Finite Element Optimization of 3D Abiotic Glucose Fuel Cells for Implantable Medical Devices

As the world’s population ages, the incidence of chronic disorders is on the rise. Active Implantable Medical Devices are, therefore, evolving to meet the challenge. As the size of these devices decreases to facilitate implantation, the challenge of providing stable, continuous power becomes significant. Lithium batteries provide reliable, stable power to implants; however, their miniaturization leads to a reduction in the stored energy capacity, total lifespan, and overall capability. Consequently, there is a need for on-body energy harvesting alternatives. This study utilizes literature data on abiotic glucose fuel cells to feed into a finite element model incorporating both diffusion and reaction aspects to investigate how the 3D macro-architecture of the fuel cell device can be used to optimize the energy output. Accordingly, optimal 3D architectures are determined to enable power outputs ranging from several tens of microwatts to one hundred microwatts from an implantable package. This will help with the 3D architecture design of future similar abiotic fuel cell units and speed up the process of figuring out the best settings for key parameters (like shape, size, and separation).