Implanted pacemakers have helped millions of people since Wilson Greatbatch accidentally invented them in the 1950s while building a device to record the sounds of a working heart. At that time heart pacemakers were huge external devices and often shocked patients. Greatbatch realized the potential of his invention as an implantable, mobile pacemaker. He spent two … [Read more...]
Walking as a Power Source and Fingerprint
The BeeGee's must have been peering into the future when they came up with their disco hit, "Staying Alive": "Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk...." Walking is no longer just about getting from one place to another; it is becoming a way to power the mobile electronics that we count on as part of our daily lives. And it may even be a biometric way to identify ourselves … [Read more...]
Supercap to Replace Pacemaker Battery
Pacemaker implants save many lives every year, but they have one inherent limitation. They run on electricity provided by a lithium coin battery which contains toxic materials and has to be changed every few years. Researchers are finding ways to harvest energy from the heart's motion, but there remains the question of how to store that energy in a safe and reliable way. One … [Read more...]
Power-Saving Light Sensor [video]
![Power-Saving Light Sensor [video]](http://healthtechinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2017/05/ActLight-photodiode-150x150.jpg)
Light plays a growing role in wearable Health Tech devices. By measuring light reflected by different tissues and materials, wearables can measure heartbeats and blood pressure; companies are developing systems that can even measure blood glucose and other important biometrics. There's one problem with these systems, however. The light sensors consume a significant portion of … [Read more...]
Paper Device Harvest Motion Energy
Many people are familiar with origami, a traditional art form based on the folding of paper. Less familiar is the Japanese and Chinese art of paper cutting that can result in delicate and complex designs. This traditional paper cutting served as the inspiration for a new technology that may generate the power needed for wearable Health Tech devices in the future. Researchers … [Read more...]
