Tinkerers and tech enthusiasts, brace yourselves: the frontier of biohacking has just expanded. Picture implantable medical devices that don’t need batteries—no more surgeries for replacements or bulky contraptions. Though not all new (see below), ChemistryWorld recently shed new light on these innovations. It’s as exciting as it is unnerving; we, as hackers, know too well that tech and biology blend a fine ethical line. Realising our bodies can be hacked both tickles our excitement and unsettlement, posing deeper questions about human-machine integration.
Since the first pacemaker hit the scene in 1958, powered by rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries and induction coils, progress has been steady but bound by battery limitations. Now, researchers like Jacob Robinson from Rice University are flipping the script, moving to designs that harvest energy from within. Whether through mechanical heartbeats or lung inflation, these implants are shifting to a network of energy-harvesting nodes.
From triboelectric nanogenerators made of flexible, biodegradable materials to piezoelectric devices tapping body motion is quite a leap. John Rogers at Northwestern University points out that the real challenge is balancing power extraction without harming the body’s natural function. Energy isn’t free-flowing; overharvesting could strain or damage organs. A topic we also addressed in April of this year.
As we edge toward battery-free implants, these breakthroughs could redefine biomedical tech. A good start on diving into this paradigm shift and past innovations is this article from 2023. It’ll get you on track of some prior innovations in this field. Happy tinkering, and: stay critical! For we hackers know that there’s an alternative use for everything!
Internal energy harvesting has always irked me a bit in the biohaking world. I wonder if a lot of the issues of energy will be solved with further advancements in battery tech. Anything that harvests mechanical energy means moving parts which doesn’t sound great! Obviously there are a lot of smart people probably working on solutions that can probably allay those fears.
I suppose it also depends on the nature of the implant and how invasive it is. A self charging pace-maker would be amazing. But for mundane implants, wearing an inductive bracelet to recharge a solid state battery once a week doesn’t seem especially cumbersome. I’d be willing to submit to such a regimen if it meant having high quality data on blood O2, movement, blood pressure, etc.
As a final thought, birthcontrol implants are a well trodden territory and the life cycle on those is about 4 years. With the a mindful design, I’m sure that life span could be doubled for something with a battery in ~5 years if not now.
birth control implants are an entirely different matter. They are drug loaded biopolymers that leak their contents over time. They require no power to operate.
You are correct. I bring them up as a reference to their “duty cycle” only i.e. Specific types of implants don’t necessarily need to last forever and many people are already comfortable with this concept.
a subdermal implant is almost as easily removed as it is installed. The same cannot be said for most other implant placements which would require all the risks of more invasive surgery.
While the “duty cycle” of 5-15 years for implantable battery devices is decent, a more permanent system would certainly be more desirable, just as finding a means to avoid external charging would be. Who knows what the future holds.
My IUD affects my “duty cycle”
They extract their energy from the chemical energy. It’s their higher concentration of (the drug) molecule when bathed in a lower concentration area that make them work. As soon as concentration equilibrate with the environment, it’s powerless and needs to be changed. The concentration difference is the power, like in an alkaline battery. In fact, you can’t extract any energy if there’s no difference in some physical, but common, phenomenon.
Incorrect.
There is no smart regulation caused by a level balancing.
if there were there would be so many more medication implants possible.
A portion of the material matrix slowly degrades allowing the captive hormones to leech out at a predetermined rate. When it runs out of drug laden material its efficacy ends.
They really don’t have to be hormone/drug ridden. Those are awful. My mom used a hormone free copper spiral between having me and menopause. My sister uses one as well that’s also hormone free. Paraguard I think it’s called.
I never understood why putting unnatural hormones into your body is the first option, instead of the last one. Especially when it’s not needed and not healthy. It can cause cancer, blood cloths, heart failure, mood changes, liver problems, infertility (after stopping pills/implants), mental health problems and many other issues, besides changing their entire behavior.
I’ve been dreaming for a few years now to have one day an implant that logs data such as blood pressure, heart rate, and maybe some basic blood analysis. You could then go to the doctor, he extracts the data from the sensor and can pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with you.
Collecting all of this data (anonymized) would help in the research for curing and/or early detection of various ailments. (Insurance companies should be barred from having access to such data)
why would you have to go to the doctor?
Your implant could just send the data for analysis and diagnosis on the fly.
Why anonymize the data? So much profit will be lost. /s
There used to be a biohacker collective in Pittsburgh called Grindhouse Wetware that put entire circuit boards under their skin with full LED light up and healed over with inductive charging I think circa 2017. This would give them some neat new options.
So many possibilities with these
The time to replace a pacemaker battery is longer than the the time that it takes to develop better pacemakers. If there was no battery requirement eventually people would be walking around (hopefully!) with 20 or 30 or 40 year old devices. May be a good thing if it works as intended but I’ve yet to see anyone getting a battery/generator change that said “naw I’ll take a NOS 10 year old one I’m cool”
Pacemakers being but one example, of course
Is anyone working on a glucose/o2 fuel cell that can draw energy from your bloodstream, like the rest of your body?
It’s mentioned in the link:
“With biofuel cells it’s the same story, there’s just not a lot of free glucose to tap into.”
Well if you can take body heat and motion to generate a current
You can constantly charge a super capacitor, which would act like a battery but with a very low internal resistance
And the super capacitor has a charge discharge life cycle in the millions while most batteries have only a few thousand
You cannot use body heat to generate electricity. You need a temperature difference to power a heat engine or thermometric generator. I don’t think there are big temperature differences in the body. Certainly if you take 2 points spaced very closely. Maybe close to the skin.
Well if you can take body heat and motion to generate a current
You can constantly charge a super capacitor, which would act like a battery but with a very low internal resistance
And the super capacitor has a charge discharge life cycle in the millions while most batteries have only a few thousand
With a super capacitor you can also use wireless induction charging just place a coil and a magnet on an area and sleep…