser onto the lever. The researchers have miniaturized the tool-it is currently the size of a matchbox. Research and Markets: Biosensors Market (Electrochemical, Optical, Piezoelectric & Thermistor) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2012 - 2018.
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 02, 2013-- Research and Markets ( has announced the addition of the "Biosensors Market (Electrochemical, Optical, Piezoelectric & Thermistor) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2012 - 2018" report to their offering. This report analyses the market by three aspects - by technologies, applications and end-users. The technology market provides study of biosensor technologies such as electrochemicals, optical, piezoelectric and thermistors. It presents detailed use of these technologies in various applications. The applications chapter covers the wide array of biosensor applications and includes medical testing, food toxicity, environmental, industrial, agriculture and others.
The end-user market studies biosensors device used by point of care testing, home care diagnostics, research laboratories, security & bio-defense and others. Companies Mentioned: U.S.