The same piezoelectric effect that ignites a gas grill could one day power sensors in the body via human respiration. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a piezoelectric polymer, to develop a host of biomedical devices that could monitor blood glucose for diabetics or keep a pacemaker battery charged so that it would not need replacing.
The team used an ion-etching process to carefully thin PVDF while preserving its piezoelectric properties. With improvements, they believe the thickness can be controlled down to the submicron level. Since PVDF is biocompatible, the development could represent a significant advance toward creating a practical micro-scale device for harvesting energy from respiration.
