A disruptive idea is emerging for patients who need devices connected to their bodies, such as insulin pumps or pacemakers. These devices require disposable or rechargeable batteries, but researchers in Switzerland have developed an implantable fuel cell that uses excess blood sugar to generate electricity. As well as powering the devices, it would be a way of eliminating the body’s energy in the form of sugar.

Bioelectronic devices consume a lot of energy because they are in continuous operation. An implantable, self-sufficient electricity generator that works under physiological conditions would be revolutionary for applications such as bioelectronic prostheses and metabolism regulators.

The project is innovative, according to Denise Hissa, professor of cell biology in the Department of Biology at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC). In a statement published in Correio Braziliense, she says that the cells in the human body use electron and proton currents all the time, but the study goes further when it manages to convert this metabolic energy into electricity.

In the device created by the Swiss team to reduce rejection of the implant under human skin, the capsule is wrapped in alginate, kind of an algae sugar, a substance approved for medical use. The fuel cells were implanted in mice with diabetes, with promising results, according to the researchers. They believe that the electricity generated in this way could power hearing aids, insulin pumps, pacemakers, smartwatches and even smartphones.