Scientists in the United States have successfully integrated electronics with human cells, bringing Terminator-style cyborgs a step closer. Their new “biohybrid mesh harvester” could replace batteries for wearable and implantable electronics, providing a continuous, reliable, and powerful electrical supply.
A new approach to powering implants
The ultrathin, flexible mesh seamlessly integrates with human cells, according to findings published in the journal Science Advances. The research offers a potential solution to removing batteries from wearable and implantable electronics, which currently rely on bulky power sources that eventually run out.
Senior author Professor Jun Yao, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said: “Humans have long dreamed of a future where certain electronics can augment our abilities.” Real-life examples include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, deep brain stimulators, cochlear implants, and various health monitors.
How the biohybrid mesh works
Study lead author Siqi Wang, a Ph.D. student, said: “Our bodies are 24/7 power plants. Every single cell produces its own power.” Prof Yao, who has previously demonstrated a mesh that can monitor heart tissue, built an artificial neuron that communicates with human cells and discovered how to harvest clean energy from thin air.
The team began with thin ribbons of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, and placed them on an ultrathin, ultraflexible polymer platform. Human cardiac cells were then seeded onto the platform, meshing seamlessly into and around the PZT-loaded structure as they grew.
Potential for stacked power
The resulting device moves and looks like human tissue but works like a battery that never needs replacing. Prof Yao noted that the research exists only in the lab so far, but the device generated 10-times more power density than systems relying on a centralised power source.
Because the films are ultrathin, they can be stacked in layers, drastically increasing available power while remaining non-invasive. Prof Yao added: “The beauty of this system is how non-invasive and powerful it is. Our bodies want to reject systems that come with bulk batteries, but when the device exists at the cellular level, you get vastly improved biocompatibility.”
