An implantable biomechanical energy harvester for animal monitoring devices. (July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Huidong; Lu, Jun; Myjak, Mitchell J.; Liss, Stephanie A.; Brown, Richard S.; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Zhiqun Daniel
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 98(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Subjects: Implantable devices -- Piezoelectric energy harvester -- Reliability -- Failure analysis -- Macro Fiber Composite; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107290
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: Insufficient service life and the resulting need for battery replacements have been a great challenge for implantable electronic devices. This is particularly true for animal tracking applications, because recapturing animals is often unlikely once they are released to the wild. To tackle this problem, we developed a biomechanical energy harvester that uses a Macro Fiber Composite™ (MFC) piezoelectric beam to harvest the mechanical energy from animals' body bending movements as the power source for implantable and wearable devices. Prototypes of an underwater acoustic transmitter using this technology were subdermally implanted into juvenile white sturgeon and their energy harvesting performance was evaluated through the devices' transmissions. The fish successfully recovered from the implantation surgery and freely swam inside a tank. The transmitter prototypes in the fish continually transmitted signals for a period up to 5 weeks. A benchtop test setup was also created to emulate the fish's body bending, estimate the device's energy harvesting performance in the live fish, and perform accelerated fatigue testing of the energy harvester by applying test parameters learned from a video study of the fish's body movement and behavior characteristics. The gradual depolarization of the piezoelectric ceramic material in the MFC under cyclic mechanical loading was the main limiting factor for the life span of the energy harvester. Pathways for improvement are proposed to achieve long-term efficacy of powering implantable and wearable electronic devices. Graphical Abstract: An implantable acoustic micro-transmitter solely powered by a biomechanical energy harvester was demonstrated in vivo in fish and under quasi-realistic conditions. The device used a piezoelectric Macro Fiber Composite™ beam to harvest the biomechanical energy generated from a fish's body bending as the power source. Failure mechanisms of the prototypes were investigated. Pathways for improvement were proposed to achieve long-term efficacy of powering implantable and wearable electronic devices. ga1 Highlights: Developed an implantable, lightweight, biomechanical energy harvester that successfully powered an integrated microelectronic device. The host animal fully recovered from the implantation surgery and freely moved about without any inhibitions for an extended period. The durability and failure modes of a piezoelectric energy harvester in an aquatic animal host under quasi-realistic conditions were investigated. The host animal's physiology and behavior were investigated and quantified to guide the design of the prototype.