A pacemaker is a device that is implanted in the abdomen or chest area to control abnormal heart rhythms. It utilizes electrical impulses to help the heart muscle maintain a proper rhythm and heart rate. Most pacemakers are usually powered with a primary battery that requires a replacement when it is depleted. Implant replacements due to battery depletion can account for about 25% of implantations of cardiac pacemakers.
除了这些替代品的成本外，始终存在并发症的风险，并增加了患者的压力。已经使用了几种方法将主电池替换为可充电的电池。
多年来，起搏器已使用了各种电源，他们是使用Plutonium-238的放射性材料电源。另一种方法涉及以类似于为智能手机电池充电的方式传感转移。其他几种技术利用心脏的运动来收获能量为起搏器供电。这些方法都有限制其商业用途的问题。此外，其中一些解决方案受到手机信号或MRI程序的影响。
A new approach proposed by Swiss researchers involves the use of solar cells placed under the skin to power an electronic implant. The Swiss researchers found that a 3.6 square centimeter solar cell is all that is needed to generate enough power during winter and summer to power a typical pacemaker.
According to lead author Lukas Bereuter of Bern University Hospital and the University of Bern in Switzerland, wearing power-generating solar cells under the skin will one day save patients the discomfort of having to continuously undergo procedures to change the batteries of such life-saving devices. The findings are set out in Springer’s journal生物医学工程学院.
文章解释说：“作为有希望的替代能源，可以使用环境阳光。”“阳光是一种可靠且无所不在的能源，一小部分环境光穿透了人类皮肤。特别是，近红外光具有良好的皮肤穿透。因此，植入物被照射，但在皮肤下植入，穿透光可以通过太阳能电池转化为电能。”
Various research groups have put forward prototypes of small electronic solar cells that can be carried under the skin and can be used to recharge medical devices. The solar cells convert the light from the sun that penetrates the skin surface into energy.
To investigate the real-life feasibility of such subcutaneously implanted solar cells to power electronic implants, Bereuter and his colleagues developed specially designed solar measurement devices（图。1）that can measure the output power being generated. The cells were only 3.6 square centimeters in size, making them small enough to be implanted if needed. For the test, each of the 10 devices was covered by optical filters to simulate how properties of the skin would influence how well the sun penetrates the skin. These were worn on the arm of 32 volunteers in Switzerland for one week during summer, autumn, and winter.
The solar measurement device block diagram shown inFig. 2使用存储卡以及日期和时间存储电压/电流值。该设备具有可充电电池，可连续测量超过两周。
No matter what season, the tiny cells were always found to generate much more than the 5 to 10 microwatts of power that a typical cardiac pacemaker uses. The participant with the lowest power output still obtained 12 microwatts on average.
“The overall mean power obtained is enough to completely power for example a pacemaker or at least extend the lifespan of any other active implant,” notes Bereuter. “By using energy-harvesting devices such as solar cells to power an implant, device replacements may be avoided and the device size may be reduced dramatically.”
Bereuter surmises that the results of this study can be scaled up and applied to any other mobile, solar-powered application on humans. Aspects such as the catchment area of a solar cell, its efficiency, and the thickness of a patient’s skin must be considered.
