Picture: Shu Shu Zheng, RMIT University
A research team at RMIT University in Melbourne has developed an experimental 3D-printed implant made from diamond and titanium that can generate electrical energy from fluid flow while also being wirelessly powered. The combination of both functions within a single material system is considered unprecedented and could pave the way for long-lasting, maintenance-free medical implants.
The team, led by Dr. Arman Ahnood from RMIT’s School of Engineering, aims to address one of the major limitations of implantable medical technologies — dependence on batteries.
“Our goal was to overcome one of the biggest limits in implant technology – the battery,” Senior Lead Researcher Dr Arman Ahnood, from RMIT’s School of Engineering, said. “They take up space and eventually fail, which often means another operation. With this approach, implants could run continuously with little or no onboard battery.”“The ability to wirelessly receive power and harvest energy from liquid flow could be valuable in many other industries where sensors are needed in hard-to-access places using some of the most inert material systems,” he said. “Our device can remotely detect changes in liquid flow in lab tests without the need for any active electronics in the implantable portion, which offers potential for future implants that could warn of progression of disease before it becomes dangerous.”
“The diamonds transform titanium from a passive, structural implant material into an active, multifunctional platform – one that can scavenge energy, sense flow and receive wireless power while remaining biocompatible and strong,” he said.
The diamond-titanium composite is electrically conductive, biocompatible, and mechanically robust. Using additive manufacturing, the researchers created complex geometries that can be tailored to individual patients.
Professor Kate Fox, also from RMIT’s School of Engineering, explained: “Diamond with titanium gave us a structure that was not only lightweight and durable but also electrically active,” Fox said. “It shows we can design implants that do their mechanical job and also provide sensing or power functions.”
In laboratory tests with saline solution, the material produced a continuous electrical voltage when exposed to fluid flow.
“When liquid flowed across the surface in our lab tests, it produced a small but steady electrical signal. This is completely new – most implant materials are either insulating or conducting – this the combination of both in a single material that lets us see and use this electricity,” Dr Peter Sherrell said. “On its own this wouldn’t be enough to run most devices but combined with wireless charging it could power simple implants.”
By combining energy harvesting and wireless power transfer, the researchers envision a self-sustaining energy supply for implantable devices. The team now plans further studies to explore biomedical and industrial applications where robust, hard-to-access sensors are needed.
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