Swallowable paper batteries successfully developed, can provide power inside the body and eventually degrade

China News Service, Beijing, September 23 (Reporter Sun Zifa) A newly published technical research paper in Nature Chemical Engineering, a professional academic journal of Springer Nature, pointed out that researchers have developed a swallowable paper battery that can power medical devices in the body and eventually degrade. It has shown application prospects in preclinical studies (including studies in pigs).

The authors of the paper say that this technology may support temporary devices that track medication use or perform electrical stimulation without the need to remove it afterwards.

Schematic diagram related to this research (picture from the paper). Photo courtesy Springer Nature

According to reports, swallowable electronic devices can help medical professionals monitor health levels, deliver therapeutic drugs, and collect information inside the body, but such devices require a safe and reliable power source. However, traditional batteries contain non-degradable substances that can cause tissue damage if the protective shell fails. Bioabsorbable batteries may be an alternative, working for a specific period of time before breaking down into substances that the body can process.

In this study, corresponding author Giovanni Traverso of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States collaborated with colleagues to develop a paper-based battery made of magnesium and molybdenum trioxide and evaluate its performance in a series of preclinical studies in pigs. The results showed that the paper battery can generate a peak voltage of 1.84 volts, work normally in the pig's stomach for up to 3 days, and power a wireless tag in the pig's esophagus, which can communicate stably with a receiver 1.5 meters away.

The paper battery can also power a capsule that electrically stimulates the stomach for 20 minutes, a method used to treat gastrointestinal disorders that affect gastric emptying. At the same time, the authors of the paper did not observe significant tissue damage associated with this stimulation.

The study's results suggest that bioabsorbable batteries could power temporary swallowable devices for health monitoring and electrotherapy, the paper's authors concluded.

They also specifically reminded that only a few animals have been used in the research and testing, and the circuit boards used for electrical stimulation are not biodegradable and need to be naturally excreted from the body. Therefore, further research is needed to assess long-term safety and develop a fully biodegradable device before this technology can be tested in humans. (over)