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strips electrons from glucose molecules to create a small electric current

The idea of a glucose fuel cell is not new

In the 1970s, scientists showed they could power a pacemaker with a glucose fuel cell, but the idea was abandoned in favor of lithium-ion batteries, which could provide significantly more power per unit area than glucose fuel cells

glucose fuel cells also utilized enzymes that proved to be impractical for long-term implantation in the body, since they eventually ceased to function efficiently

The new twist

is that it is fabricated from silicon, using the same technology used to make semiconductor electronic chips

has no biological components

consists of a platinum catalyst that strips electrons from glucose

mimicking the activity of cellular enzymes that break down glucose to generate ATP

So far, the fuel cell can generate up to hundreds of microwatts — enough to power an ultra-low-power and clinically useful neural implant.

in theory, the glucose fuel cell could get all the sugar it needs from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that bathes the brain and protects it from banging into the skull

are very few cells in the CSF

There is also significant glucose in the CSF, which does not generally get used by the body

only a small fraction of the available power is utilized by the glucose fuel cell, the impact on the brain’s function would likely be small.

the work is a good step toward developing implantable medical devices that don’t require external power sources.

ultra-low-power electronics, having pioneered such designs for cochlear implants and brain implants

combined with such ultra-low-power electronics, can enable brain implants or other implants to be completely self-powered

group has worked on all aspects of implantable brain-machine interfaces and neural prosthetics, including recording from nerves, stimulating nerves

decoding nerve signals and communicating wirelessly with implants

designed to record electrical activity from hundreds of neurons in the brain’s motor cortex, which is responsible for controlling movement

data is amplified and converted into a digital signal so that computers

can analyze it and determine which patterns of brain activity produce movement