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According to the report of the Physicist Organization Network on June 14 (Beijing time), engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a new type of fuel cell based on glucose, which is expected to become a source of energy for future medical implants and help paralyzed patients. Recovery of limb movement ability. The relevant research report was published in the "Public Science Library Comprehensive" magazine on June 12.
The study was led by Rahul Saparska, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the university. This type of fuel cell can strip electrons from glucose molecules to make weak currents, allowing them to be combined with other circuits that are required for brain implants.
In fact, the idea of ​​a glucose fuel cell is not new. As early as the 1970s, scientists proposed that this kind of battery could be used as a pacemaker. However, this proposal is ultimately due to the fact that the enzymes used in glucose fuel cells do not work for a long time, and that lithium-ion batteries can be stranded by providing more powerful energy per unit area.
Based on the above issues, new glucose fuel cells have made relevant improvements. The researchers used the same technology as the semiconductor electronic chip and assembled silicon as raw material. In addition, this fuel cell does not have any biological components. It can peel electrons from glucose with a platinum catalyst that is compatible with human body, mimics the activity of cellular enzymes, decomposes glucose, and produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy of cells. currency". Currently, the new glucose fuel cell can produce up to several hundred microwatts of power, enough to drive ultra-low power clinical nerve implants.
For example, there are only a handful of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), so implants located in them are very difficult to provoke an immune response. The calculations show that the glucose fuel cell can obtain considerable glucose from the cerebrospinal fluid, thus providing power for the implant. In addition, since this only occupies a small fraction of the effective power of the glucose fuel cell, it does not adversely affect brain function.
Scientists said that this achievement can provide assistance for the development of implantable medical devices that do not require external energy. The next step is to prove that they can also function well in living organisms. When the glucose fuel cell is combined with ultra-low power electronic devices, it can realize the self-power supply of implants such as the brain, thereby benefiting medical and bionics and other related fields. But Saparska also emphasized that the introduction of glucose-driven implantable medical devices into the market still requires a long process of scientific research and exploration. (Reporter: Zhang Hao)
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