Generation of electrical power under human skin by subdermal solar cell arrays for implantable bioelectronic devices.
Medical electronic implants can significantly improve people's health and quality of life. These implants are typically powered by batteries, which usually have a finite lifetime and therefore must be replaced periodically using surgical procedures. Recently, subdermal solar cells that can generate electricity by absorbing light transmitted through skin have been proposed as a sustainable electricity source to power medical electronic implants in bodies. However, the results to date have been obtained with animal models. To apply the technology to human beings, electrical performance should be characterized using human skin covering the subdermal solar cells. In this paper, we present electrical performance results (up to 9.05mW/cm2) of the implantable solar cell array under 59 human skin samples isolated from 10 cadavers. The results indicate that the power densities depend on the thickness and tone of the human skin, e.g., higher power was generated under thinner and brighter skin. The generated power density is high enough to operate currently available medical electronic implants such as pacemakers that require tens of microwatt.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea.
Kwangsun
K
Song
School of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; Haenam Beautis Skin and Laser Clinic, 456-1 Haeri Haenam-gun, Jeollanamdo, 536-809, Republic of Korea.
Jung Hyun
JH
Han
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School and Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Hyung Chae
HC
Yang
Department of Anatomy, Chonnam National University Medical School, 160 Baekseo-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61469, Republic of Korea.
Kwang Il
KI
Nam
School of Mechanical Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea; Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jong@gist.ac.kr.
Jongho
J
Lee
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004560:Electricity; D004582:Electronics, Medical / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D012867:Skin / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012993:Solar Energy; D013472:Sunlight
Bioelectronic devices; Energy; Human skin; Implantable; Medical electronic implants; Solar cell