Blood as energy source to power smart cardiac devices

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death globally, taking 18.6M lives/yr. Most CVD are associated with blockage ofblood vessels. grafts play a vital role, replacing/bypassing these vessels, but have failure rates up to 50% due to thrombosis or infection. Vascular grafts of the future would ideally sense and monitor its performance, and telemetrically emit data/alerts to healthcare system so that medical actions can be performed to avoid graft failure. IoMTs has taken its first steps, but is still far from full potential/development, especially in implantable systems which are limited by the use of batteries to power them.

The BLOOD2POWER project AIMS to contribute to this paradigm shift by proposing the development of a NEW WAY TO HARVEST ENERGY FROM THE BODY, and using it to create the next generation vascular grafts: the iGraft.To achieve this PIONEER technology, new triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) will be developed, converting mechanical energy from the body into electrical energy. A miniaturized ultra-low energy consumption power management unit will be developed and coupled to the vascular graft together with a wireless system, allowing to store generated energy, and collect and wirelessly transmit TENG outputs to an external electronic device (e.g. smartphone/watch). These systems will be validated in vitro and in vivo.

Driven by these challenges, this international team led by a young researcher gathers renown institutions and researchers with unique and complementary backgrounds in biomaterials, energy harvesting, electronics and medicine.