In vivo study demonstrates biomechanical energy harvesting from rib motion in an animal model, indicating feasibility for powering permanent implants.
A fraction of the energy expenditure for respiration can be converted into electric power to supply implants which require a permanent power source. Toward this goal the relative motion of the ribs can be used for periodical stretching of a converter. A miniaturized prototype with solid electrical and mechanical contacts has been designed. We describe here the physical characteristics of the device and present the first results of an animal experiment. With improved PVDF films, a power converter with a film mass of a few g could supply implanted electric systems with a power of 1 mW.
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Hasler et al. (1984) studied this question.
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