DIEMUT STREBEThe device: Researchers have developed an ingestible device that uses copper and zinc electrodes to harvest power from gastric fluid, according to a study published this week (February 6) in Nature Biomedical Engineering. They tested the capsule in pigs, whose gastrointestinal tracts are similar to humans.
This work shows “the feasibility of harvesting energy for several days from a large mammal that is ambulating and eating,” said coauthor Giovanni Traverso of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The power harvested by the device was sufficient to transmit measurements from an onboard temperature sensor to a receiver several meters away from the animals. “We can get relatively consistent power, enough to power temperature measurements on a minute by minute basis and transmit [them] wirelessly,” explained coauthor Phillip Nadeau of MIT.
The significance: The capsule was able to generate power from stomach acid for an average of six days—much longer than previous devices, which were capable of harvesting energy for minutes or hours. Some earlier ingestible electronics used a magnesium anode, but the ...
