Implantable Solar Cells Could Power Pacemakers

Jan-08-17 Prototype solar cells that can be implanted under the skin could one day keep medical implant batteries constantly recharged.

Teams from Bern University Hospital and the University of Bern have demonstrated that a solar cell with an area of only 3.6 square centimeters can generate enough power to keep a standard pacemaker operating. This is the first time an implantable solar cell has been tested, with the results proving that even the poorest-performing cell was able to generate an average of 12 microwatts (pacemakers typically require between 5 and 10 microwatts).

The team believes that once details such as the efficiency of the cell and the thickness of the patient’s skin are considered, the technology could be scaled up and applied to a variety of needs, including epilepsy abatement and deep brain stimulation.

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